According to Ben Spillman’s “Political Eye” blog, Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, who is toying with entering the GOP primary race for the opportunity to take on Sen. Harry Reid next November, said, “I believe I can beat Sen. Reid. We need someone who can win.”
Um, excuse me. But polls have shown that almost ANYONE can beat Harry Reid….including the top three Republicans already in the race who didn’t have to be talked into it by John McCain and “elements” of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).
By the way, unless I’m terribly misinformed, didn’t John McCain lose big time in 2008? And didn’t the NRSC lose eight net seats, giving Harry Reid a veto-proof majority, in 2008? And now these same people are saying Brian Krolicki is the candidate who can win? And Nevada Republicans are supposed to buy it?
Haven’t seen the interview yet, but according to Jon Ralston’s Flash, Krolicki also slammed former Nevada governor and current Nevada Republican National Committeeman Bob List for telling the NRSC to stay out of Nevada’s U.S. Senate primary race, pointing out, according to Ralston, “that if List had his way, we would have Rudy Giuliani as president.”
Um, excuse me. But please explain how electing Republican Rudy Giuliani president instead of Socialist Barack Obama would have been a bad thing?
Meanwhile, Politico reports that in the third quarter of 2009, Sen. John Ensign spent all of $850 on his legal beagles over at Fish & Richardson, compared to a whopping $18,000 to the same firm in the fourth quarter. Gee, anyone wonder what that’s all about?
While a number of GOP federal candidates running to run against Harry Reid have announced how much money they raised in the fourth quarter of 2009, most have not yet reported on how much they spent and how much they still have in the bank. The Lowden campaign, however, told the Nevada News Bureau today that Sue Lowden will report having about $500,000 left of the approximately $800,000 she raised.
Can’t wait to see how much Danny Tarkanian and Sharron Angle still have in the kitty as the primary moves ever closer to the official starting line in March.
By the way, the Sun is reporting this afternoon that Lowden campaign is preparing to spend some of the booty on the GOP primary’s first television ads. “We have already cut ads and we intend to be on television very soon,” the campaign’s spokesman told reporter Lisa Mascaro. Let the air war begin!
Rob Lauer, Republican candidate for Congress in Nevada’s 3rd District, withdrew from that race today and threw his support behind fellow Republican candidate Joe Heck. Lauer also announced that he was now going to run for Secretary of State.
It’s estimated by some that if Nevada laid off 1,000 non-essential employees, it would cost that state about $1 million per month – which is supposedly the reason why the governor and legislators are hesitant to lay these people off. But wait a minute….
Let’s say those 1,000 non-essential employs earn an average of $50,000 a year – though I suspect it’s substantially higher if you factor in Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera’s salary. That means those 1,000 employees are currently costing the state $4 million a month.
Let’s see….$4 million a month vs. $1 million a month? Now, I know I went to publik skool for a few years, but I still think the net SAVINGS for Nevada taxpayers would be about $3 million per month. Let the pink slips fly!
“The Tea Party faction of the Clark County Republican Party is going rogue,” Amy Kingsley of CityLife reports. “In a meeting Wednesday night at the Clark County Library, members of the Nevada Action Coalition – which is not officially recognized by the county GOP – plotted a strategy for the upcoming election.
“The coalition plans to create its own slate of candidates, which it will support with its own phone banks and its own door knockers,” Kingsley continues. “They won’t be sharing these resources with the GOP, unless the party nominates candidates with the proper right-wing bonafides.”
So much for united we stand, huh?
Gov. Jim Gibbons sent out a fundraising appeal to supporters yesterday with a pretty compelling message:
There are those who “say” they can lead the state with Republican principles, but I am the only candidate who has proven that I have the leadership skills (to) guide Nevada through this tough time by fighting higher taxes and keeping government spending under control. That is the path to prepare our state for the recovery that will eventually arrive.
I would be proud to have your support for reelection. Nevada cannot afford to have someone at the helm without proven leadership during these challenging times. I do more than talk the talk. I have walked the walk, and my record proves it.
For limited-government, fiscally-conservative Republican primary voters….he has a point.
“So much for united we stand, huh?”
Chuck, what is wrong with only providing support to people with conservative bonafides? Isn’t that the only way we will get all of these damn RINOs out of out midst.
