A day after I criticized Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval last week for how little he has done to help Nevada GOP candidates and build the Nevada Republican Party, the Las Vegas Sun published a story headlined “Sandoval to step up efforts to help elect fellow Republicans.”
In the story, Sandoval claims “he has been active this campaign season.” As proof, the moderate, tax-hiking, ObamaCare-enabling Republican governor noted that he spoke at the GOP national convention in Tampa over a month ago and wrote a column defending the mining industry for the Elko Daily Free Press last week.
Wow. Really? All of that? How has he ever found time to run the government with such a plate-filled schedule of GOP-assisting campaign activities?
Seriously, though…the fact is you’ve rarely, if ever, seen the Republican governor on the campaign trail for Republican candidates this election cycle…especially in Clark County.
He’s made no public arguments on why voters should elect more Republicans to the Legislature this year. Or provided any kind of legislative agenda he wants legislative candidates to support in next year’s session…other than to raise taxes again by $600 million.
Sandoval’s not raising money for either the Nevada Republican Party or directly for GOP legislative candidates…instead downplaying/hiding what support he may be lending by laundering it through the caucuses or outside interest groups, including GOP party organizations from other states!
I kid you not. Last week I received a mailer urging my “household” to vote Republican. The mailer included an absentee ballot application. Guess who the mailer came from?
The COLORADO Republican Party!
And just yesterday I received two mailers – one telling me that Barack Obama wants to grow government, and the other another absentee ballot application.
Both from the IDAHO Republican Party.
Look, if Gov. Sandoval doesn’t want to expend any effort or treasure to help the Nevada Republican Party or Nevada GOP legislative candidates for his own purposes, fine. But don’t tinkle down our legs and tell us it’s raining by falsely claiming to be “Mr. Republican” on a campaign trail he’s never set foot on.
I just hope Nevada Republican activists, volunteers and donors remember this when Gov. Sandoval comes to them two years from now asking for their support, time and money for his own re-election. What goes around…
