True Lies: The Real Ryan Hampton Story – Part 6
For eleven seasons, television audiences tuned in to watch Sam Malone pour drinks, crack jokes, and hold court behind the bar at Cheers – all while carrying, in the background of the show’s mythology, the label of a recovering alcoholic. It was played as one of the show’s quiet ironies: the man who battled […]
True Lies: The Real Ryan Hampton Story – Part 5
Before starting this chapter, I want to make something perfectly clear. Recovery from heroin addiction is not a small thing, and Ryan Hampton deserves real credit for getting to the other side of it. Overcoming that kind of dependency takes a level of discipline and resilience that most people never have to summon, and […]
True Lies: The Real Ryan Hampton Story – Part 4
As I’ve written previously, before this series, the paperback version of Ryan Hampton’s book includes an updated section to his story in which he demonizes pharmaceutical companies and blames them for his addiction without acknowledging his own role in creating his own problem. He wrote that pharmaceutical companies were guilty of “medically sanctioned mass […]
True Lies: The Real Ryan Hampton Story – Part 3
There’s a great scene in the 1970 World War II – or as Rep. Ilhan Omar (D–Minn.) calls it, World War Eleven – epic movie “Patton.” General Patton is awakened and advised that German Field Marshal Rommel was planning an attack at El Guettar. The scene ends with the camera panning to Patton’s nightstand […]
True Lies: The Real Ryan Hampton Story – Part 2
In the 1972 Western classic The Cowboys, Wil Andersen, played by John Wayne, has just lost his regular cattle drive crew to a gold rush and is desperate for hands to drive his herd to market. So he recruits a group of schoolboys. And while the kids are on the ranch learning the skills […]
True Lies: The Real Ryan Hampton Story – Part 1
Greetings from beautiful downtown Dallas, Texas, where the kids and I are attending an AI (artificial intelligence) marketing conference being hosted by our AI guru and coach, Perry Belcher. But before checking into our hotel room yesterday – which happens to overlook the infamous Dealy Plaza – we paid a visit to the Southfork […]
Jon Ralston Wins “A$$hole of the Month Award” – AGAIN!
Lyn Nofziger was one of Ronald’s Reagan most trusted and influential strategists, dating back to the days of the Gipper’s stint as governor of California. He and I met at a political convention in Reno sometime in the mid-1990s and became email “pen pals.” He ended up on my subscriber list for the “Greatest […]
The GOP’s GOTV Problem: Same Failed Playbook, Same Losing Results
Let me hit you with a couple numbers that should make every Nevada Republican politician, donor, and party official physically ill. In 2022, Republican Adam Laxalt lost the U.S. Senate race in Nevada by 7,928 votes. In that same election, over 150,000 registered Nevada Republicans stayed home and did not vote. That’s more than […]
Why Republicans Keep Losing Close Elections (Hint: It’s Not Democrats)
Political Consultants Are Going to Hate Me (Even More) for Writing This Hoo-boy. I was doing the ol’ “should-I-or-shouldn’t-I” thing in bed at four o’clock this morning. And I know I shouldn’t write this one. It’s gonna p*ss off a lot of political insiders. But then I remembered something my late friend Herman Cain – […]
Tea Party vs. DSA: A Tale of Two Political Movements
The Tea Party Wanted Freedom. The DSA Wants a Babysitter. This is gonna be a long one, but it’s critically important – especially for youngsters whose public school indoctrination has left them ignorant of our founding history and reality. So grab a big cup of coffee or tall lemonade and settle in. I’ve been […]
Nevada Republicans Can Flip These Four Democrat Legislative Seats
The Primaries Are Over. The Real Fight Starts Now. Here’s the Strategy. In January I launched a new pilot “coaching” program for four legislative candidates that included the use of advanced AI (artificial intelligence) tools for research, message development, graphics, and communications. Three of the four won their primaries: George Harris in Senate District […]
Some Post-Primary Observations
CONGRESSIONAL The biggie yesterday was the primary in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District. President Trump’s last-minute endorsement put Dave Flippo over top. But it also put CD2 in play for the Democrats in November, as our Brittany Sheehan explained back in April. The gutter-level campaign waged by Flippo and his unscrupulous consultants against a very honorable […]
Dear Northern Nevada: Trust Us Las Vegans, We Know What’s Best for You
As a proud resident of Clark County, I’d like to congratulate the good people of northern, rural, and frontier Nevada. Your long wait is over! For decades, you’ve suffered under the burden of being represented in Congress by people who actually live among you, understand your communities, and know the difference between a heifer and […]
GOP Civil War Over Hollywood Handout Goes Nuclear in Two GOP Primaries
Conservative Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks and I don’t always agree on campaign strategy. He’s more of a policy guy and I’m more of a tactician. But when you’re right, you’re right. And boy was he right in his column this morning. The issue: Last November’s special session and the “Hollywood Handout.” Victor […]
Nevada GOP Primary Recommendations ’26
Due to popular demand – and the fact that mail-in ballots should be hitting your mailboxes any day now – I’m publishing a personal list of who I’d vote for IF I WAS VOTING TODAY. But since I’m old-school, I vote on, you know, Election Day. As such, these suggestions are subject to change […]
Scam Alert! Don’t Drink the Snake Oil Drew Johnson is Peddling
Look, I know some of you are still on the Drew Johnson for Treasurer bandwagon. And I get it. He had me fooled when he first blew into town, too. Give him credit. He talks a good game. Actually, he talks a GREAT game. To hear him tell it, he’s the greatest thing since the […]
Caught Again: Another Fake “Mack Attack” by Heidi Kasama
Well, here she goes again. Back in February, five former Clark County Republican Party chairmen wrote a letter to Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama calling her and her Clark County commission campaign out for using a fake, AI-doctored image of her opponent on signs, mailers, digital ads, etc. The smear and deception was so bad that the […]