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Muth’s Truths PLUS+ Special End-of-Session Edition

(Chuck Muth) – Hey, gang…things are moving fast-and-furious in Carson City in these end-of-days before the 2023 legislative session ends.  So I thought I’d share today’s Muth’s Truths PLUS+ with everybody since there are some important things goin’ on.

Let’s get to it…

* I’m old enough to remember when conservatives LOVED Chik-fil-A for being a conservative-leaning corporation.  But the bloom is off the rose.

* Many conservatives are now calling for a boycott of the fast-food chain over its recent decision to hire a vice president of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI).  A needless and senseless gunshot to its own foot.

* Go woke. Go broke.

* The problem many conservatives have with Donald Trump isn’t that he filets liberals and Democrats.  The problem is when he does it to conservatives. But for better or worse, at least he’s an equal opportunity insulter.

* Believe it or not, this was Democrat race-hustlin’ Nevada State Sen. Dina Neal’s opening prayer at the Legislature this week…

“Give us peace as we lose friends and respect for people in this process. Protect us Lord from the liars and hateful people in this building…It has been a disrespectful season in the building. … Thank you, Lord, for the moments where it seemed appropriate to two-hand shove someone, but you kept our hands by our side because you know what’s best for us.”

* Democrats sure do love their violence!

* Gov. Lombardo signed the education budget bill last night which does not include increased funding for Opportunity Scholarships. But don’t panic.

* Closing out a legislative session is a complicated, behind-closed-doors, high-wire act. With Democrats in complete control of the Legislature, Gov. Lombardo is fighting with one hand tied behind his back.

* But he certainly isn’t giving up.

* There are other critical budget bills still to be passed.  I suspect Opportunity Scholarships will be negotiated into one of those bills – which by law can’t be addressed until after the education budget was approved.

* And, hey, let’s take wins when we get them.  The compromise on the education budget includes Gov. Lombardo’s call for re-instatement of the Read by 3 program, as well as additional funding for early childhood literacy programs.

* While this isn’t a 60-yard pass, it is a 6-yard run.  We gained ground.

* Oh, and the governor also just signed his school safety bill that liberal Democrats tried to block.  A 12-yard run and a first down.

* On the flip side, Gov. Joe “Don Veto” also vetoed three more bad Democrat bills yesterday.  I think that raises his total to eight…and counting.

* So don’t give up on our governor yet.  As Yogi Berra, not to be confused with Yogi Bear, famously said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”  And it ain’t over in Carson City yet.

* Just a couple of short observations about Gov. Lombardo signing the abortion bill this week…

* First, the bill states that Nevada will not prosecute anyone who comes to our state from a state that bans abortion – which is consistent with the practice of not prosecuting someone who comes here to gamble from a state that bans gambling.

* It also reminds me of the “old days” when I lived in Maryland – where the drinking age was 21 – and occasionally headed down to a DC watering hole where the drinking age was still 18.

* Now, I’m not talking about drunk driving – which was, of course, illegal in both.  But can you imagine Maryland prosecuting an 18-year-old Marylander for drinking in DC even if he had a designated driver drive him home?

* Secondly, like it or not, Nevada VOTERS legalized abortion, under certain limitations, long ago.  And only voters, not the governor or the Legislature, can change that.  It’s just reality.

* Thirdly, whether you agree with his position or not, Gov. Lombardo announced when he was running that he would repeal ex-Gov. Sisolak’s executive order protecting out-of-state abortions unless the Legislature put it into law.  Which the Democrats have now done.

* So the governor kept his word, which, of course, is a good thing even if you don’t agree with him.

* Many conservatives are certainly pro-life, but we’re also anti-authoritarian – which is what Sisolak was in issuing his executive order on this issue in the first place, not to mention how he handled COVID.

* A very real concern is that sex traffickers of underage girls in states that ban or restrict abortions, could bring those girls to Nevada.  Though I’d point out that sex-trafficking of underage minors is still illegal regardless of the abortion issue.

