Nevada Progressive

Is This for Real?

2012-02-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

– Trump told Daily Beast columnist Meghan McCain that Romney is “going to lose” because he can’t connect with voters. “No, he’s going to lose. He doesn’t resonate, you know? Or he would have won last time, in all fairness to your father! He was scheduled to win last time, and he didn’t because your father outdid him. You understand. I watched [Romney] make a speech, and it was all these little trivial statements.”

– Trump told CNN that Romney killed jobs at Bain Capital. “Mitt Romney is basically a small business guy.” “He walked away with some money from a very good company that he didn’t create. He worked there, he didn’t create. He would buy companies, he’d close companies, he’d get rid of jobs.”

– Trump slammed Romney’s record as governor on ABC. “If you look at his record as governor, it wasn’t totally stellar. His job production was not great at all. In fact, it was the third worst in the nation. There are some pretty negative things with respect to Mitt Romney, which frankly he’s going to have to overcome.”

Donald Trump is now endorsing Mitt Romney... After someone else told 8 News that he was about to endorse Newt Gingrich. Wow. What else can I say?

Oh, I know now... She's back!

And Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron is bestowing her crazy juice upon "Frothy" Ricky Santorum. He must be awfully proud.

And then, there's Ron Paul... And his always loyal supporters. Yes, believe it or not, this is what qualifies as "enthusiasm" in today's G-O-TEA here in Nevada. And no, they still don't want to "behave" and fall in line behind the eventual nominee.

And really, it may be more than just Ron Paul's people that give Republican bosses more headaches. As Mittens has tacked further and further and further to the radical right to win over the hearts and minds of G-O-TEA primary voters, his favorability numbers among the general electorate have dropped like a rock. And as the overall G-O-TEA numbers against President Obama worsen, party leaders must be freaking out.

And why shouldn't they? Donald Trump is stealing the headlines yet again. And Sharrontology still won't go away. And whenever Mittens does get the spotlight, he reminds us all why he's so proud of being "Mr. 1%". And in all the efforts to win over the TEA-nuts once and for all, the Republican Party continues to remake itself into a ridiculous circus that Nevadans, and other Americans throughout the country, just can't take seriously.

Wherein Nevada Is Positioned to Remain a "Blue State" in 2012, Part II

2012-02-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

Last October, I could already see the train wreck coming. And now, it's about to get awfully messy over here.

Ron Paul actually came here early yesterday to rally his base with more nonsensical rants against the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile in the other end of the valley, "Frothy" Ricky Santorum also came early to win over Sharrontology's true believers. The fireworks are already starting, and the crazy here is about to be turned up some more once Mittens and Newton finally come to town.

Believe it or not, there is plenty at stake here in The Silver State. Despite Romney winning Florida last night (ahem, with under 50% of the vote), the G-O-TEA primary race is still incredibly unsettled. And with expectations all over the place for Saturday, we don't really know what will ultimately be considered a true "Romney win".

However, we are starting to see how all this G-O-TEA madness will be coming back to bite them all this fall. This morning, Harry Reid, Richard Bryan, and Bob Miller penned this Las Vegas Sun op-ed detailing how Mittens' courtship with "Tea Party, Inc." has taken him, and the entire Republican Party, way out of the Nevada mainstream. Because Romney has worked overtime to compete with the other "clown car candidates" in pandering to the "tea party", he's sounding increasingly insane.

Oh yes, try telling this to poor folks here in Nevada. And try making sense of this.

Between his "blind trusts" that are not so "blind" after all, his extreme anti-immigrant rhetoric, his profits from home foreclosures amassing while he told us "not to try and stop the foreclosure process", his embrace of extreme homophobic bigots, and his unabashed celebration of his own status as "Mr. 1%", Mitt Romney is doing a great job in making himself unelectable. Don't believe me? Look at the numbers.

Nevadans are looking for a leader who's really interested in solving the problems we face. We need a leader who's willing to fight for an economy that's built to last, and one that works for everyone. And now, the big picture is starting to look clearer as we see the leader who's been here all along.

Barack Obama has been an extraordinary president. He works harder than anyone to advocate for the American worker, the American middle class and the American consumer. He has turned an economy bleeding 700,000 jobs a month at the time he took office to one that created 3.2 million private sector jobs in the last 22 months. He waged his presidency and all of his political capital for something he believed in and got done what other presidents - Democratic and Republican - have been talking about for over half a century: health care reform. He put forth the toughest set of regulations on Wall Street since the 1930s and created the first ever consumer watchdog agency at the federal level. He passed credit card reform and student loan reform.

He repealed the reprehensible policy that said one couldn't serve the country they love if the person they love happened to be of the wrong gender. He instituted equal pay for women and required hospitals to respect the committed relationships of same sex couples. He delivered the first tax cut for the working poor in memory in the form of a payroll tax cut. He almost singlehandedly rescued the American auto industry and saved a million jobs. He signed trade deals that will actually help American manufacturing and American jobs.

Oh, and he took out Osama bin Laden and crippled Al Qaeda. He engaged the world community in Libya, led a mission as part of NATO to aid the Libyan people free themselves. He ended the war in Iraq.

You want to know why Nevada will be a "Blue State" again this year? You need not look any further than the President... And the G-O-TEA buffoons who are (unintentionally) showing us why the President deserves reelection.

Sex, Lies, & City Hall: Local Scandal in Southern Nevada

2012-01-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

As early voting continues in the Las Vegas Ward 6 Recall Election, lurid allegations ("Sex! Drugs! Extortion! Fraud! Harassment!") continue to fly in Henderson's Kathleen Vermillion/Steve Sisolak scandal, and North Las Vegas struggles to shed its not-far-in-the-past image of corruption, dysfunction, and failure, challenges continue to pile up for local governments in Southern Nevada. Trust in local authorities seems to continually hit rock bottom as of late, and the cities here are trying everything possible to regain that trust.

So how can they? And should we give it back to them?

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Let's start in Henderson, the city where I live. Of all the cities in Southern Nevada, it's often said that Henderson is the best run of them all. And hey, who can justifiably dispute that after seeing that Henderson has found ways in the last 3 years to amicably settle contracts with city workers, keep all the city's parks and community centers open, and (again) recently rank as one of America's Safest Cities by Forbes (now up to #2!) and as one of America's 50 Best Cities by Bloomberg BusinessWeek (now at #38)? Considering all of Henderson's many accolades and glitzy awards, why does my hometown now look and feel like a politically charged remake of "sex, lies, and videotape"?

Let me try to explain. Since 2008, Vermillion's and Sisolak's relationship has been a factor in Henderson politics. Sisolak was elected County Commissioner in November 2008, and Vermillion (then known as Kathleen Boutin) was elected City Council Member in June 2009. They were to be "The Ultimate Power Couple". He was the "fiscally conservative watchdog taking on the firefighters" at the county level, while she was the beloved community leader in Henderson who was doing so much good for local teens in need. Everything seemed perfect...

But obviously behind the scenes, it wasn't. We've already been seeing the details behind the deterioration of their romantic relationship. However, that wasn't the end of it. Perhaps last year's jurisdiction battles and municipal elections were a sign of what's to come. Kathleen Vermillion voiced early support for the controversial plan to concretize part of Pittman Wash, while Steve Sisolak opposed it. And Sisolak backed the challengers to two of Vermillion's colleagues on the Henderson Council (Gerri Schroder in Ward 1, and Debra March in Ward 2) in last year's election. At one point, they were also endorsing opposing candidates in the Ward 4 election. (Vermillion endorsed Mike Mayberry early on before switching to "neutral" just before the runoff, while Sisolak endorsed Sam Bateman.) Honestly, I found it strange hearing him complain about the supposed "fiscal recklessness in Henderson" (which actually has the lowest city worker to resident ratio and the lowest property tax rate in the valley!) when his girlfriend was on the council.

But even now that Vermillion is off the council and the NPHY board, questions remain. How did Vermillion spend the money at her charity? How did Vermillion spend the city's tax dollars? Why is Clark County government now being dragged into this fiasco? Were city business and county affairs affected by Vermillion's and Sisolak's personal relationship? And perhaps most importantly, what can the City of Henderson do to ensure city government is not paralyzed by this kind of personal drama in the future?

As we had discussed last week, it's crucial for Henderson to move on from this hot mess and get back to governing. Without a doubt, the council members, and especially new Ward 3 Council Member John Marz, face a grueling challenge ahead in rebuilding trust with the community and assuring residents that the Vermillion-Sisolak scandal is one that isn't destined to be repeated in Henderson. How can they prevent this kind of personal drama from infecting all levels of local government in the future?

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Of course, Henderson isn't the only city in Southern Nevada facing lurid scandal. In Las Vegas, voters are still casting ballots that may determine not only Steve Ross' political future, but also how effective issues surrounding conflict of interest will be in shaping future campaigns.

Steve Ross has repeatedly been accused of being involved in all sorts of conflict of interest and ethics violations. He obviously hasn't been a model for great public service, and many residents are honestly (and IMHO justifiably) irked by this. However, many of these same residents are also wondering why they're voting on this recall today. Why?

Enter Joe Scala. Apparently Scala is still fuming over being denied a license to keep his car dealership in Centennial Hills open, and he's blaming it on Ross. So now Ross is accusing Byron Goynes, the one candidate who qualified to run against him in this recall election, of being "a puppet for Scala"... And he's even trying to tie Goynes and Scala to Henderson's Vermillion-Sisolak scandal by pointing out the recall committee hiring the same PR strategist (Mark Fierro) who's taken on Kathleen Vermillion as a client! Oh my, and the plot thickens.

Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out the whole point of this. No, I've never really been Steve Ross' biggest fan. I still wonder why he sought to earn Homophobic-Bigot-in-Chief Richard Ziser's endorsement when he ran for Las Vegas Mayor last year, and his stunning lack of knowledge on the big issues facing our country still disgusts me. However, I still can't clearly see the reason for this recall. Has Ross committed a crime? Is he egregiously failing in his duty on the council? And have his obvious public policy shortcomings become such a matter of emergency that Las Vegas can't wait one more year to vote him out (when he will again be up for reelection in Ward 6)?

Is this a genuine effort to clean house on the Las Vegas City Council? Or is this just an angry car dealer's vendetta being carried out on the taxpayers' dime?

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Well, at least Las Vegas doesn't have to worry about this. North Las Vegas was recently ranked as one of "The 10 Worst Run Cities in America". And considering the budget woes, the possibly continuing threat of state receivership and dissolution, the new city hall that many claim the city can't really afford, and the troubling thought that we may never know who really won in last year's disputed Ward 4 election, there's probably good justification for this finding.

"Nor'town" has continually tried for decades to shed its image as "the armpit of the valley". But now, Mayor Shari Buck claims all will finally be well... And that whoever disputes her sunny outlook is just out to steal North Las Vegas' land (and development potential). After all, 57% of Nor'town's land is still undeveloped. So perhaps there is some truth behind Buck's assertion that Las Vegas and Clark County are coveting Nor'town's available land?

Last June, I declared that there's something rotten in the state (really, city) of North Las Vegas. And despite (or maybe because of?) Shari Buck's efforts to turn all those frowns upside down, I still have to wonder where that stench is coming from (other than whatever's going on at that waste water treatment plant). Why is a new city hall open while parks and community centers have closed? What really needs to be done to change the city's image (other than glossing over the faults everyone else clearly notices)? And how can all that empty land be transformed into a vital part of the local economy?

Perhaps North Las Vegas' dilemma is the most basic and existential problem of them all. Really, how can North Las Vegas move forward?

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Certainly this year, the bulk of the media's attention will be turned to the hot, "sexy", top-of-the-ticket elections. After all, with the G-O-TEA clowns coming to town, there will be plenty of fodder for local newscasts and national cable news shows alike. But after all the hoopla of the caucus and fighting over who really won what, these local problems will remain. And really, the government we most often deal with is the local variety. Whenever we have problems with rowdy neighbors or pesky potholes or dilapidated parks or dangerous sidewalks, we go first to city hall.

And so far in this first month of 2012, we've had plenty of food for thought as personal drama got out of hand in Henderson, a recall election unleashed plenty of chaos in Las Vegas, and still unanswered questions of the city's viability in the not-so-distant future linger in North Las Vegas. How does local government address scandal? How can local government try to prevent scandals from ruining its reputation? And how can local government heal rifts with the community after scandals come and go?

Local government theoretically should be the government that we trust the most and hesitate the least over engaging. Yet for some time, a combination of the public's misperceptions and genuine scandals has tarnished our cities' reputations and made folks ask what's really going on at city hall. Going forward, Henderson, Las Vegas, and North Las Vegas all have to face their own respective challenges in restoring trust and giving the people of Southern Nevada reason to believe that past sordid tales of corruption really are a thing of the past.

So Now We Matter?

2012-01-31T08:45:00.000-08:00

I guess it's official now. Ralston says "we matter" again, so now we matter. But wait, we're not quite done with Florida yet!

And despite Florida's results starting to look and feel like a foregone conclusion, there may yet be intrigue ahead as all this election year madness comes to our own backyard. After all, Republican primary voters still don't like Mitt Romney. And as long as they don't like Romney and keep flirting with the other candidates, this process may yet stretch out for a while.

Here's Rachel Maddow explaining why she's actually excited about our G-O-TEA Caucus fast approaching.

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Now there are plenty of doubts that Newt Gingrich really has the kind of infrastructure he needs to keep his campaign going through this spring, but how much does that really matter? If Mittens keeps spending all his millions to continue "winning" with far less than 50% of the vote, then can he really wrap up the nomination soon?

And don't forget, there's another factor here. Ron Paul has been spending almost as much on TV ads as Romney, and he does have a strong organization here. This is part of his "Caucus Plan" to amass delegates in inexpensive caucus states (like ours) instead of trying to compete in big primary states (like Florida) with pricey media markets. Can Ron Paul actually win the Caucus this Saturday? Or at the very least, can he pull enough support to force Romney's campaign to spin another 30-40% finish as a "convincing victory!"?

Whatever the case, the media are declaring that "we matter" again. So I guess we should celebrate this circus coming back to town for the next 100 hours?

Has Southern Nevada Been Shortchanged?

2012-01-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

Today, KNPR's "State of Nevada" touched the issues that are always on our minds... Even if it sometimes feels like they are never really part of our agenda:

- Are we really investing too little in public education?

- Just how over-dependent are we on tourism?

- What must we do to diversify our economy?

Oh yes, and...

- Considering Clark County pays for over 80% of the State of Nevada's budget and is home to over 70% of the state's population, do we really get our state tax dollars' worth?

Last November, UNLV Brookings Mountain West released this paper discussing the challenges that lie ahead for Nevada's economy. But as usual, after about 24 hours of pointing out its existence, this was quickly forgotten. It seemed like that was regularly the case throughout 2011, despite the growing mountain of evidence showing Nevada must change in order to survive in the 21st century. And already one month into 2012, the Nevada Cancer Institute is being swallowed up by a CALIFORNIA college, and hardly anyone raises an eyebrow.

How many more times must reality bite us in the ass before we realize our collective Nevadan ass is bleeding so profusely that our underwear is being dyed red?

In case you missed it last week, I want to show you what Desert Beacon wrote last week that explains Nevada's economic conundrum in a nutshell. We've been underfunding higher education for far too long, and this problem only continues to worsen as we continue to force UNLV and UNR to cut investment even more. Yet when we look at our most promising areas for economic growth, they're areas that require an educated workforce. We have plenty of growth potential in high tech (especially when it comes to green technology), as well as in biotech & medical research, but we're cutting the very programs at our institutions of higher learning that could give us a much needed leg up in these sectors.

Just last week, The Sun posted an article detailing how UNLV has lost both faculty and students in the last three years "thanks" to state budget cuts. How much more of this can we handle?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Tourism alone can no longer save us.

What makes this even worse is that over many years and many legislative sessions, "the powers that be" in this state have mostly looked the other way despite all the growing evidence pointing to these serious problems. "The Great 2000s Real Estate Bubble" was always doomed to burst, but hardly anyone in Carson City wanted to talk about how to get past it until it was too late. Of course, they probably didn't want to talk about it because the bulk of the state's budget was built upon the bubble, and that everything from fire stations in Tonopah to community centers in Eureka to freeway projects in and around Reno depended on tourist dollars from the Las Vegas Strip. And even as the state had been able to fund some public infrastructure in Central and Northern Nevada thanks to "bubble" money from the last decade, Clark County still lacks sufficient higher ed opportunities at UNLV, sufficient health care, and plenty other areas of infrastructure that are critical to a successful community. Strangely enough, money from the primary economic engine of Nevada (Clark County) hasn't been used to properly maintain that engine. And because that engine has been neglected, the entire vehicle (Nevada) is in trouble.

And this brings us back to Dr. Robert Lang's segment on KNPR's "State of Nevada" this morning. The typical "powers that be" in Carson City have failed the entire state, but especially Southern Nevada has been neglected, and that's ultimately been to the detriment of everyone in Nevada. As this election season heats up and we eventually hear candidates talk about what they want to do in Carson City next year, we need to make sure that they follow through on their promises once elected, and that they finally stop avoiding what has to be done to heal our state and let Las Vegas become more self-sufficient.

It's Time for Nevada's Mayors to Do the Right Thing

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

Recently, a huge, pan-partisan national coalition of mayors (of cities both big and small!) from all over the country joined with Freedom to Marry to launch Mayors for the Freedom to Marry and demand the end of marriage discrimination at all levels of government. But take a closer look at that list, and one notices a glaring omission. For some reason, no Mayor of any Nevada city is on this list.

Nevada Stonewall Democratic Caucus Chair Derek Washington penned an op-ed for QVegas over the weekend to specifically ask why the Mayor of Nevada's most famous and most populous city has so far refused to join the Mayors for the Freedom to Marry coalition. Considering the huge potential for increased tourism (and economic benefit) for Southern Nevada, why won't Carolyn Goodman even talk about this?

What makes this even weirder is that this shouldn't really be a "controversial" issue any more. Both of Carolyn Goodman's most recent predecessors as Las Vegas Mayor, Jan Laverty Jones (D) and Oscar Goodman (I) (who, by the way, is also Carolyn's husband), endorsed civil marriage equality during their respective tenures as Mayor. And statewide, Public Policy Polling found last August that a growing plurality of Nevadans support marriage equality. I'm sure support is even higher in the City of Las Vegas, so I'm quite perplexed that Carolyn Goodman still won't endorse civil marriage equality.

As we (and The Reno Gazette-Journal) have talked about before, domestic partnerships are better than nothing... But they are still no substitute for the real deal. There are over 1,100 federal rights, benefits, and responsibilities given to married couples that LGBTQ families can not access. In addition, there are still many aspects of Nevada law where LGBQT families must still be subjected to unequal treatment because of the Question 2 state marriage ban. Question 2 continues to harm local families who just want the same treatment everyone else expects, and it continues to harm efforts to bring in more domestic and international tourists because discrimination just doesn't fit in with the message of "freedom" we use when marketing to them.

Again, this really shouldn't be "controversial" any more. Supporting civil marriage equality is simply a good business decision for Nevada. And regardless of whether or not Carolyn Goodman finally realizes this, her inaction should not stop Nevada's other big city mayors from taking action. Andy Hafen (D-Henderson), Shari Buck (R-North Las Vegas), Bob Cashell (R-Reno), and Geno Martini (R-Sparks), we're all waiting for you to fill this void and fill it soon. If we really want to treat all our citizens equally and discover new business opportunities for our communities, we need to fix this error and make civil marriage equality a reality here in Nevada. And we need for our local mayors to seize this opportunity to speak up and make it happen.

