SILVER STATE CONFIDENTIAL 11/26/2014

ASSEMBLY GOP’S MUSICAL (CHAIRS) No one knows for sure what finally caused Assemblyman Ira Hansen (R-Reno) to throw in the towel and step aside as Speaker-designee, but word on the street is that he was threatened with an opposition research file that would be leaked little by little throughout the entire legislative session.  Death of a thousand political cuts. And anyone who doesn’t think that Gov. Brian Sandoval’s (R&R-Advertising) political hit man, Mike Slanker, was part-and-parcel in this take-down operation is delusional.  This is exactly that kind of smear campaign he’s extremely well known for. Either Slanker found the chum of Hansen’s previous columns and threw it in the direction of the media, or he saw the blood in the water after the story broke and fed the feeding frenzy by putting out condemnation press releases from a number of his clients, including Sandoval.  Either way, Ira’s charge that Slanker was involved in this at some level was “dead on balls accurate” (it’s an industry term). In any event, with Hansen stepping down, there is a renewed power struggle within the Assembly Republican Caucus for a new Speaker-designee.  And probably a new vote for Majority Leader, as well, since a number of members were already unhappy with moderate Assemblyman Paul Anderson being given the chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee after he was elected ML on the same night Assembly Minority Leader Pat “The Appeaser” Hickey was tossed overboard. An additional problem for Anderson has also come up over the disposition of some $100,000 in donations purportedly for the caucus that he now somehow personally controls in his own PAC.  I don’t know all the details about this, but it’s definitely a big bone of unhappy contention among some in the caucus. Nevertheless, after Hansen announced he was stepping down, Anderson immediately began making calls trying to round up support for him as the new Speaker.  At the same time, conservative Assemblywoman Michele Fiore began testing the same waters.  But the fear that if Fiore was the GOP’s pick that the Democrats would exercise the “nuclear option” – voting with a handful of moderate Republicans to elevate Anderson anyway - led to conservative talk of putting forward Elko conservative John Ellison for the Speaker slot, with Fiore agreeing to settle for the Majority Leader position. That plan was moving along throughout the day on Monday.  But on Monday night it was leaked that conservative Assemblyman Wes Duncan, with Hansen’s support, was throwing his hat in the ring for Speaker. Like Ellison, Duncan can probably unite the warring factions and avoid raising the ire of the media despite the fact that he had the fourth highest conservative rating in Citizen Outreach’s 2013 legislative scorecard. The chink in Duncan's armor, however, is that he’s a government employee who works for the Clark County district attorney’s office - a longtime no-no for conservatives.  That said, if all the Democrat public employees will continue to be allowed to serve in the Legislature, then you can’t disqualify Duncan for the same thing. Kick 'em all out...or leave 'em all in. So it looks like Duncan will be the consensus candidate for Speaker-designee. Which brings us to the Majority Leader position… Again, there was already dissatisfaction with Anderson remaining in that slot.  And Anderson, if he gives up his pursuit of the Speaker position, will surely want to remain as ML.  So the question is whether or not the caucus, when it meets next week, will re-open voting for the ML position – with Fiore running against Anderson - or leave him there. Frankly, I don’t know how you have a new vote for a new Speaker without having a new vote for the Majority Leader spot, as well.  There’s just too much controversy surrounding Anderson to not re-visit that decision. Of equal concern is what will happen to the two paid positions within the caucus that Hansen has already filled – Craig Hulse as chief-of-staff and Geoff Lawrence as Policy Advisor. I don’t know Craig, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about him and am told he used to work for former conservative Gov. Jim Gibbons. Lawrence, on the other hand, is extremely well-known by conservatives and was an inspired pick for the Policy Advisor position. Whatever leadership team is elected next week, they’d do well to retain both individuals for the positions they’ve already been hired for. Nothing, of course, is a done deal at this point.  But it appears that after three days of chaos the Republicans in the Assembly are on the verge of righting the ship that capsized with Hansen’s resignation on Sunday. Nice save. TUBE TIP My longtime running buddy and partner in political crime Dan Burdish and I will be on News 3’s “What’s Your Point?” tomorrow at 12:30 pm to discuss "Speakergate" and other issues/current events with hosts Jeff Gillan and Amy Tarkanian.  Watch it live on your telly or click here for live streaming on the ‘net. MOUNT REAGAN UPDATE Excerpt from a story today by Steve Tetreault of the Las Vegas Review-Journal about Congress’ unfinished business… When lawmakers return to work next week, fewer than 10 scheduled days will remain in the post-election lame-duck session. The House has set Dec. 12 as its target adjournment date, though that could change. The Senate has not yet set an end date. The final days of a congressional session can get unpredictable as last-minute deals often are cut that advance bills or send them to their graves. Anything not passed by the end of the year must be reintroduced in the new Congress before it can be considered. . . . A bill introduced by (Rep. Joe) Heck to name a peak on Frenchman Mountain east of Las Vegas after the late president Ronald Reagan also stalled. The “Mount Reagan” bill passed the House Resources Committee in April but then disappeared from consideration as the state’s delegation split on it. Las Vegas conservative activist Chuck Muth, who has led the campaign to name the peak for Reagan, said this week the bill was put on the back burner after Titus and Reid made clear they would fight against it. “Strategically the decision was let’s wait until after the election and see if we get a Senate that is going to be more open to passing it in the next Congress,” Muth said. With Republicans gaining the Senate majority, “we may well have gotten that,” Muth said. DRIVE-BY MUTHINGS Regardless of how you felt about the grand jury decision not to charge police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, how in the hell do you justify breaking into a liquor store and stealing bottles of booze?  Or looting the convenience store where Brown stole those cigars, leading to his confrontation with Wilson?  Or setting cars on fire?  Or burning down a Little Caesar’s pizza store? Here’s the thing about the Uber ride-sharing service that the anti-Uber taxi cartel in Nevada keeps missing: You can’t stand on a street corner and hail an Uber car.  You have to become a member of the Uber “club.”  Only Uber members can use Uber’s service.  It is not a public conveyance.  Whether or not Uber drivers are properly screened via background checks is a concern for Uber members, not government regulators.  If Uber members are willing to “risk” getting in a car with an Uber driver, that’s a decision a grown adult in supposedly the freest nation on the planet should be able to make on their own.  It’s none of the government’s damn business. STILL TIME TO VOTE 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! FAMOUS LAST WORDS “I was not elected by Mike Slanker, Pete Ernaut or Brian Sandoval.  I was elected by the people of the district and I am going to stick it out to the bitter end and represent them." – Assemblyman Ira Hansen to the Reno Gazette-Journal’s Ray Hagar stating that even though he has stepped down as Speaker-designee, he is not resigning his seat in the Assembly itself 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…