SILVER STATE CONFIDENTIAL 11/23/2014

KIRNER’S IN Well, we all knew it was a long shot – though it certainly gave the incumbent a scare.  But in the end Republican challenger Lisa Krasner still came in second to Assemblyman Randy “Kirner Tax” Kirner (RINO-Kirner Tax) in Friday’s partial recount for Assembly District 26, which Kirner won on Election Day by just 11 votes. If this political near-death experience doesn‘t persuade the Father of the Kirner Tax to change his tax-hiking ways in the 2015 session, we’ll get him in 2016. HANSEN’S OUT Liberals - with an assist from RINO collaborators and their ventriloquist, Mike Slanker - have successfully orchestrated yet another high-tech “borking” of a conservative leader. Nevada Republican Assembly Speaker-designee Ira Hansen announced early this morning that he was stepping down.  Here’s the email he sent to his colleagues around 5 am… How ironic that 19 years ago the same columnist Dennis Myers that I went after in my column for race baiting has done it to me (see my attached column from 1995). Of course the media has not run this column... Politics of personal destruction win. I need to step down. I hope that you all know that the Ira that you have known through these years and weeks is the real Ira and not what the media is painting me to be. You are a great group that can hopefully do great things and my staying will harm the caucus. I wish you all the best. Thanks for hanging tough through these difficult past days. If this were just about "me" I would fight this out to the bitter end, but it is going to harm all of you. Carry on And here’s the official press statement from Hansen… “For the greater good of the State of Nevada and the cause I support it is necessary for me to withdraw as Speaker Designee. The tens of thousands of people who both read my columns and listened to my radio shows through two decades in the media know this has been a carefully orchestrated attack to remove a conservative Republican from a major leadership role in State government. The deliberate character assassination and the politics of personal destruction have totally distorted my views and record. Ultimately, this whole attack has very little to do with my views. The powers that be are planning a massive, more than one billion dollar, tax increase and I stood in the way as Speaker. I have already served two terms as an Assemblyman without any of these vicious attacks. It was only when I had risen to leadership that this smear campaign occurred. That is the real reason for this and it is vital the public understands that.” Make no mistake.  Liberal bloggers and activists may have pulled the lever, but this coordinated political lynching has the GOP establishment’s fingerprints all over it.  And Hansen is 100% correct.  This was all about Gov. Brian Sandoval (R&R-Advertising) and Senate Majority Leader Moderate Mike Roberson (RINO-Henderson) taking out a potential conservative Speaker who would have stood in the way of the Great Billion Dollar Tax Hike of 2015. So what to do now? Well, here’s an interesting aside… Hansen’s departure doesn’t just re-open the Speaker’s slot in the Republican Assembly Caucus, but the Majority Leader’s slot as well. As you’ll recall, on the same night that caucus members ousted Assemblyman Pat “The Appeaser” Hickey and voted for Hansen as Speaker-designate, it elected moderate Assemblyman Paul Anderson as the new Majority Leader.  That was at least partially a bone tossed to the Hickey followers in an effort to unite the caucus.  However, that decision was made before Anderson was also named Chairman of the powerful Assembly Ways and Means Committee.  And the problem with that is that the Ways and Means Committee meets five days a week while other committees meet only once or twice.  And no matter how you slice it, there’s just no way Anderson can do justice to both positions short of cloning himself. Caucus members realized this problem a week or so ago and made some rumblings about asking Anderson to pick one or the other, but opted to just leave it alone and make the best of it.  After all, it’s not like they don’t already have enough on their plates. But now, with Hansen’s departure, the caucus can revisit this problem and make an adjustment. The skill set needed to lead the Israelites out of Egypt was not the same skill set needed to lead them into the Promised Land.  Similarly, conservatives in the Assembly needed Hansen to break free of the RINOs’ clutch.  But much like Moses, Ira had to step aside and turn the reins over to someone else to complete the journey. Let’s just hope Hickey himself doesn’t now hijack the caravan! FAMOUS LAST WORDS “Hansen could not survive. He should not have survived.” – Nevada’s #2 liberal blogger, Jon Ralston, merrily pouring kerosene on Hansen’s political career, 11/23/14 REMINDER: VOTE TODAY IN $100,000 TEACHER CHALLENGE Remember, you can (and should, please) vote every day for Brenda Moynihan in her effort to secure a $100,000 grant for C.T. Sewell Elementary School in Henderson. CLICK HERE to vote.  And remember, you can vote every day until the deadline on November 30th.  You know, just like in Chicago elections! HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Silver State Confidential is an email newsletter on Nevada politics, public policy and current events published (usually) daily by Chuck Muth, Nevada's #1 Renegade Conservative and the man voted "Most Likely to Irritate Liberals!"  Click on the link below for subscription information…