Do We Really Bowl Alone?

2012-01-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

17 years ago, Dr. Robert Putnam suggested that America was losing the key to our past greatness. Specifically, he felt that we were losing "social capital" as communities built upon in-person social intercourse were being replaced by human islands isolated from each other by "individualizing" technology, such as TV, video games, and the internet. He (in)famously argued this case in his 1995 essay, which later became a full book in 2000, Bowling Alone.

Sometimes, it seems like Putnam may be right. As we spend more and more of our time plugged in and online, it's easy to feel less connected to the world outside... Especially in regards to the neighborhood just beyond one's own back yard. And when one thinks about the consequences of this disconnect, it becomes quite a scary thought...

But what if this isn't true? Earlier this month, there was huge uproar over SOPA and PIPA that led several internet communities to "strike back" and essentially force Congress to drop the (supposed) anti-piracy legislation (at least for now). And in the wake of that, there was actually a very interesting discussion on MSNBC about the new forms of social capital started by Dr. Melissa Harris Perry.

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Perhaps Putnam is wrong, and social capital in America really isn't dead. After all, look at Facebook. Look at Twitter. Look at YouTube, and UStream, and social gaming sites. Look more closely at the internet, and notice the new home of social capital.

I can personally attest to the value of this new social capital. In the last week, I had a problem at home mushroom into a personal crisis. What had been a water heater that busted was quickly turning into a fiasco that put my very home and personal freedom in jeopardy. I was losing a whole lot of sleep this past week, and I was seriously nearing my wit's end.

So what was I to do? Sure, I made some calls. I contacted family members, and a couple of them offered help. But ultimately, it was when I reached out to "my family" on Facebook that I found an outpouring of concern, support, and ultimately critical help that diffused this personal life crisis. (Yes, you know who you are... And you're always more than welcome to take a bow and remind me why you light up my life.) ;-)

Some may look at web sites like Facebook and YouTube and see a bunch of silly people doing silly things, but I see more than just that. I see life lines. I see kids at risk of suicide whose lives are saved. I see folks who may otherwise feel isolated in "Rural America" find communities that they never knew existed. And I see new forms of social capital emerge to breathe new life into our fragile democracy.

As you know, it's not that often that I turn this much to personal issues, but I do have a point here that will take us back to the bigger picture. In the next 9 months, we'll probably hear from plenty of big media pundits about how new technology changes the dynamics of this upcoming election. The Nevada GOP finally did something right in agreeing to post caucus results on Twitter. Campaigns will be relying more on YouTube to release "viral videos" that allow for less expensive advertising. And volunteers will be corralled more via sophisticated social media venues, like the platform emerging at President Obama's web site, in a more effective manner than ever once just imaginable.

However, there's more. There's far more value to social media and the reemergence of social capital than most had originally thought. Perhaps instead of dividing and isolating us, new technology is allowing us to build new communities and rediscover the value of civic engagement. And perhaps instead of worrying about how the internet is making us lose what we liked about our country, we can use the power of the internet to make our country even better.

2012: The #Occupy Election?

2012-01-27T08:02:00.000-08:00

Last fall, attention quickly turned to the Occupy Wall Street protest/encampment that (at least temporarily) radically reshaped civic life in Lower Manhattan... And then the thousands of supportive Occupy protests that arose all over the country. Soon, we were talking about "The American Autumn". And then, all of a sudden, by November they seemed to lose steam and close up shop (either due to inclement wintry weather or by police force). At the end of last year, I was wondering how #Occupy would reemerge in 2012.

Now, we have our answer.

Inequality. Fairness. Cracking down on CEOs. These could be hand-painted slogans on Occupy movement signs.

Or they could be the takeaways from President Obama’s latest State of the Union address and his subsequent tour across several swing states. In yet another sign that the Occupy movement’s call for a focus on the income gap has solidified Democratic messaging, the President’s first big political moment of 2012 has a decidedly Occupy Wall Street tinge. [...]

“I think you can empirically say that [Occupy] has brought the issue of income inequality and basic fairness into focus in a way nothing else had for a long time,” the strategist said. “But as for the President, he has been saying the same things about fairness and rules of the road that everyone has to follow, for a long time.”

Think about it. Especially since last fall, President Obama has been talking more about economic inequality. And this subject has become front and center on voters' minds. And progressives finally seems to have a common theme to rally around.

Oh yes, and it also helps that as Democrats have (re)discovered the message of the 99%, the G-O-TEA has embraced the "mystique" of the top 1%.

Furthermore, there’s an increasing focal point for these messages: Mitt Romney. True, the polls done on Newt Gingrich’s negatives are such that most Dems go to bed at night dreaming of running against the former House Speaker. However, in their heart of hearts most believe it’s just not going to happen, and that Romney will emerge as the nominee. Even a few months ago that thought caused some to tremble: after all, at that point Romney’s path to the nomination apparently ran through taking down Rick Perry and his tea partying talk on Social Security, then presenting himself to the public as the moderate who’d taken on the extremists within his party and won. As it panned out, Romney’s had to run increasingly to the right, and the fact that he tallies so perfectly with OWS’s messages about economic unfairness is the icing on the cake. Don’t expect to see Democratic bigwigs donning Guy Fawkes masks, but do expect to hear their rhetoric draw nearer to that of the protestors.

Remember this?

And remember: Mitt Romney said that while he was here in Nevada to pander to TEA-nut extremists.

And especially as 2012 has begun, Mittens keeps reminding us why he's "Mr. 1%". Even his fellow G-O-TEA contenders are using matters of economic justice to attack Mittens!

Perhaps Occupiers weren't able to convince the Reno City Council to pass their resolution rebuking Citizens United, but they may end up influencing something far bigger: this year's Presidential Election. Again, matters of economic justice are now at the forefront of national discussion. And especially here in Nevada, we need answers on these questions. And at least thanks in part to The 99% Movement pushing to redirect focus onto economic inequality and economic justice, we may finally get them.

Coming This Weekend...

2012-01-26T14:52:00.000-08:00

- We'll be talking more about President Obama's energy plan and what it means for Nevada.

- We'll also turn back to local issues as we further examine the red-hot scandal that caused this week's Henderson Ward 3 appointment, as well as the Las Vegas Ward 6 recall election, where early voting is already underway.

- With the Occupy Reno camp site shutting down and the Reno City Council rejecting their anti-corporate-personhood resolution, what's next for "The 99% Movement" here in Nevada?

- And as news continues to break, we'll be on it. Happy weekend, everyone.

Obama's Back in Vegas

2012-01-26T07:45:00.000-08:00

So the President is here. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (I) greeted him at McCarran Airport last night. And despite her husband not always giving President Obama a warm welcome, she obviously displayed far better manners than Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R-WTF??!!).

Goodman briefly discussed housing with Obama last night after HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan came to town to discuss new relief efforts for distressed homeowners that the President announced in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday. Apparently, more details will be coming soon... And local officials can hardly wait for that.

Later today, President Obama will be pivoting to matters of energy security and efficiency when he visits UPS' Las Vegas hub near McCarran this afternoon.

The president’s energy plan, which he introduced in Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, has three core components: the safe and responsible development of oil and gas, the creation of clean-energy jobs in the U.S., and increasing energy efficiency, with a special focus on the industrial sector.

That begins at the UPS facility in Las Vegas. The company, in cooperation with local governments and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, won a $5.6 million cost-share investment through the stimulus bill to purchase a fleet of trucks that could run on liquefied natural gas (LNG is a cleaner-burning fuel than regular gas or diesel) and construct a publicly accessible LNG refueling station — the first of its kind in the country.

The natural gas-fueled corridor allows UPS to move merchandise through more energy-efficient engines from Long Beach, Calif., to Salt Lake City, according to senior White House advisers.

It’s a model the president wants to replicate in other areas of the country as well, primarily by upping the incentives to get the country’s transport vehicles off gasoline.

Natural gas has become a focus of this administration, as well as lawmakers and energy advocates of all political stripes, not only because it burns about 30 percent cleaner than petroleum products, but also because it’s far more plentiful than oil in the United States. And, it’s cheaper.

The president aims to begin raising consumption of natural gas by encouraging companies to invest in trucks that run on natural gas with a tax credit, equivalent to about 50 percent of the cost difference between trucks that have engines that run on natural gas versus the standard diesel engine. Implementing such tax credits, senior White House advisers admitted, would require an act of Congress.

As we discussed on Tuesday, natural gas offers opportunities for cheaper, cleaner, and more domestically sourced fuel. Again, natural gas isn't without its own set of problems. But considering its availability and it not being as dirty as traditional oil or coal, it can be useful as a "transition tool" while we're still finding more ways to use renewables.

And of course, there's the possibility of more job creation out of this. And along with housing, jobs is the other big issue Nevadans want to hear about. We'll have to see how Obama threads it all together in his speech this afternoon.

#SOTU2012 in Las Vegas

2012-01-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

Last night's State of the Union speech was quite the event... But Washington wasn't the only city where fireworks were flying. I was at the Clark County Democratic Party's and Nevada Stonewall Democrats' State of the Union watch party in Downtown Las Vegas. So was Fox 5.

And as you can tell, local Republicans here were upset. OK. What else is new?

Take a look at the photos here. The crowd Downtown clearly wasn't upset. Clearly, the folks inside were fired up and ready to go!

Actually, the excitement began on Saturday, when over 12,000 Democrats caucused. And considering this was technically uncontested (President Obama won over 98% of delegates available), it's quite impressive compared to both the Republican (which was also uncontested) AND Democratic (which WAS contested!) Caucuses of 2004. The base turned out, and the base is getting excited.

