Today’s Dose of the Laxalt Laxative

(Chuck Muth) – Folks, I promise I’m going to get to the 3^rd Congressional District race, but this Adam Laxalt thing has blown up bigger than I saw coming.  Had no idea the depth and intensity of the discontent with him here in Nevada.  The latest…

Laxalt clearly got his knickers in a knot over Sunday’s Muth’s Truths column which reprinted several less-than-favorable (to say the least) emails I’d received about his candidacy for the GOP nomination next year in the U.S. Senate race.

And he apparently complained about it to Ric Grenell, one of President Donald Trump’s advisers.  In return, Mr. Grenell fired off a series of agitated emails to me this morning trying to bully me to stop saying the emperor has no clothes.

“These emails you are sending out are an attack on Donald Trump,” was his first shot across the bow at 6:06 a.m. this morning.

No, they’re not.  They’re criticisms of Laxalt as a candidate; criticisms that apparently hit a raw nerve with conservative Republicans here in Nevada.

Mr. Grenell’s emails then got progressively more hostile, threatening and insulting…

“Don’t be stupid. And don’t you dare think I’m stupid. The war has been launched by you.”

War?  Oh, puh-lease.  It’s a difference of opinion as to whether or not Laxalt is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

And while DC folks such as Mr. Grenell think he is, that sentiment simply isn’t shared by a wide range of Nevada conservative Republicans.

The prickly former ambassador then actually wrote the following…

“Grow up.  If you can’t take public criticism then don’t write publicly. This isnt China. You don’t get to be free of criticism.”

Are you kidding me?  Did he really write that?  Why, yes he did.

So *I* shouldn’t be “free of criticism” – which is true – but Laxalt should be?  Seriously?  Does this guy not see the raw hypocrisy in that statement?

And, by the way, why is Mr. Grenell fighting this fight for Laxalt?  Why isn’t Laxalt fighting his own battles?  I mean, if he can’t handle a little criticism from Nevada conservatives, how’s he ever gonna handle dealing with Chuck Schumer?

Now…

I remember the first time I heard Rush Limbaugh in the 1990s.  It was an awakening of sorts.

I suddenly realized I wasn’t alone in what I thought and believed about politics and policies.  Turned out there were a lot more of “me” than I thought.  And conservatives who had previously kept their opinions to themselves started speaking out openly after realizing they weren’t alone.

Well, apparently a similar dynamic has occurred when it comes to the opinions of a number of Nevada conservatives about Laxalt.  Here are some of the emails I received yesterday after the first “Laxalt Laxative” column went out…

• “It was interesting to read about the feedback you received regarding Adam Laxalt. I’m usually not big on venting my opinions in public, but I agree with most everything that your correspondents said. I’m glad that I’m not alone. … I have no intention of voting for Laxalt after the way he ran his campaign in 2018. If his name wasn’t Laxalt, he would never have been elected to anything.”

• “I agree with all those emails!!! How obvious can it get? Laxalt, Heller need to go. Give us someone who can win!!”

• “Chuck, Laxalt is a loser here in Northern Nevada. Everyone I talk to about him think that it would be a disaster to support him. I just think back to his inept campaign for Governor. It was pathetic and his team would not communicate with anyone. Thanks for shedding daylight on this loser.”

• “Chuck: I was very glad that you wrote that email. I agree with what you said and you laid out the facts very well.  I also agree with every comment from your readers.   Adam Laxalt is like a wet rag. … He has no fire in the belly.  He did a terrible job during that entire debacle of the election fraud. All talk, no substance. … I will vote for Brown over him.   No question.”

• “Chuck, I can’t disagree with the sentiments of those you posted. I know Masto and she has 100 times the personality of Laxalt.  I do prefer Brown for many reasons.  Laxalt is…running on a family name and just plain the wrong guy.”

• “No courage. Met him a number of times – no warmth. His Gov campaign was awful. He never talked in his commercials, instead letting his wife speak. … No juice. Can’t project a positive vision with authenticity. I hope he or (Sam) Brown wins in the general but totally uninspired by him, which is not a good starting point.”

• “I totally agree with everything said about Laxalt and ‘Never Trump’ Heller. … I know Adam personally and found it very difficult to vote for him. But I did because I vote the Republican ticket. As much as I miss Donald Trump, if he asked me personally to vote for Adam I would respectfully say no to Mr. Trump, unless it’s the General Election.”

• “For Laxalt, it is the wrong race and bad timing. He should have run for reelection in 2018, and would have won.  But his arrogance got in the way. On my ballot I will be leaving the US SENATE RACE blank next year.”

• “Obviously, Laxalt is going to have to grow a very large set and forcefully and unequivocally state his position and platform. Find a phone booth Adam, rip off the suit, and become a real fighting Superman… or go home!”

Look, I understand that President Trump has endorsed Laxalt.  But I also remember that he endorsed Dean Heller in 2018.  And how’d that work out for us?

Oh, yeah…we lost a U.S. Senate seat AND control of the U.S. Senate.  That wasn’t the President’s fault.  That was the fault of Mitch McConnell and the DC GOP “establishment” that forced Heller on us.

Which is EXACTLY what they’re trying to do again with Laxalt this time around.

Laxalt and Mr. Grenell can be mad at me all they want.  But they’re foolish to blame me for how so many conservatives feel about Laxalt.

I’M not the problem.  Adam’s performance as a candidate is.  And pretending the problem doesn’t exist and trying to shut me up won’t fix it.

Whining to Ric Grenell about me posting the opinions of Nevada conservatives doesn’t exactly demonstrate strength and confidence.  Adam needs to suck it up, put on his big boy pants, realize he has a problem…and stop trying to shoot the messenger.

As Captain Ramius said to Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October…

“Ryan, be careful what you shoot at, hm? Most things in here don’t react too well to bullets.”

If Laxalt and Mr. Grenell think I’m going to react well to threats, bullying and intimidation, then in the immortal words of Victor Maitland in Beverly Hills Cop…

“You don’t have the slightest f***ing idea who you are dealing with.”

Stay in your lane, Mr. Grenell.  Let us Nevadans worry about Nevada.

7 Worst Habits of Highly Unelectable People

1. Picking the wrong race
2. Picking the wrong district
3. Picking the wrong issues
4. Picking the wrong time
5. Picking the wrong consultants
6. Picking unnecessary fights with the media
7. Picking door-knocking over fundraising

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FAMOUS LAST WORDS

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Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views and blogs at MuthsTruths.com