2023 Nevada Legislature: Winners & Losers, Part V

(Chuck Muth) – Quick Daddy-Daughter update on Jenna’s and my Rocky Mountain road-trip adventure.

We hit Little Big Horn yesterday, and what a fascinating history lesson.

I first toured this scene of Custer’s Last Stand some 35 years ago.  But this time, they had a guided tour that took us onto the Crow Indian Reservation that gave us a more extensive view of the battlefield from the perspective of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.

And I learned a couple of interesting pieces of trivia…

1.)  Ironically, the only Indian war chief to die in the battle at Little Big Horn was named…Lame White Man.

I think Jon Ralston might be a distant relative.

2.)  Custer was in command of this battle but was NOT in charge of the entire campaign to herd the plains Indians back onto reservations. President Grant had stripped him of command for testifying against Grant’s brother for being a corrupt Indian agent.

I think the Bidens might be distant relatives.

Anyway, Jenna and I ended up the day in Cody, WY last night in preparation for hitting Yellowstone National Park today.  Started the evening off with a cold beer to wash the dust down our throats at the historic Buffalo Bill’s Irma Hotel…

We then walked across the street and grabbed a couple of steaks on the outdoor patio at the Proud Cut Saloon before wrapping up the evening at the Silver Dollar Saloon with a glass of bourbon (me, not Jenna) and a couple games of billiards with The Pool Shark…

I am truly blessed to have such a great daughter who still enjoys hanging out with her old man.  With her, EVERY day this past week has been Father’s Day!

Now back to the business at hand…

Loser: Nevada Conservatives

There’s an old saying in politics: Personnel is policy.  And Nevada conservatives were dealt a losing hand before the session even started.

First, Senate Republicans tapped liberal Republican Sen. Heidi Gansert as their caucus leader.  And except for one brief, shining moment a half-hour before the end of the regular session, she was, at best, a lackluster disappointment, giving the Democrats the “bipartisan” cover they covet on a number of bills important to conservatives.

Secondly, Assembly Republicans chose moderate, tax-hiking Assemblyman P.K. O’Neill as their caucus leader. The man is a Gumby, blowing whichever way the wind bends him.  The best thing I’ve heard said about P.K. this session was that “he does what he’s told.”

I mean, come on.  He gave the Democrats his vote on the CIP budget bill even though the Democrats had the super-majority they needed without a single GOP vote. Talk about leading from behind.

Thirdly, former tax-hiking, liberal Republican State Senator Ben Kieckhefer was hired as the governor’s chief-of-staff and was the point-person in legislative negotiations.

The arguments for Kieckhefer’s hiring for this critical role were that he understood the budget better than most, as well as the legislative process.

It was also argued that his relationships with legislative Dems was strong – because, let’s face it, philosophically he’s one of them – and that he was the best person to negotiate with the Democrats and get the votes needed to pass the governor’s agenda, especially on school choice.

And we all know now how THAT turned out.

With a new governor and a new administration in a new session with new GOP caucus leaders, skeptical conservative leaders hoped for the best and took a wait-and-see attitude.

Well, now we’ve seen.  And it wasn’t pretty.  Personnel is, indeed, policy.  And Nevada conservatives again got the shaft.

As the great philosopher Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott of the Starship Enterprise so famously put it: “Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Conservatives won’t be fooled again.

In next year’s elections, it won’t be enough to simply elect more Republicans.  We need to elect better ones, as well.

Especially in Republican-majority districts where legislators don’t have to be wishy-washy, go-along-to-get-along wallflowers to get elected.

That’s it for now. Winners coming soon, I promise.  But for now, Jenna and I are headed out to where the deer and the antelope play and seldom is heard a discouraging word.

Oh, and…

Go Knights, go!

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.” – H.L. Menken

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com.  You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com.  His views are his own.