And plenty of local Democratic luminaries turned out for the festivities. NV-01 candidate Dina Titus, SD 11 candidate Aaron Ford, AD 21 candidate Steve Parke, Las Vegas Municipal Judge candidate Jerry Tao, and Nevada State Democratic Party Executive Director Zach Zaragoza were among the heavy hitters who joined Clark County Democratic leaders and Stonewall members for this special event. But again, look at the above video and photos. The room wasn't mostly full of politicians. The room was filled with everyday grassroots activists who truly breathe life into the party.

And that's what made last night extra special.

Taxing Times

2012-01-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

He definitely went there last night.

Romney has raised eyebrows for opposing the auto-industry bailout. In his address, Obama chided, “[s]ome even said we should let it die.” This is largely true of many Republicans in Congress, who could not bring themselves to applaud a proposal to reverse tax incentives that encourage outsourcing and discourage repatriating jobs to the U.S.

Where Romney has called for allowing the foreclosure crisis to run its course, Obama said that “responsible homeowners shouldn’t have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief,” before introducing a mortgage modification plan to Congress that will give “every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year…by refinancing at historically low interest rates,” which was met with silence by the GOP.

Perhaps most famously, Romney has suggested that public appeals for addressing inequality and bringing equity to the tax code evince envy on the part of advocates who have pressed those issues into the national dialogue.

“When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich,” Obama retorted. “It’s because they understand that when I get tax breaks I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference - like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet.”

All in all, President Obama laid out an aggressive vision of progressive solutions for America. He wants to ensure the super-rich who earn over $1,000,000 a year pay at least 30% income tax. (Remember, Mitt Romney paid only 13.9% on his $21.6 million in 2010 income!) He also proposed eliminating tax breaks for shutting down US factories, renewing investment in clean energy, making mortgage refinancing more accessible to more distressed homeowners, making college more affordable to more students, and even more. And by reforming the broken tax code and ending the wars we've been mired in the last decade (Iraq is over, and hopefully Afghanistan will end soon), we can easily afford this.

Last night, the President made an important point. When the super-rich, like Mitt Romney, avoid paying the taxes they're supposed to be paying, they're essentially stealing from America. When Mitt Romney hides some of his money in Swiss bank accounts to avoid paying taxes, he's taking away from seniors trying to pay for their prescription drugs. When Mitt Romney throws some of his money into investment funds based in the Cayman Islands, he's taking away from college students trying to keep up with their tuition. And when Mitt Romney tries to hide behind capital gains tax rates that allow him and other super-rich folks to pay less in income taxes than struggling formerly middle class families, he's taking away from those families as they're doing everything possible to stay afloat.

Take another look at what the President said last night.

Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes…Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.

We don’t begrudge financial success in this country. We admire it. When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich. It’s because they understand that when I get tax breaks I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference – like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet. That’s not right. Americans know it’s not right.

It's not right... But it's not stopping the G-O-TEA from continuing to make excuses for it. Yet no matter how much Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich try to paper over their "legal" tax evasion, it's nonetheless tax evasion that takes away from what makes America great. It's about time we do something to fix this. We can't wait any more.

#SOTU2012 Liveblog

2012-01-24T17:10:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I'll be liveblogging President Obama's State of the Union speech, as well as all the G-O-TEA response(s) and all the media spin. And tonight, Obama will be drawing clear distinctions from the G-O-TEA religion of Milton Friedman laissez faire run amok.

"It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody."

Obama will describe what he calls a blueprint for an American economy "that's built to last," based on four main themes: a focus on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and what Obama calls a "return to American values – of fairness for all, and responsibility from all."

In a message tailored to his reelection pitch, he'll contrast that vision with a recent history in which he said the economy was "weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits."

"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules," he will say. "What's at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them."

I'm really looking forward to this. Stay tuned for more to come.

5:15 PM-

Here's something that will help in drawing clear distinctions. While Obama "insists on responsibility from everybody", Mittens is actually trying to draw up sympathy for the big banks that caused the financial crisis and escalated The Great Recession. Is he for real? Well, he was the one who said this.

As we discussed back in October...

Are underwater homeowners to blame for deregulating Wall Street, allowing banks to create and advertise "No Down Payment! Interest Only! Record Low Rates! Buy Now!" adjustable rate mortgages, then repackage and sell this bad debt as "AAA gold standard mortgage backed securities!"? Are underwater homeowners to blame for the enormous lack of regulatory oversight of the financial sector that reached its horrifying climax in the 2008 economic collapse? So why are underwater homeowners expected by the likes of Mitt Romney to "SUCK IT UP!" when Wall Street "21st century robber barons" are the chief culprits behind this fiasco? [...]

If we follow Mitt Romney's advice to "let it run its course and hit the bottom", our economy will be in an even deeper hole that will be even more difficult to escape from. Housing has nearly always been the starting force in turning an economy from recession to recovery. So how do our communities benefit from empty homes? And yes, Romney's "do nothing and let the banks foreclose" policy prescription would lead to even more empty homes if implemented. And this leads to a "domino effect" of depressed home values, scared consumers, fewer home goods purchases, less construction, and fewer jobs. Properly addressing the home foreclosure crisis is not about "re-inflating the bubble", but rather restarting the economy.

Funny enough, President Obama will be announcing tonight the creation of a new Mortgage Crisis Unit that will investigate criminal misconduct that led to the financial crisis and housing collapse. Again, the contrast couldn't be any clearer.

6:15 PM-

I'm now at the Stonewall watch party. Big crowd here! I'll have more on that later.

But for now, I will talk about what Obama is saying. He started his speech by highlighting his foreign policy achievements. Amer
ica is now out of Iraq, Osama bin Laden is dead, al-Qaeda is weak, and the Middle East is transforming for the freer and better.

He's now pivoting to the economy. And yes, he's really hitting hard on the theme of restoring economic justice and working toward equality. He's noting his success in job creation, as well as his leading the way to rein in Wall Street's excesses.

Oh, and here's the "fight obstruction with action" line. It's getting HUGE applause in the room. He doesn't even have to call out John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitt Romney, or Newt Gingrich by name. He's slashing apart their G-O-TEA religion quite well right now. He's highlighting the resurrection of the US auto industry. And he's about to talk about renewable energy successes. He said that we bet on American workers, and that the bet is paying off.

So far, so great.

6:30 PM-

Hmmm... President Obama is now announcing a trade enforcement unit. Funny enough, this will please both unions concerned about unfair trade practices... As well as Hollywood studios who were pissed over the loss of SOPA & PIPA. And seriously, we can't just continue to let vulture capitalists run roughshod over us.

And speaking more on that, Obama also rolled out an aggressive plan to reform the corporate tax code. He wants to expand breaks to small businesses and high-tech firms that manufacture here while taking a harder line on "legal" tax cheats. Sorry, Mitt Romney. I guess that's why Joe Heck looked so angry when the camera cut to him?

He's now talking education. Obama is explaining how educational opportunities can lift students out of poverty. He also spoke up for teachers. He sounds ready to end the ridiculous failed experiment known as "No Child Left Behind". Yes! We need real teaching, not training for standardized tests.

6:40 PM-

Obama stressed the need to make college more affordable. He even threatened to cut funding to schools that are making their tuition too unaffordable! Wow.

He then brought up comprehensive immigration reform. Wow. He went there. He's really shaming Congress!

He's again bringing up the need to invest in innovation. We really can't continue to shortchange our future.We have to fund research.

Now Obama is talking energy. He mentioned his willingness to allow for more oil drilling in some areas, but then he pivoted to cleaner energy. Here's where natural gas comes in. Apparently he's willing to regulate fracking, but he definitely sounds open to more natural gas development.

And now, Obama is talking real renewable energy. He's now reminding America that renewable energy investments mean real job creation. He refuted the far right's Solyndra nonsense with real examples of real job creation. We've subsidized fossil fuel for far enough. If we want a real "free marketplace", then it's time to level the playing field for green energy.

Oh, and now he's announcing that both the Pentagon and public lands will be going all in on renewable development! Again, it's time to act.

6:55 PM-

And here's what we've been waiting all night for. Obama is now hitting hard on economic inequality... And on the tax code. He doesn't have to name Mitt Romney to point out his tax evasion. He's now explaining how Mitt Romney's 14% tax rate on his $21,000,000 annual income adds to the deficit and takes away from students struggling to stay in college, and from seniors trying to pay for their prescription drugs. Ha. Mittens won't get away with this any longer!

7:10 PM-

For a moment, we heard some of the Barack Obama we came to know in 2007. He talked again about the biting partisan tone of Washington. He asked Congress to stop fighting each other to death and start working together. That may really be harder said than done.

And now, Obama turns back to foreign policy. Libya. Egypt. Syria. "Tyranny is no match for liberty." The Arab Spring is here to stay. The world is finally reaching accord on what to do about Iran. Obama continues to remind us of how he's done a total 189 on foreign policy once he took over from Bush... And that America and the world are all the better for it.

7:20 PM-

HA! Obama just stated America is NOT in decline, and that our position on the world stage is better than ever. For all the Republican bluster of "America first", they now sound like the "America haters" they always accused progressives of. He just turned the patriotism argument on its head.

State of Our Union... In Motion

2012-01-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we'll be watching what may be the most critical moment of 2012.

And then tomorrow, the President arrives here. And on Thursday, he'll be giving a speech on energy. However, don't expect another talk in front of a solar power plant.

A look at the president’s detailed travel schedule reveals a few clues about the specifics he might be getting into — at least enough for one good guess.

In Nevada, conversations about investing in energy usually revolve around geothermal power or solar panels. But Obama is not coming to Nevada to talk at a power plant in the desert.