The thing everyone needs to understand is that politics isn’t a debating society. The political reality is that majorities get to lead, and moderates in *some* districts/states are necessary to attain a majority.
Scott Brown in Massachusetts is just one such example. Would you rather have the Democrat – and the super majority Harry Reid would have retained with her – or the moderate Republican?
Here are my two primary points about “moderate” Republicans.
1.) They should be welcomed and included from Democrat states/districts where a conservative Republican wouldn’t have a chance of winning.
2.) While moderates should have a seat at the GOP table, they shouldn’t be at the HEAD of the GOP table.
Republicans should challenge moderates in primaries in states/districts where a candidate doesn’t have to be a moderate to win the seat.
Finally, I draw a distiction between a moderate and a RINO. A RINO is a moderate who doesn’t just disagree with conservatives on a few issues, but who gives aid-and-comfort to the opposition or consistently undermines the party on key, critically important votes. Lincoln Chaffee and Arlen Specter were RINOs who should have been run out of the party a long time ago.
I don’t consider John McCain a RINO. But I do consider him a moderate on enough issues that he should be challenged in a primary since we know Arizona will elect conservative Republicans. On the other hand, the RINO Twin Sisters in Maine might be the best Republicans can hope for from that state…..unfortunately.
Chuck,
Your points are well taken. I will accept your distinction between moderates and RINOs readily enough. You also made enough valid points that I will accept your view that John McCain is not a RINO, though I personally believe him to be a liberal and unsuitable for office.
I do take issue with your notion that conservatives can not win in some states/districts. The truth is, conservatives CAN win all states. You used the RINOs in Maine as an example of Republicans having to settle for the “best” they can hope for. I beg to differ, if you look back over the last 20 years or so you see that conservatives can win in Maine. In fact, they only time Republicans have taken the state has been when they run conservatives.
We begin with 2008. McCain shares many aspects with Snowe and Collins, yet he got his snot knocked out of him in the state. He lost by 17%
Obama 57.71%
McCain 40.38%
In 2004 Bush also lost the state. Bush was not a conservative, not even close. But he didn’t stab the GOP in the back like McCain did. He lost the state by 9% which is quite a bit better than McCain managed.
Kerry 53.57%.
Bush 44.58%
In 2000 Bush ran as a “compassionate conservative” and lost the state to Gore. At first it seems like he only lost by 6%, but when you factor in that Nader was draining support from Gore in truth Bush lost by over 10%
Gore 49.09% + Nader 5.70% = 54.79%
Bush 43.97%
In 1996 good old “electable” Bob Dole ran. I remember people telling me during the primaries that we had to support him instead of Gramm or any of the conservatives in the race because he was a moderate with the best chance to beat Clinton. Dole lost by 20 points. Nuff said.
Clinton 51.62%
Dole 30.76%
In 1992 Bush senior tried to moderate his image (kind of like diluting water with more water) and lost the state to Clinton.
Clinton 38.77%
Bush 30.39%
In 1988 Bush ran as a conservative and carried the state.
Bush 55.34%
Dukakis 43.88%
In 1984, Reagan, certainly not a moderate, ABSOLUTELY not a RINO carried the state with 60% of the vote!
Reagan 60.83%
Mondale 38.78%
So riddle me this Batman. Why is that Maine, a state where the best Republicans can supposedly hope for are Snowe and Collins, only voted for the Republican presidential candidates when we ran solid conservatives. But when we ran moderates/liberals/RINOs like Snowe and Collins they rejected them?
The fact of the matter is that Republicans only get elected when he stick to our core values and conservative principles. Scott Brown won because he listened to the message that the tea partiers were sending to politicians and he wised up. This November the same thing is going to happen in Nevada. The candidate who actually stands up for the values that ordinary Americans are sending at tea parties across the nation will defeat Communist Reid and his far left agenda.
The conservatives are taking over. The RINOs like Dennis Nolan and Bill Raggio better watch out. A primary challenge and recall are coming along with their names on them.
Right-Winger,
Your logic is so specious I honestly do not know where to begin dismantling it.
Go leave your snide liberal remarks somewhere else.
Apples and oranges.
How so?