* Nevertheless, it’s a legitimate point and needs to be addressed – possibly by passing a parental notice requirement, which Gov. Lombardo has voiced support for in the past.

* The Bottom Line: If you want to change the policy, you have to change the policy-makers.  So get in the game and start helping to elect better legislators next year.

* The Nevada GOP has filed a lawsuit to block holding a presidential primary next year, as required by a new law passed in 2021, asserting it has the right to decide how it selects its nominee.  And it prefers to hold a presidential caucus next year.

* I’m a caucus kinda guy.  It is CRITICAL that ONLY registered Republicans should decide who their nominee is, and ONLY Democrats decide who their nominee is.

* Voters who choose not to join a party should not be part of that decision-making process any more than allowing non-union workers to vote on who heads up the AFL-CIO.

* As state law currently allows, a Democrat can show up for the presidential primary, switch his or her party affiliation on Election Day, vote in the GOP primary for who they think is the weakest candidate, and then switch back the very next day.

* I know.  I did it myself in 2020 when there was no GOP primary contender against Donald Trump.  I became Democrat-for-a-Day, voted for Bernie Sanders because I thought he’d be easier to beat than Biden, then switched back right after.

* Strategic voting.

* In order to be able to protect the integrity of its nominating process from such shenanigans and election interference, a party can only enforce voting restrictions through a caucus that IT pays for rather than having taxpayers fund it.

* If tax dollars are used to fund a primary, you lose the high ground in any argument about allowing non-partisans to vote in party primaries.

* In addition, by switching to a primary the GOP would be forced to allow voters to vote by mail – which opens up a whole other can of worms.

* That said, one can’t help but suspect the real motivation behind the lawsuit is to tilt the selection process next year in favor of Donald Trump, who everyone knows is the candidate of choice by the leadership of the Nevada GOP but who lots of Democrats and independents loathe.

* If anyone doubts this is the motivation behind the lawsuit, ask yourself this: Why didn’t the party file this lawsuit the minute the new law was passed two years ago rather than wait until after Ron DeSantis officially entered the presidential contest?

* Final note…

* As you might recall, my new (used) car got totaled last October when a woman blew through a red light and t-boned me.

* Well, the accident claim has finally been partially settled, so I bought a new (used) car Monday afternoon.

* Oh, happy day!  What a pain in the tuckus trying to coordinate sharing my wife’s and daughter’s cars.

* The very next day I drove to lunch with a couple of gents on Gov. Lombardo’s political team.  I was on Cloud Nine.

* After lunch, I headed to the dealership to drop off the rest of my down payment, then over to pick up my settlement check.

* On the way, the AC stopped blowing cold air.  I glanced at the temperature gauge and it was in the red zone – which on cars, unlike elections, is a very, very, very bad thing.

* So I pulled off, let it cool down and headed back to the dealership.  They gave me a loaner car to use overnight until after they were able to check to see what was wrong.

* The next morning I was advised that it had blown the head gasket – whatever the heck that is – and needed to have the engine replaced.  I didn’t even have the thing for 24 hours!

*  So they cancelled the sale and refunded my money.  I found another new (used) car – a 2006 Lincoln Town Car with 121,000 miles on her – yesterday afternoon and am back on the road again.

* Fingers crossed.  So glad I’ve been luckier in marriage than I’ve been with cars!

* P.S.  Shout out to one of my new BFF’s.  He knows who he is even if the rest of you don’t. Thanks again for everything, Chad.

Muth’s Truths PLUS+

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FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“I don’t understand much about politics…” – Liberal blubber-blogger Jon Ralston, 1/2/20

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.

Disclaimer

This blog/website is written and paid for by…me, Chuck Muth, a United States citizen. I publish my opinions under the rights afforded me by the Creator and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution as adopted by our Founding Fathers on September 17, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania without registering with any government agency or filling out any freaking reports. And anyone who doesn’t like it can take it up with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and John Adams the next time you run into each other.

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