Obama arrives in Las Vegas Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, he is delivering public remarks at the United Parcel Service Las Vegas South facility.

Last year, UPS announced it had contracted with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to roll out a fleet of 48 liquefied natural gas-fueled transport trucks at a new LNG [liquefied natural gas] fueling station. The initial contract, set for seven years, started in 2011.

So what is this about? Clean Energy Fuels started opening LNG fueling stations in Southern Nevada last year. Now there are four stations here in the valley. And last year, UPS began replacing its older diesel trucks with LNG powered trucks.

And while there are still clear environmental risks with LNG fuel, it is much cleaner than any other fossil fuel, it is more readily available domestically (so not as much need to import, unlike oil), and it may even be cheaper than traditional crude oil based gasoline. It may not be a good idea to declare natural gas a panacea, but it may be useful as a "transitional fuel" while research continues on more ways to harness renewable energy. And considering all the jobs that are being created as companies like UPS switch their vehicles from traditional gas or diesel to LNG, this can certainly provide a much needed boost to the economy.

So again, President Obama is looking ahead to future opportunities to create more American jobs while also doing something serious about climate change. We've recently regained the title of top global investor in clean energy, and there's plenty more economic benefit to investing in our future.

But of course, the G-O-TEA fools running against Obama just don't get it. What are their proposals to cut greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs? They don't have any. In fact, they'd rather conspire with lobbyists from foreign oil conglomerates to increase their profits than do something to help American workers looking for good American jobs!

Of course, we've seen for ourselves what the likes of API do to try to confuse us about climate change and smart energy solutions. So hopefully this week, Nevadans will be able to see for themselves who's looking forward to smart energy saving and economy boosting solutions... And who's just pitifully stuck in reverse.

Anatomy of an Appointment

2012-01-24T07:17:00.000-08:00

about 21 minutes ago

Inside #Henderson #Nevada council chamber #nvpolitics #nvp2 #fb

Last night, the Henderson City Council had a crucial decision to make. The Ward 3 seat had become vacant when incumbent Council Member Kathleen Vermillion (formerly Boutin) suddenly resigned. This news was first greeted by plenty of shock all over Henderson... Only for constituents to then be shocked by the torrent of salacious details of the romantic relationship between Vermillion and Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak (D-Henderson), then the accusations that Vermillion committed fraud and improperly used city and charity money for her own personal gain (she's the CEO of Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth). And now, as Kathleen Vermillion is suing Steve Sisolak, he's firing back and presenting evidence that he says shows her law suit is baseless and frivolous... And he's now claiming she tried to extort a whopping $3.9 million from him.

And while the Vermillion scandal continued to deepen, the rest of the Henderson Council had to decide upon a replacement for Ward 3. Ward 4 Council Member Sam Bateman had proposed a special election, but the rest of the council ultimately decided to appoint a replacement. And from there, the City Clerk collected applications from 14 Henderson Ward 3 residents vying to fill this vacancy. And among the 14 candidates, two in particular caught plenty of attention: Sean Fellows, Vermillion's appointment to the Planning Commission, the Republican nominee who ran against now Nevada Assembly Member April Mastroluca (D-Henderson) in the 29th District in 2008, and someone with close ties to Nevada GOP power player Ryan Erwin; and Cathy Rosenfield, who had previously served on the Parks and Recreation Board for a decade and ran against Vermillion in the 2009 Ward 3 council election (and received over 7,000 votes). With the background of scandal and two local political heavyweights emerging to fill this position, a real battle royale was brewing here in Henderson.

Yet last night, a wild card emerged that shattered many observers' expectations of what was to ensue at the Henderson Council Meeting to fill the Ward 3 vacancy. Henderson Planning Commissioner John Marz was another of the 14 applicants, and he really distinguished himself during question time. Unlike most of the other applicants, Marz was able to explain in depth the problems Henderson, and specifically Ward 3, face. He spoke about retail vacancies, home foreclosures, the pending Science Center and Union Village developments near The Galleria, and how his business experience can help him build consensus on the council to solve the problems the bad economy showered upon Henderson.

Oh, and then Marz dropped a bombshell. He promised not to run for a full term in 2013. That immediately sparked a bad reaction from Ward 1 Council Member Gerri Schroder, who declared that the city needs a long-term commitment from the new Ward 3 pick, and that he or she should be ready to run for election. Sam Bateman, on the other hand, took it well and said that this solution is one that best preserves the voters' right to ultimately decide on a long-term replacement in 2013. Ward 2 Council Member Debra March mostly agreed with Bateman and found it noble that Marz was not trying to get a political lift with this. Mayor Andy Hafen sounded quite impressed with Marz, but also noted Schroder's concerns about the need for a long-term replacement.

Ultimately, Marz was a finalist, along with Cathy Rosenfield, Sean Fellows, and former CCSD principal Beverly Daly-Dix. And after another round of questions, the final round of voting was underway. The Clerk noted that a preference point system was about to be used to help determine where the council stands, and then the council can use that to narrow down further to a final decision. Gerri Schroder noted again that Cathy Rosenfield and Sean Fellows also had smart answers to her question on what specific problems face Ward 3, and that both of them are ready to make the long-term commitment she's looking for. Sam Bateman noted the personal relationships he has with some of the candidates, then led the entire council to make disclosures on that front (mostly donations from the realtors' PAC). And then, Mayor Hafen made a motion... And then, all of a sudden, John Marz won the appointment. The vote was 3-1 in favor (Hafen, March, and Bateman in favor; Schroder opposed).

about 14 minutes ago

#Henderson #Nevada decides on new council member#nvpolitics #nvp2 #fb

Once the meeting adjourned, Marz was sworn in. Inside the council chamber, the mood was quite congratulatory. Sam Bateman was glad to see the issue resolved and satisfied that voters will ultimately have the final say on Ward 3 next year. And though Gerri Schroder obviously had her doubts about this final decision, she displayed no hard feelings about it.

However outside the chamber, there was palpable anger. Some were confused as to why Fellows didn't get the final nod. Others were making accusations about campaign donations clouding the council's judgment. Certainly, not everyone was pleased about what just happened.

Still, I honestly think this was the best decision the council could have made other than allowing for a special election. Some of the candidates clearly were looking to use this as a political springboard for future elections. Others just wanted an "easy way in". But with John Marz joining the council, and hopefully with him fulfilling his promise to step down next year, there won't be questions over the council acting improperly to install "cronies" or reward insiders with plum jobs. If candidates like Fellows and Rosenfield are still interested in serving, they can run in next year's election for the full term. And as the council tries to put the Vermillion scandal behind the city and move forward on vital matters of economic development and recovery, like the Union Village medical complex, the new Cornerstone Park, and what to do about future growth, it's probably best to avoid potential new scandals and leave the final decision to "we the people".

Yes, We Really Do Matter.

2012-01-23T15:45:00.000-08:00

Remember the run up to New Hampshire's primary? It may now seem like a million years ago, but it's really been just two weeks. Then, we learned that Sheldon Adelson planned to up the ante for his BFF Newt Gingrich. And regardless of what he says about what he supposedly knew (or not) about how Newt's Super PAC would nip at Mitt Romney's Achilles' Heel,

Well, apparently Adelson is about to go all in... And so is his wife! And since this week may be the most critical ever for Newt Gingrich and his political career, as well as Mitt Romney and his political career, the stakes couldn't be higher.

And yet again, there will be increased focus on Mittens' full embrace of his role as "Mr. 1%".

No really, think about it.

But Gingrich’s upset victory in South Carolina seems to show that potency of arguments that highlight the unfairness and inequality of our economic system. As Ruy Texeira writes, conservatives “should realize they’re attacking the opinions of most Americans who do, in fact, believe the system unfairly favors the wealthy“.

On CNN’s State of the Union yesterday, Gingrich took a bit of victory lap on the Bain attacks, acknowledging that they helped him win South Carolina because, he argued, they show voters where Romney is vulnerable against President Obama.

Indeed, after several weeks dominated by the controversy over Bain and Romney’s tax returns, the former governor risks losing his frontrunner status. Romney is down by double digits in Florida and is barely hanging onto a one point lead nationally, according to Gallup. For instance, one self-described “scorned woman” in South Carolina told TPM that she voted for Gingrich, even as lurid new revelations about his second wife were emerging, because of Romney’s waffling on his tax returns.

It’s worth remembering that in its early days, the Tea Party was nearly as anti-Wall Street as it was anti-government, galvanized by the Wall Street bailout. Much of that resentment likely remains, despite the best efforts of conservative elites to redirect that anger toward the government in order to white wash the distasteful record of companies like Bain.

Even though Sheldon Adelson is also "Mr. 1%" and he apparently wasn't all that into Newt's Bain attacks, his donation to Newt's Super-PAC just as it was about to release the "King of Bain" anti-Romney movie onto South Carolina airwaves nonetheless triggered this debate on economic inequality on the right. And what really makes this interesting is that despite all the efforts of the Nevada Republican Party to make its caucus totally irrelevant, Nevada and our biggest concerns may matter more in this election than we had ever imagined. And especially if Mittens plans to hit Newton on housing while Newton hits Mitten on Bain, perhaps Nevadans really will see more of a discussion on economic issues that we want answers on.

Of course, this probably won't be good for the G-O-TEA. Remember this?

Mittens doesn't want us to... But that's too bad. And funny enough, Sheldon Adelson is doing his part to help us remember.

So What Do We Have?

2012-01-23T07:57:00.000-08:00

We have some big, existential questions to answer. Last year, the Nevada Cancer Institute filed for bankruptcy, laid off half its staff, and faced huge financial hurdles going forward. And now, it's confirmed that UCSD will buy the Institute for $18 million. Yes, you read me right. The University of CALIFORNIA San Diego Health System will take over the Nevada Cancer Institute.

