SILVER STATE CONFIDENTIAL 12/13/2014

ECONOMIC FORUM REALITY 101 The Economic Forum has declared that Gov. Brian Sandoval (R&R Advertising) and the Nevada Legislature have $6.3 billion to spend in the next biennium.  The government is currently over-spending – after a rash of unjustified spending increases in the last two sessions – at a rate of $6.7 billion.  And the various government agencies have submitted an absurd wish list for the next biennium totaling some $7.7 billion. The Governor and Legislature now have two choices on their hands. They can either live within our means by telling the bureaucracy it ain’t getting any increases, and then do the hard work and make the tough decisions to reduce the over-spending by $400 million… Or raise taxes. We have a Republican governor. We have a Republican-majority State Senate. We have a Republican-majority State Assembly. Folks, this should be a no-brainer for a GOP that is taking full control of the government for the first time since 1929. Unfortunately, too many of these Republicans are Gumby Republicans. COLLABORATOR CAUCUS UPDATE Well, it was like pulling teeth, but we finally received a written statement yesterday afternoon outlining Republican Assemblyman James Oscarson’s position on efforts to deploy the “nuclear option” on Opening Day of the 2015 Legislature. The nuclear option would be if five or more Gumby Republicans voted with the 17 Assembly Democrats to elect a Speaker other than the Speaker-designate chosen by the majority of Assembly Republicans. The man reportedly leading such a turncoat effort is sour-grapes former Minority Leader Pat “The Appeaser” Hickey” – though we’re not sure if he’s trying to get himself elected Speaker or his accomplice, moderate Republican Assemblyman Paul Anderson. In any event, on Friday afternoon Mr. Oscarson released a written statement declaring that he “will support the speaker designee as elected by a majority of the Republican Assembly caucus.”  He added, “I have no intention of participating in the so-called ‘nuclear option.’” Uh-oh! “I have no intention” is one of those classic “weasel terms” used to keep one’s options open.  It’s like saying in your marriage vows, “I intend to forsake all others.”  Very Clintonesque. Sorry, Charlie.  We ain’t taking “I have no intention” to the bank.  So let’s just keep Mr. Oscarson on the “Collaborator Caucus” list for now until he summons up his “inner Sherman” and removes the weasel words. Oh, and when I explained this to one of his supporters - let's call him "Brian" - Brian eventually replied with two words. The first word started with an "F" and rhymes with "truck." The second word was "you." Such articulate supporters for Mr. Oscarson.  But this is why I'm known as the #1 Irritator of Liberals and RINOs! Anyway, here's the running contact list of the suspected "Collaborator Caucus" members... James Oscarson - jamesoscarson@me.com Chris Edwards - edwardsct@yahoo.com Pat Hickey - Pathickey@dataclonemail.com Derek Armstrong - derekarmstrong@arlintlaw.com Paul Anderson - paul@andersonfornevada.com Randy Kirner - randy.kirner@gmail.com Lynn Stewart - lynnstewart@cox.net Melissa Woodbury - woodmlw@yahoo.com Stephen Silberkraus - stephen@silberkraus.com P.K. O’Neill - pk@nvsig.com By the way, one of the key agitators and outside supporters of the Collaborator Caucus is donor Monte Miller of the Keystone Corporation, who has been arm-twisting and brow-beating conservative Republicans to sell out and let the Gumbies run the show again. Beware Greeks bearing gifts. Also, the “muscle man” delivering various threats and doing much of the Collaborator Caucus’ grunt work is Anderson’s political svengali and personal valet, Cory Christensen – who was fired as the caucus Political Director by a majority of the conservatives in the caucus shortly after Hickey was ousted. And keep an eye on Assembly Speaker-designee John Hambrick’s political guru, Nathan Emens, who is suspected by some of playing both sides against the middle in the Hambrick-Anderson tug-of-war.  Emens may be Hambrick’s boy, but he’s taken significant amounts of money from Anderson. Et tu, Brute? Freshmen conservative legislators beware: You are entering a den of thieves, surrounded by snakes.  Watch your backs.  And don’t believe a word they tell you.  Distrust…and verify! DRIVE-BY MUTHINGS I wonder how long it will take Nevada’s #2 liberal blogger, Jon Ralston, to remove from his Twitter bio "I'm a NV political journalist w/a TV program..." now that he no longer has a TV program? *   *   *   *   * Questions about tax liens filed against incoming Assembly Majority Leader Michele Fiore’s business were resurrected from her 2010 congressional campaign by someone hoping to get Fiore to quit her leadership post.  Good luck with that! I’m told her accountant is putting all the documentation together to address the issue this weekend and she’ll be putting it out to the media on Tuesday. I guess she’ll do it on Ralston Reports, right?  Oh, wait… *   *   *   *   * Speaking of which, members of the Republican Assembly Caucus have been wondering which of its members have been leaking information to Nevada’s #2 liberal blogger-without-a-TV-show. Well, I hear one of those members, Assemblyman Chris Edwards, was at Ralston’s wrap party Friday night after the final episode of Ralston Reports. Watson, I think we have a suspect. *   *   *   *   * The “nuclear option” threat mentioned above is a terrible distraction as Republicans try to prepare to lead the Assembly for the first time since 1985.  So you’d think Gov. Brian Sandoval (R&R Advertising), the purported titular head of the party in Nevada, would tell Hickey-Anderson & Company to stand down, accept their defeat and move on to the people’s business. You’d think wrong. On Friday Sandoval told the press, “This is legislative business and I am going to leave it up to them.”  Talk about leading from behind. Interesting, though.  When the firestorm erupted over Assemblyman Ira Hansen’s controversial writings, the governor stepped into “legislative business” and told Hansen to resign as Speaker-designee.  So when it involves a moderate Republican, Sandoval is hands off.  But when it involves a conservative, he’s hands on.  Got it. FAMOUS LAST WORDS "Let’s be clear about something: The expression 'happy holidays' is not an insult despite the fact that some people who use it in lieu of ‘Merry Christmas’ have been intimidated into a posture of fearfulness by those who make it their business to find something offensive in all kinds of ordinary social interactions.” – Columnist Peter Roff 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…