Over the weekend there has been some speculation that it might be in the GOP’s best interest if Gov. Brian Sandoval appoints a “placeholder” to fill the vacancy created by Sen. John Ensign’s resignation rather than appoint the obvious choice, Rep. Dean Heller. The argument is that it would cost the state too much money to hold a special election and that a wide-open primary could allow the Democrats to win the seat.
This is absurd.
A House seat isn’t worth anywhere near a Senate seat. Appointing Heller (ACU Lifetime Rating: 89) makes it more likely that Heller will hold the seat in 2012 against Democrat candidate Rep. Shelley Berkley (ACU Lifetime Rating: 11), who otherwise holds a slight advantage in picking up the seat.
Weigh that against the worst-case scenario of the GOP losing CD2 in the special election in the fall. Should that happen, it’ll have zero impact on the GOP’s control of the House in Congress. And the Democrat winner would have to turn right around and hold the seat in this Republican district a year later….an uphill climb at best.
Who in their right mind would risk our U.S. Senate seat going to a hard-core liberal in a Democrat majority state rather than risk a lowly House seat going to a relative moderate northern Democrat in a Republican seat that the GOP could win back with relative ease?
The same numbskulls who cost us the chance to take out Harry Reid last year, that’s who.
According to the out-of-state political svengalis at Tea Party Express, Gov. Sandoval should appoint ex-Gov. Bob List or ex-Treasurer Bob Seale to hold the U.S. Senate seat until Shelley Berkley possibly wins it outright in 2012. Yeah, brilliant strategery fellas!
Tea Party Express stuck us with Sharron Angle last year – the only candidate who could have possibly lost to Harry Reid, and Harry Reid knew it. Which makes TPX nothing more than Harry Reid’s “useful idiot.” And now we’re supposed to take their advice and NOT appoint Dean Heller to John Ensign’s Senate seat? I don’t think so.
Hey, TPX…don’t call us; we’ll call you.
