First Principles

My latest piece for the RGJ is up.  This one is for all the discouraged Republicans out there who are tired of seeing headline after headline reporting the antics of a few incompetent loons.  Most opinion columns involve a lot of complaining, and so it’s nice when we have positive things about Republican control of […]

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My latest for the Reno Gazette-Journal is now up on line – please check it out!  I’m especially excited for this one, as it’s the first column that will go to print in the paper paper.  But even if you’re like me and prefer your pontifications in the form of pigment-stained dried pulp, please take […]

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Sadly, it seems clear from their actions that the answer is “no.”  Recently, Washoe County GOP Chair Dave Buell filed paperwork to make the Washoe County GOP a distinct entity from the State Party, disclaiming any intention to coordinate with or be controlled by the State.  While this Declaration of Independence has the advantage of […]

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When asking the question, “Is the Taxpayer Protection Pledge Conservative?”, once must first know what the pledge says, and know what we mean by “Conservative.”  I’ve written about the later for years, but if you need a review on my starting point, you can find it here. The short version, though, is that “Conservatives” are […]

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When it comes to political hot points in conservative political circles in Nevada, the Grover Norquist/Americans for Tax Reform “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” may be the most singularly significant.  It has become, for some, THE litmus test for who a “real” conservative is and isn’t.  But is that fair?  Does the pledge make sense politically, policy-wise, […]

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There was a lot of news today about the continuing implosion of the State GOP.  The Clark County (Vegas) Central Committee voted to condemn the RNC chair for (gasp!) supporting the (yes, “the”) Republican Presidential candidate, erroneously claiming rules were violated.  Outside conservative organizations like Americans for Prosperity are overtly announcing themselves as alternatives to […]

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I recently received an E-mail from a disaffected Ron Paul supporter that Nevada Paul Campaign Chair Carl Bunce recently sent out to his supporters.  The long and the short of it is that it’s a battle plan which encourages Paul folks to lie to pollsters to “fool” the Romney campaign, in order to make it […]

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Party That Allegedly Opposes Unethical Payoffs to Political Cronies With Taxpayer Dollars Elects Unethical Tax-dollar Wasting Crony “Capitalist” to Lead Party Taken in the kindest possible light, new GOP Chair Michael McDonald’s past and current “property development” activities proves that he’s all for government-forced redistribution of wealth.  A more honest assessment would be that he’s […]

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My friend Elizabeth Crum shared a press release the other day from the “Ron Paul Nevada Team,” bragging about their continuing “takeover” of the state Republican party.  I have to ask – what’s their point? Fortunately, like all would-be-tyrants, they’re pretty open about it: “Republicans understand Ron Paul is the only candidate who can challenge […]

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This weekend I attended the Washoe County Republican Convention, and I have to say it was the smoothest, best organized one I’ve ever been to yet.  Once again Dave Buell, the Washoe Party Chair, proved he knows how to plan, build a great team, and put on a tremendous event.  The turnout was phenomenal – […]

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HORATIO I saw him once; he was a goodly king. HAMLET He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again. Whenever someone of consequence to me shuffles off their mortal coil, this exchange from Hamlet always resonates with me.  And so it did with Bill Raggio, […]

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So much great stuff around the Silver State’s Intertubes (and beyond) today… ~~~ Attorney General Cortez-Masto says that the presence of a middle man cures otherwise Unconstitutional transfer of money from government to private industry.  Interesting. I really hope NPRI files a lawsuit over this, if for no other reason than I always get a […]

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Here’s a roundup of some of the happenings of Nevada’s blogosphere over the weekend, in case you were off having a life or something. ~~~ Will NPRI’s separation of powers lawsuit continue forward?  There are clearly grounds for moving forward, even if the original defendant is no longer directly impacted, and eventually, a sitting legislator […]

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Chuck Muth has responded to my last two posts in typical Muthian fashion.  In one, he and James Smack respond to my complaints about the new temporary chairman, with Smack by saying in essence (exactly as I predicted he would), “It’s not my fault! – I totally tried to do the right thing, but couldn’t […]

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So – Chuck Muth helped run Senator Elizabeth Halseth out of the Legislature by dragging her through the worst kind of tabloid mud on his various media outlets, and in doing so, made it orders of magnitude more difficult for the Republicans to take a majority in the state Senate.  Oh, and then he brags […]

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Or, How To Lose $100,000 For the Party You Want To Lead in a Single E-mail! Back in October, a small group of paranoid fools with their priorities completely out of whack “took over” the Nevada GOP by getting themselves elected to several key positions on the state Executive Board.  I wrote an incredibly frustrated […]

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In a word, no, in spite of ridiculous and baseless allegations from various folks, including these national Ron Paul folks who make the accusations pretty directly. I take these allegations a little personally, since I was in the counting room in Washoe County.  So let me just say for the record that in Washoe we […]

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Four years ago, I attended (and wrote about) my first caucus at Galena High School.  In spite of the chaos that marked most of the precinct meetings that year, I had a lot of fun.  Indeed – the reasons my precinct was successful that year when most of the others were a mess is that […]

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A reader recently E-mailed me with this question, and I thought the night before the Iowa caucus would be a time to reflect on it here. Is there a good “conservative” “Republican” in the race? As much as I’d like to think the guy currently in office is vulnerable, the Republicans seem to be trying […]

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If you’re a Republican living in Washoe County, be part of the conversation and the solution.  Register for the 2012 Caucus today!  Remember, the caucuses will be Saturday, February 4, 2012, with registration/check-in starting at 9:00 AM. All the info you need to learn about the caucus – your location, times, and how to conduct […]

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