UC Regent Charlene Zettel said all UC health systems need to look for ways to increase their patient base and optimize resources to stay competitive. She said the UC San Diego purchase accomplishes that.

“Patients coming from Nevada would mean better utilization of the state-of-the-art facility we have at UCSD Moores Cancer Center,” Zettel said. “It also would be a boost for the San Diego economy because patients and families would be staying here. Most importantly, though, patients would get excellent care from some of the best doctors in California.”

Dr. Thomas McAfee, interim chief executive for the UC San Diego Health System, said buying the 142,000-square-foot, four-story building and its medical practice fits into the long-term growth plan. By broadening its circle of patients, the university can expand its research and clinical trials and boost its education programs, he said.

Certainly, this is good news for cancer patients that rely on the Institute for crucial treatment, and there may be some benefits down the road if UCSD is interested in continuing, or possibly even expanding, research and treatment programs here in Nevada. But still, this has to be a major blow to our civic pride. I mean, come on, we couldn't even save our own Cancer Institute? Even if UCSD continues some sort of research and treatment programs here, the primary mission will be to funnel more patients to UCSD's Moores Cancer Center in La Jolla.

But then again, we probably shouldn't be surprised. After all, listen to Nevada's own "home grown Presidential Candidate".

Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?

We can keep laughing off our failure to invest in our future, or we can finally change it. Why couldn't UNR step in to save the Nevada Cancer Institute? Why do patients in need of procedures like bone marrow transplants have to travel out of state for treatment? When will Nevada be known for more than just big casinos, legal prostitution, and an addiction to the "growth begets growth, and growth pays for growth" idea that's now failing us?

We can't keep expecting casinos and tourism to prop us up. As we've had to learn the hard way, tourists don't spend as much on vacations during times of economic turmoil. You know, two weeks of tech geeks and porn stars do not make a complete and balanced economy. Yes, we obviously still need and appreciate tourism, but we also need to diversify and build the kind of infrastructure that will allow for a healthier economy to flourish here in Nevada.

I guess it's good that the Nevada Cancer Institute will be able to continue as something here in the future, but it's nonetheless saddening that Nevada couldn't even save this crucial piece of its own medical infrastructure.

Really, Newton?

2012-01-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

Really? Really?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I was laughing as I was hearing this. He sounds like the petulant "bad boy" in high school who just stole the annoying rich guy's (aka Mitt Romney's) lunch money... Which may not sound like much, until we realize that annoying rich guy's lunch money is enough to take a whole pack of hungry teens to Morton's!

Of course, never mind that Newton himself has become a very rich man... And is advocating a tax system that slashes his own taxes. Fellow Catholics are calling on Newton and Ricky Santorum to stop "perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes" of poor people. He really did use a form of populism to win South Carolina... But it was an ugly kind of populism centered on ugly racial stereotypes and rampant xenophobia.

Ironically enough, Newt Gingrich rode this wave of anti-establishment populism to win South Carolina despite his tax plan that wildly favors the top 1% over everyone else, as well as his endorsement of Rick Perry's crazy claim that Social Security is "unconstitutional". Funny enough, for all of Newt's (and all the other GOPers') past attacks on Ron Paul, he now seems to be co-opting a whole lot of Ron Paul's extreme libertarian views (and xenophobia) to remake himself as a "populist".

Apparently when G-O-TEA base voters compare and contrast this to Mitt Romney's flip-flops on just about everything, they're choosing Newt... And to a lesser extent, cherry picking the policy positions of "Tea Party Ideological Grandfather" Ron Paul. With Newt, they can "have their cake and eat it, too" with his embrace of neoconservative demands for more wars everywhere, total destruction of the American social safety net as we know it, and a bizarre far right twist on populism that "Mr. 1%" Mitt Romney just can't pull off. Maybe the media pundits really did "misunderestimate" Newton's ability to give "tea partiers" exactly what they want, regardless of how ideologically incoherent we see it.

Live from South Carolina: It's "Newt-mentum"!

2012-01-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

4:03 PM-

Whoa. NBC News just projected Newt Gingrich as the winner in South Carolina. And CNN's exit poll shows Newt winning comfortably. Is he the political cat with nine lives? And is the G-O-TEA ready for yet another shakeup as primary season rolls on?

4:11 PM-

More from MSNBC:

Gingrich's performance in South Carolina was driven in thanks to late deciders, who broke decisively in his direction in the last few days of the campaign. That stretch saw two debate performances by Gingrich, on Monday and Thursday nights. Almost two-thirds of voters said the debates were an important factor in their decision, and Gingrich won about half of them.

More broadly, core elements of the GOP base in South Carolina – conservatives, Tea Party supporters and evangelical Christians – broke for Gingrich. And the former speaker even edged Romney in two important constituencies for the former Massachusetts governor: voters who said electability in November was their most important concern in a nominee, and voters who said the economy was their top issue.

The results upset the conventional wisdom in the race, which had set expectations for Romney to score a knockout blow against his competitors with a win in the Palmetto State.

Gingrich’s victory reshapes the race, at a minimum extending the primary contest through the Jan. 31 primary in Florida. The South Carolina results underscore Romney’s lingering inability to overcome skepticism from conservatives about electing him as their standard-bearer against President Obama this fall.

So in other words, "The Base" is just not that into Mittens. Tonight should be fun. Stay tuned. ;-)

4:30 PM-

Before we hear any crazy spin on this, let's remember this: Mittens and his Super-PACs outspent everyone else in South Carolina. They spent more than any two campaigns (+ aligned Super-PACs) combined, yet he's still getting a big thumping tonight.

And what's really interesting here is that despite Mittens having more money on his side, Newt succeeded in attacking Romney from all sides with his "Massachusetts Moderate" and Bain Capital one-two punch. He really boxed Romney in as "the rich lib'rul elitist", and it really hurt Romney in this Deep South state.

4:50 PM-

In many ways, Newt Gingrich really is "The Republican Id". Here's what I'm talking about:

And don't forget this:

Newt has mastered the "politics of resentment", and he used racism and xenophobia to propel himself (back) to the top of the polls in South Carolina.

5:08 PM-

Want to know just how badly Mittens lost in South Carolina? Take a look at CNN's exit poll data. Whoa. Romney got creamed among "tea party" voters, Christian fundamentalists, and pretty much every other group that defines the G-O-TEA base... Except one. Mitt did win among voters who earn $200,000 or more per year, so he's still the official candidate of the elite 1%.

5:30 PM-

The Daily Beast reminds us of South Carolina's sordid and lurid history of "dirty tricks campaigning". Both Romney and Gingrich did plenty of that there, but ultimately Gingrich's proved to be more effective. And just as I had suspected last week, Bain Capital was ultimately a big part of Newt taking down Mitt. It may have seemed weird to outsiders to see Newt and his allies hit Romney over Bain, then hit Romney over social issues, but that's how they made him anathema to white working class Republicans.

Remember that.

Caucus Report (This Was About Party Building)

2012-01-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

What @nvdems #nvcaucus looked like in #GreenValley #Henderson today #nvp2 #fb: What @nvdems #nvcaucus looked like in #GreenValley #Henderson today #nvp2 #fb

Obviously, there wasn't too much suspense in the room today at Green Valley High School. We all knew who would win the caucus... But that wasn't the point. This was about party building. Seriously.

Democrats braved the heavy winds to arrive in this high school cafeteria and spend the next two hours affirming the merits of reelecting President Obama, selecting delegates to go to the Clark County Democratic Convention, and discussing the values that define the Democratic Party.

Yes, this was really about party building.

There were a few "political celebrities" turning up at caucus locations. At ours, John Oceguera stopped by to remind us he's running in NV-03. There were also Legislature candidates who attended and participated in the full caucus process.

Yes, this was really about party building.

Many stayed the whole time and went through the whole glorious process... And that was the whole point of it. This was about party building, and Nevada Democrats are hoping this is just the start of more organizing and "machine building" to come.

UPDATE, 5:45 PM: It looks like the final tally will be over 12,000 caucus-goers. That may not seem like much at first, but remember that this is a higher total than those that participated in the 2004 Nevada Caucus... Which was during a more heated and contested Democratic Primary season. 98.3% of delegates look to be awarded to President Obama. Again, this was about party building... And today, it may be the start of mission accomplished.

Nevada Today, South Carolina Tonight

2012-01-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

So today's the big day. Are you ready for it? The caucus is today... Wait, wasn't it moved? Nope, the Democratic Caucus is still today, people will be filling up local schools and community centers again, and the fun starts at 11:00 AM.

I'll be at Green Valley High School today, and I'll deliver updates after the caucus closes.

But of course, everyone else is paying attention to South Carolina right now. The polls have been very volatile this week, but we're starting to get a better sense of how Newt Gingrich's relentless attacks on Mitt Romney are now giving him momentum and throwing new doubt on the once growing meme that Romney is "the inevitable GOP nominee".

So is "Mitt-mentum" so last week? We'll start to see an answer to that question tonight, so stay tuned here after 4:00 PM when we start seeing results. And tomorrow morning, I'll try to interpret what happened here and in South Carolina, and what we will see next as the campaigning shifts further south to Florida.

Game Change?

2012-01-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

Well, today looks to be quite the exciting day. On the G-O-TEA side, Rick Perry dropped out...

And Mitt Romney didn't really win Iowa, after all!

The Iowa state GOP says their certified results show Rick Santorum winning by a 34-vote margin over Mitt Romney, a reversal of Romney’s reported caucus night lead of 8 votes — but the party has nevertheless called the result a “split decision,” citing the matter of 8 missing precincts. But those precincts aren’t really missing. [...]

