HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
Yes, July 2nd is our nation’s actual Independence Day…which is officially celebrated on the Fourth of July.
Let the “illegal” fireworks begin!
CROSS-EXAMINATION OF WOODBURY’S DEFENSE
I’ve known former Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury since 1995, back in the days when I served as Clark County Republican Party (CCRP) chairman and Nevada GOP executive director. He’s an honorable man – though clearly not a “movement conservative.” He’s always been more of a moderate and has never pretended otherwise.
In addition to be a “good egg,” Bruce is also one of the very FEW elected officials who not only has been an active member of the GOP Central Committee for all these many years, he’s also been a regular financial contributor. Never was a time that I asked him for money to support a party project or event that he didn’t write a check…unlike some 98 percent of current tight-wad elected Republicans.
So while Bruce may be a moderate, he is NOT a RINO (Republican in Name Only). He’s been a very active and very supportive party soldier even when disagreeing on certain issues and policies.
That said, Bruce submitted a letter to the CCRP last week after the Central Committee passed a resolution censuring the GOP legislators who just voted for the largest tax hike in Nevada history, including – as he fully disclosed in the letter – his daughter, Assemblywoman Melissa Woodbury.
I understand why Bruce is unhappy with the action committee members took, but I want to address this one particular paragraph of his letter…
“Our Republican State Senators and State Assembly members are all hard-working, well-meaning and honest public servants. They do not deserve this attack. If anyone thinks that serving in elected office and making hundreds of decisions on complex issues about what is in the best interests of the people of our state over a period of four grueling months in Carson City is easy, by all means, they should run for office. I now expect that the Governor and these legislators, as well as their supporters, will simply decline to participate in any CCRP meetings, events, fundraisers or conventions.”
He concluded with…
“I can only hope that Clark County Central Committee can someday find its way back to its traditional and stated purpose of supporting and electing Republicans.”
Again, I understand where Bruce is coming from. But I’m not sure he understands where grassroots Republicans who are so angry with his daughter and the other Republicans who voted for this tax hike are coming from. So a couple of points…
1.) While I’ll concede that all of our GOP state legislators are hard-working and well-meaning, that honest part is much harder to swallow in a number of cases.
How is it honest to run as a fiscal conservative who won’t raise taxes only to turn around, after being elected, and vote for over a billion dollars worth of new government spending along with over a billion dollars worth of higher taxes to pay for it?
2.) Yes, Republicans who ran as fiscal conservatives with the support of grassroots activists and Central Committee members who then betrayed their campaign promises and broke the party platform adopted by those same grassroots activists absolutely deserved the censure.
3.) I don’t consider the censure an “attack.” It was a response. The attack was in voting to suck an additional $1.4 billion out of the private sector and funnel it into government.
4.) This issue isn’t about “hundreds of decisions on complex issues.” This is about ONE issue that goes to the very core of what being a Republican is supposed to be about.
Indeed, this wasn’t just some “minor” fee increase. This was the largest tax hike in Nevada history, including the creation of a new gross receipts tax just like the one some 80 percent of voters rejected at the ballot just last November!
5.) I don’t buy this notion that those who haven’t run for and served in office should refrain from criticizing those who do. If those in office can’t take the heat and answer to those who elected them, maybe they should get out of the kitchen.
6.) As for the governor and other legislators not attending CCRP meetings and events, when was the last time Sandoval showed up for a central committee meeting, or even a party convention?
In addition, how many legislators and other elected GOP officials ever show up for ANY party functions other than Lincoln Day? Though again, I must point out that Bruce himself is a notable and rare exception.
As to his final point, that does indeed get to the heart of this matter…
What good is it to simply elect Republicans if they vote like Democrats?
Ask yourself this question: If the governor who proposed this $1.4 billion tax hike and new gross receipts tax had been, say, Democrat Gov. Dina Titus, would all those Republicans have voted for it?
Of course not. That Sandoval and the tax-hiking Republicans have an “R” after their name is no excuse for the inexcusable.
Being a Republican should mean more than a party designation on the ballot.
Or at the very least, if you’re a moderate Republican who wants to vote for bigger government and higher taxes, then at least run HONESTLY as a moderate Republican who wants to vote for bigger government and higher taxes.
Is a little truth-in-labeling too much to ask for?
Indeed, don’t run as a fiscal conservative just to win a GOP primary…and then vote like a tax-and-spend liberal. That’s bait-and-switch. It’s not honest. And in the business world, it’s illegal.
I have a lot of respect for Commissioner Woodbury, but on this one we simply disagree.
Under the circumstances, the censure resolution was absolutely warranted and appropriate.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“Uber has officially made its way onto my naughty list after the company declared that not only are the drivers not allowed to carry guns, but neither are any passengers in the vehicles. In a not so surprising turn of events, it only took 2 weeks for someone to rob an Uber driver at gunpoint after the company changed its gun policy. When will people learn that a gun-free zone does not deter criminals, it literally just protects criminals so they can harm the innocent?” – Nevada State Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, 7/1/15
