SILVER STATE CONFIDENTIAL 01/05/2015

WELCOME BACK, CELEBRITY APPRENTICE! What a bummer that “Rudy Huxtable” was “fired” on the season debut of Celebrity Apprentice last night instead of Kate “Plus 8” Gosselin.  And it’s pretty much a toss-up as to which horse’s arse was more insufferable in the opening episode; contestant/egomaniac Geraldo “The Vortex” Rivera or judge Piers Morgan.  And it sure didn’t take long for Kenya Moore to get on my nerves. And call me crazy, but I already miss Gary Busey!  And I still think Penn Jillette should have won last season. Acknowledging that much of this reality show is produced for dramatic effect, including the dog-eat-dog boardroom sessions, but CA is an excellent teaching program – right up there with Shark Tank and The Profit – for teens and others who would rather own their own business than flip somebody else’s burgers. BUDGET BATTLE As everyone knows in the worst-kept secret in Nevada, Gov. Brian Sandoval is about to propose a new monster tax hike – likely including extending or making permanent some or all of the $600 million+ “temporary” tax hikes passed in 2009 over the veto or then-Gov. Jim Gibbons. True fiscal conservatives will and should oppose any such proposal to give the government more money than it already has coming in.  Nevada’s government needs to live off the allowance taxpayers are giving it already, not demand more.  That said, the state government is already spending some $400 million more than the Economic Forum predicts will be coming in during the next budget cycle.  So if the temporary taxes are allowed to expire – and they should – legislators are going to have to find places to cut rather than raise taxes.  The first place to start would be to repeal the irresponsible expansion of Medicaid the governor pushed through in the last session that has the potential to bankrupt the state sometime after the governor is scheduled to leave office. In addition, legislators should consult with the recommendations of Bruce James’ SAGE Commission, and then dial up the Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI) for solid and significant ways to trim spending. Also, be on the lookout for a possible alternative budget I hear might be presented by Nevada’s new fiscal conservative tag team of State Treasurer Dan Schwartz and State Controller Ron Knecht.  Unlike part-time citizen legislators, these two constitutional officers have their own number-crunchers to come up with serious and credible alternatives to Sandoval’s spend-and-tax-and-spend-and-tax-and-spend-and-tax policies.  This could get very interesting. THE CHAOS CAUCUS In that first meeting of the Republican Assembly Caucus just after the November election, conservative members ousted then Minority Leader Pat “The Appeaser” Hickey and elected Assemblyman Ira Hansen as Speaker-designate by a vote of 15-10.  Members then voted for Majority Leader in a race between liberal Assemblyman Paul Anderson and Assemblyman John Hambrick.  In that election, Hambrick only got 6 votes.  That Hambrick is today Speaker-elect is not because he’s strong, but because he appeared to be the lesser of two evils after Hansen stepped down.  If he is, in fact, elected Speaker of the Assembly on February 2nd, he won’t be able to handle the job, will eventually have a complete meltdown, and this session will be a total disaster.  Proving once again that Republicans never blow an opportunity to blow an opportunity. *   *   *   *   * In his response to conservative Majority Leader-in-Exile Michele Fiore’s “open letter” last week, Hambrick tried to claim that the Majority Leader is always appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.  In my response to his response, I pointed out three recent incidents in which the Majority Leader was clearly elected, not appointed – including a Majority Leader election by the Democrats in 2012. I’ve since been informed that there’s yet another precedent.  According to former conservative Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, the day after the ’94 general election the Republican Assembly Caucus - including the newly elected Assemblyman Brian Sandoval! - met and elected Lynn Hettrick as the Republican Speaker-designee, Pete Ernaut as Majority Leader and Tiffany as Speaker pro tempore-designee. Hambrick’s justifications for having the power to unilaterally remove Fiore as the elected Majority Leader get lamer by the day. *   *   *   *   *  Speaking of Hambrick, unless he changes his mind – and what are the odds? – I’m told he’s scheduled to speak this coming Saturday at 10:00 am in the Independence Center of Sun City Anthem located at 2450 Hampton Road in Henderson.  To the best of my knowledge, this will be the first, and perhaps only opportunity for Republicans to confront Hambrick on his sell-out of the conservative members of his caucus.  Unless the youth soccer team I coach has a game scheduled that morning, I know where I’ll be! *   *   *   *   * Speaking of speaking, I’ve been invited to speak to the Virgin Valley Tea Party this coming Thursday at the Falcon Ridge Golf Course in Mesquite at 5:30 pm to brief everyone on the situation with the Republican Assembly Caucus, and especially the group’s elected Assemblyman Chris “Let’s Make a Deal” Edwards’ embarrassing conduct in the whole mess. Edwards isn’t #2 on my “Recall Bait” list – after Hambrick - for nothing.  Come on out and join us.  Ought to be an interesting conversation. *   *   *   *   * In an email bearing the subject line, “I am a Washoe Democrat, and I am OK with Ms. Fiore,” J. Tyler Ballance writes… “As for the current nonsense over Mrs. Fiore's tax situation, I see no reason for her not to serve in a leadership position. From what you have written and what has been reported in other media, it appears that she has taken the proper steps to resolve the matter. I like the idea that someone in elected office has experienced the brutality of the IRS. I think that better laws and tax policies will surely be the result of someone on the committee who has been hit with the full force of the tax laws.” Excellent points, all. *   *   *   *   * As you know, Fiore has been getting slammed and attacked from every direction over the past couple of weeks.  She might appreciate getting some positive emails from supportive conservatives for a change.  You can email her here:  Michele@votefiore.com DRIVE-BY MUTHINGS After electing the nation’s first half-black president, race relations were supposed to get better.  Under President Barack Obama, they’ve gotten worse.  Heckuva job, Baracky. *   *   *   *   * This might be the first broadside fired in the 2016 GOP presidential race, courtesy of David McIntosh of the Club for Growth… “In a year in which GOP voters appear likely to have several good pro-economic growth candidates to choose from, Mike Huckabee’s big government record would stand out from the crowd, and not in a good way.” Let the games begin. *   *   *   *   * So I understand that Nevada’s #2 liberal blogger-without-a-TV-show is back from a two-week vacation to Italy.  Which leads to the obvious question: Jon Ralston was gone for two weeks?  Who knew? FAMOUS LAST WORDS “We might be reaching a tipping point with the mindset of police officers, who are beginning to wonder if the risks they take to keep communities safe are even worth it anymore.” – Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke 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…