[...T]he results that were reported on caucus night by the state GOP are still online. And for those precincts, we can get an idea of how Santorum and Romney performed against each other. Of course, we should remain aware that there still could be a typo in these numbers — but on the other hand, the probabilities strongly favor them being accurate for both Santorum and Romney, as errors that do occur (if at all) could have been spread across the other candidates, as well.

And as it turns out, when incorporating the numbers from election night, Santorum’s lead actually becomes even wider. [...]

In those precincts, based on the reported caucus night results, Santorum received a total of 81 votes, to Romney’s 46.

If those results are added to the certified results, Santorum’s 29,839 votes would become 29,920, and Romney’ 29,805 would become 29,851 — for a “final” result of Santorum winning the caucuses, by a margin of 69 votes.

They don't like Mittens... They really don't like him. And with Perry bowing out to endorse Newt Gingrich and Romney's "dazzling Iowa win!!!" officially taken away from him, perhaps South Carolina will provide fireworks, after all...

But Nevada's G-O-TEA Caucus still looks to arrive like a dud. Now that Perry's out, Brian Sandoval's endorsement doesn't seem to be worth a hill of beans. And funny enough, the big candidate appearance that everyone is now talking about... Is President Obama's.

President Barack Obama will visit Las Vegas next week, on a five-stop swing through the West and Midwest.

Obama will be arriving in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 25 and stay overnight, departing on Thursday, Jan. 26. No further details about the trip were immediately available, except that the president’s visit — like Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Reno’s Galena High School on Thursday to talk about college affordability — is official White House business.

The two trips bookend the Nevada Democratic Caucuses this Saturday. While the vice president and president’s stops in the Silver State are not officially part of the 2012 reelection campaign effort, the high-profile visits are likely to drum up Democratic enthusiasm just before the Republican presidential field arrives in Nevada for the GOP caucuses on Feb. 4.

Oh, and this will be just a week after Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Reno today.

Add all this together, and the big picture looks far less rosy for Mittens. He didn't win the Iowa Caucus, he still may not win the South Carolina Primary, and a Nevada Caucus win still won't mean anything. He still has a tough primary schedule ahead to tackle, and his general election numbers are still lousy. So how again is Mittens "the winner"?

Why Wikipedia Is Blacked Out Today

2012-01-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

Do you notice there's no Wikipedia today? And that Google blacked out its logo? And that many more of your favorite web sites are down or redirecting you to a special page today?

Here's why.

If passed, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and/or its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), would essentially cripple the internet. How?

The internet is built on freedom: the freedom to create, the freedom to express oneself, and the freedom to share ideas with anyone anywhere. But if passed, SOPA and/or PIPA would destroy the foundation of the internet by forcing internet companies to monitor everything we do on their sites and act as "club bouncers" for big media corporations that are more interested in protecting their profits than protecting our free expression. These companies, such as Nintendo, Sony, Comcast (which now owns a 51% controlling stake of NBCUniversal), and Time Warner, have unleashed their lobbyists on Capitol Hill to try to grease the House floor to pass SOPA. And while the latest updates from DC look to be good as House members retreat from SOPA, PIPA is still quite alive in the Senate and still needs to be stopped.

But why must they be stopped? Isn't copyright enforcement important any more? Yes, it is. However, SOPA and PIPA as written go way beyond that and require social media sites to either censor their users (as in "We the People"!) or risk expensive law suits that force them to try to explain sophisticated technology to judges that (smart as they are on the law) most likely know nothing about it. Simply put: This shit is SCARY, and it must be stopped ASAP.

If SOPA and/or PIPA become law, say goodbye to "social media revolutions". And especially if other countries follow our lead and propose similar anti-internet legislation, say goodbye to democratic movements like "The Arab Spring", "The Orange Revolution", and #Occupy. In the wrong hands, the broad authority given to governments and big corporations in SOPA and PIPA threaten the entire internet as we know it. And even if our federal government doesn't aim to abuse that power, there's obviously plenty of room for multinational media conglomerates like NewsCorp (which has already caused mischief in this department), Viacom, and Disney to shut down global competitors and kill off internet start-ups that threaten their "sacred business model" of making us pay up the wazoo for their (and only their!) bread and circuses.

What's really funny here is that the supposed goal of SOPA and PIPA is to stop online piracy and protect artists' work, but they wouldn't do anything to actually stop that piracy if passed. These kinds of criminals aren't stupid. They can and will easily change their IP addresses and find new ways to showcase their stolen goods. All SOPA and PIPA would really do if passed would be to create a new "online black market" for stolen content while forcing law-abiding web sites to essentially create an "online police state" for all the rest of us and/or risk those infamous frivolous law suits from multinational corporations that certain politicians supposedly hate so much.

So please, please, PLEASE (!!!!!) do your part to stop SOPA and PIPA from tearing apart the internet as we know and love it. Check out Nevadans Against SOPA/PIPA, then call Harry Reid at 202-224-3542 and Dean Heller at 202-224-6244, and ask them to drop PIPA and SOPA. Also make sure to tweet them at @SenatorReid and @DeanHeller.

Mitt Romney Just Exposed Himself (As a 1% Elitist)

2012-01-17T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hey, don't just take my word... Mittens just outed himself!

And not only that, but he also exposed both the moral and intellectual emptiness of his "job creator" myths.

Citizens for Tax Justice a few months ago estimated that Mitt Romney, due to most of his income coming from investments, pays a tax rate of around 14 percent, a far cry from the 35 percent top income tax rate. Romney then confirmed that the bulk of his income does, indeed, come from investments (and is thus subject to the top capital gains tax rate of 15 percent), but he has refused to release his tax returns in order to reveal the definitive tax rate that he pays. [...]

As Center for American Progress Director of Fiscal Reform Seth Hanlon has explained, the latest data shows that “many middle-class families paid much more [in taxes] than the 17.5 percent average paid by the very rich.” When President Obama suggested the “Buffett rule,” aimed at ensuring that millionaires can’t pay lower taxes than middle class families, Romney derided it as “class warfare,” and “the wrong way to go.”

One of the reasons Romney is able to drive his tax rate down so low is that he is still earning money from his private equity firm, Bain Capital, that is likely subject to a pernicious tax loophole. This loophole lets wealthy money mangers like Romney pay the capital gains tax rate on profits they make investing other people’s money, turning the justification for having a lower capital gains tax rate completely on its head.

During the same press conference, Romney said that he only makes some income from speaker’s fees, “but not very much,” which is money that would be taxed at normal income tax rates. From Feb. 2010 to Feb. 2011, Romney earned $362,000 in speaker’s fees.

This explains why Romney is far to George W. Bush's right politically... Especially when it comes to economic policy. Since it's obviously in his personal interest to continue paying less in taxes than the vast majority of working class families, we can see why he wants to continue coddling the 1% while attacking the 99% with brutal cuts on everything from Head Start to Pell Grants to law enforcement to the Centers for Disease Control to the EPA.

Honestly, this is why I've never bought Mittens' attempt to crown himself as "the winner" last year. Even if he survives the G-O-TEA primary, he now emerges as "The Wall Street Elitist 1% Candidate" with major political liabilities. Perhaps this is why Mittens fell behind President Obama in a big way in the new PPP national poll out today.

Perhaps American voters aren't as stupid as many have made us out to be. Perhaps more folks truly are realizing that economic inequality hurts the overall economy. And perhaps voters are realizing that "tea party madness" is no way to govern a country. Considering how extreme(ly absurd) Mittens and his G-O-TEA have become, President Obama really doesn't look bad, after all.

While They Prosper, We Suffer

2012-01-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

Today, the RGJ reminded us of the poverty many Nevada families are suffering under. As we discussed yesterday, many see a crisis of income inequality... But Newt Gingrich saw an opportunity to rally teabaggers by attacking poor people of color...

While Mitt Romney sang the praises of vulture capitalism, which he calls "free enterprise":

Hey, don't look at all those unemployed workers!

And don't look at all that government backed corporate welfare!

It's all "free enterprise" and it's all good, so long as the likes of Mitt and Newt continue to prosper, even as the rest of us suffer.

As time goes on and primary season comes to a close at some point, Mittens will try to cover up his record... But he can't. He can't act like it never existed.

During his tenure, Bain acquired numerous companies, often through debt leveraging, then liquidated a number of them, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs for American workers while bringing in hundreds of millions in profit for Romney and Bain’s other investors.

Several other GOP candidates, especially Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry have lept at the chance to attack the front-runner, aggressively attacking Romney’s time at Bain as an example of “looting” companies and “vulture capitalism.” The rift has not only split the Republican Party at the highest ranks, but also seems to be sparking a minor crisis of identity within Republican ranks over the party’s relationship with capitalism itself. At the very least, as numerous commentators are acknowledging, the dust-up now has the GOP candidates doing the Obama campaign’s opposition work for it.

This is the "tea party", radical right philosophy that we can't simply ignore. There's a reason why Mitt Romney calls what he did at Bain Capital "free enterprise", then attacks those who question his lofty (and false) job creation claims. Take a look at what Bain was really out to do, then notice how Romney wants to slash taxes for the top 1% while shifting the tax burden even more to working class families. Even though America's wealthiest are doing just fine, and even though poverty in America has reached levels we haven't seen since The Great Depression, Mitt Romney and the G-O-TEA want to take us back to the policies and "ideas" that created this catastrophe in the first place.

Yes, income inequality is a real problem and it really does hurt our overall economy. We can't ignore it. We can't relegate it to "quiet places". We can't laugh about making poor kids work as janitors. And we can't allow future generations to suffer.

A New Phase Seeking Genuine Equality

2012-01-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

Coolican has a great column this morning where he allows Jim Crow survivors to tell their own stories of escaping "de jure" segregation in The South. It's really worth reading.

However in reading that, I was also reminded of the continuing "de facto" segregation we often face in society today. Even though "de jure" segregation was dropped here in Nevada during the 1960s, the combination of "The Great Recession" and chronic inequality has led to continuing struggles for minority communities here. All one needs to do is drive down Eastern Avenue to (minority-majority) East Las Vegas and North Las Vegas to see the great poverty in our community, then drive back up Eastern to see how well manicured neighborhoods in Henderson's (mostly white) Seven Hills and Anthem have been minimally impacted by the recession.

And it's not just Nevada. Despite the progress toward legal equality since the 1950s, America has been sliding back in the last 40 years as wealth has increasingly become concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. And no, Mitt Romney, this is not about "envy". This is a serious problem. Without a functioning middle class, we don't have a stable pool of consumers to buy stuff, and the economy ultimately suffers.

Many folks remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for his work to fight legal racial inequality. And yes, that was a great part of what he did. However, he didn't stop there. He also worked to combat economic inequality. And he laid the foundation for new frontiers of The Civil Rights Movement.

Both Coretta Scott King (Dr. King's wife) and Bayard Rustin (who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington and worked closely with Dr. King) stood with Martin Luther King during his life, and both kept his legacy alive from 1968 onward by reminding us that injustice anywhere means injustice everywhere.

One of the great things that Martin Luther King achieved was the tying together of all these injustices and pushing for the end to inequality and injustice everywhere. And we still need this today. Whether it's unjust wars, poverty in our communities, xenophobic attacks on Muslim Americans, or the denial of full legal equality to LGBTQ Americans, the work has to continue. That's probably what we should think about today.

"The T Word" & 2012

2012-01-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

This morning, The Sun asked Mitt Romney to come clean on where he really stands on storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain while the RGJ begged all the G-O-TEA contenders to have an honest conversation with Nevada voters on what to do to fix the economy (Ha! Like that's possible...). Of course all the attention is going toward the upcoming caucuses, but there's another big issue looming this year. And while the discussion was dominated last year by which of Nevada's big power players would line up behind which initiative, someone else has emerged to fire the opening shot.

Kermitt Waters seeks to place on the November ballot a proposed constitutional amendment calling for a sweeping overhaul of Nevada’s tax system — abolishing property taxes on single-family homes among other things while identifying and allocating new tax revenue.

Waters said last week his proposal is borne of frustration with the status quo in Carson City. The state’s 63 lawmakers represent the powerful interests who fund their campaigns, he said, not the voters who elect them.

“The people of Nevada don’t have a Legislature. Mining and gaming have a Legislature,” Waters said. “If the Legislature could get their hands on this money, none of this would ever happen.”

However, there's a big problem with Kermitt Waters' initiative... And ironically enough, his dilemma is the exact same one that has hampered anti-choice extremists from putting a "personhood initiative" (like the one that failed in Mississippi last fall) on the ballot this fall. Basically, both initiatives face major legal roadblocks because of the "single subject rule" that requires citizen sponsored initiatives to address one issue and one issue only. And with both the "call the zygotes people" anti-choice radicals and Waters continuing to fight it out in court, we'll have to see if 2012 is finally the year that unleashes more initiatives onto our ballots.

So what's the problem with Waters' initiative? Basically, he's out to:

- Eliminate the property tax for single family homes

- Establish a 20% levy on mining companies

- Set up a gross receipts tax on businesses earning over $1 million a month

AND

- Use the new revenues to set up a fund separate from the state's general fund (so legislators and the Governor can't use any of this new money to cover everything else in the general fund and/or pay for new tax cuts somewhere else) to pay for a new system of Nevada appeals courts, increased investment in public education, more renewable energy investment, expanded health care coverage, and more.

Wow. Now that's ambitious! Oh yeah, and now it's easier to see why Kermitt Waters' initiative runs into trouble with the "single subject rule". Theoretically one could argue that it all falls under the blanket subject of the state budget, but someone else could easily argue that Waters' proposal is a legal hot mess that change everything from state mining law to public education to private property rules to energy policy and more if passed.

Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around Kermitt Waters' initiative myself... But regardless of whether or not his initiative makes this year's ballot, he kick-starts the much needed conversation on what kind of Nevada we want for the future. In addition, he also allows for the conversation to "shift more to the left" by bringing to the table more progressive tax solutions, like fixing our woefully outdated mining tax policy and making big corporations pay instead of shifting the burden to working class families. We should really appreciate that, even if some of us are leery of the unintended (????) consequences of messing with Nevada's "single subject rule" for initiatives. (If Waters succeeds, definitely expect more religious right lunacy and "tea party" nuttery to make their way onto our ballots as well.)

Now don't get me wrong, I also appreciate what groups like the AFL-CIO are doing in building a broad coalition for tax reform that takes us in a positive direction for a change. But then again, as I pointed out back in June, there may be a catch:

Of course, there has to be a catch somewhere. In this case, the powers that be in Nevada's gaming-mining-lobbying industrial complex are afraid the angry mob of plebes just might come after them for years of pulling the puppet strings of "the best state government money can buy" that never seemed to care about the people very much. So now, out of desire not to bear the brunt of the people's wrath, these powers that be now want to help pass some kind of broad-based tax reform.

And now, none other than "Angry Plebe Champion" Kermitt Waters has stepped up with a bold and ambitious tax reform plan that threatens to steal thunder from the more moderate AFL-CIO plan that Danny Thompson is hoping to win over big business with, and from Nevada GOP big wig Monte Miller's tax proposals that ProgressNow fears may be a right-wing attempt to "rat f*ck" the other tax reform initiatives. At the very least, there's hope that we're finally reaching a "critical mass" here in Nevada where we can finally have an adult conversation on raising the revenue our state needs to properly function. Think about it. Not that long ago, "The T Word" was so "dirty" and "taboo" that hardly anyone wanted to even approach the subject. But with at least three different sets of tax initiatives that may come to a grocery store parking lot near you very soon, it feels like the sense of taboo is finally fading away.

It remains to be seen just how sincere Monte Miller is about his tax proposals, how Kermitt Waters intends to get the legal approval needed to start circulating petitions for his proposal, and whether the AFL-CIO can really coalesce a "grand business-labor coalition" behind its "trans-partisan consensus" proposal. But hopefully now that it's started, we can hope the conversation on real, progressive, 21st century tax reform in Nevada can continue in 2012.

Mitt Romney's Bain Genie Is Out of the Bottle

2012-01-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

Apparently, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry committed "the unforgivable sin": They "released the kraken" that is Mitt Romney's dirtiest secret, and the GOP establishment is demanding they stuff that genie back in the bottle and toss it out to sea. Too bad for them that genies like this one really can't be recaptured and contained. This one will indeed be coming back to haunt the G-O-TEA this fall.

“I would have preferred to wait, yes, to keep the bottle of whup-ass fresher,” one Obama campaign strategist told TPM. “At the same time — and this is important to note — having the Republicans eat their own actually makes the Bain story more potent than we ever could because it instantly validates it as a line of attack and falls on independent ears as a matter of legitimate debate, not as a partisan line of attack.”

And when the real Bain attack comes, it will be anything but old news to the voters it needs to reach. After all, it’s hardcore Republicans who are paying the closest attention to the GOP campaign and its Bain moment right now, and they’re not voting for President Obama anytime soon.

“This isn’t a primary attack in the first place — it’s why we haven’t put any resources behind Romney as a corporate buyout specialist at this stage — it’s a general election issue for independent and swing voters in places like Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Indiana,” a senior Democratic strategist told TPM. “We were shocked that his rivals went there but nonetheless pleased because now the charges about his status as a corporate raider enjoy the lustre of bipartisan ship.”

Again, don't forget who started this. REPUBLICANS have been looking to take advantage of this. And REPUBLICANS are leery of what Mitt Romney did at Bain Capital. It doesn't matter what Sheldon Adelson says about his own views on Mitt Romney. That he gave money to the pro-Newt Gingrich Super PAC that made no attempt to hide its plan to drop this "Newt-ron bomb" on South Carolina speaks volumes.

It also speaks volumes that the RNC is begging its own not to mention Mitt Romney's stint at Bain Capital, and that Romney himself says that matters of economic injustice are only allowed to be discussed "in quiet rooms".

Yes, this is what Romney believes should only be discussed in "quiet rooms". And considering his part in this as head of Bain Capital, we can now see why. But unfortunately for him, President Obama and his advisors are not staying quiet on the #1 issue on American voters' minds.

Again, the contrast couldn't be any greater. Romney profits off government sponsored corporate welfare, then he says discussions of economic inequality are all "about envy". Romney lies about President Obama's economic record, then his GOP establishment surrogates throw a temper tantrum when anyone tries to tell the truth about Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital. And we're supposed to believe he can boost job creation as US President?

Romney is clearly angry that this election may very well be decided on matters of economic inequality... Especially since he's the one who stands to lose the most from it.

And What About That Other Caucus? (You Know, the Democratic One!)

2012-01-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

Lately, you've been reading a whole lot about the action on the G-O-TEA side both here and elsewhere. And of course, that's because their primary field is still contested and awfully unsettled. But last night, I attended a caucus training... For Nevada Democrats, held by Southern Nevada Stonewall.

Why?

Well, here's the secret. As Zeke pointed out back in October, the whole purpose of a caucus is party building. And ever since 2008, Nevada Democrats haven't stopped doing that. And after looking at the game plan for January 21 and beyond, it's clear that the NSDP has been thinking about how to regain momentum after all the Republicans' fanfare inevitably whimpers off.

Let's face it, Nevada Republicans have assured their caucus won't mean anything after February 4... And now, there's a chance it won't mean anything BEFORE February 4! They can't settle on a uniform time and set of procedures. They won't do anything but toss ballots into a box. They won't even be trying to "rally the troops" and sign them up to volunteer at caucus locations. It looks like the NV GOP has settled for nothing more than a glorified straw poll.

Nevada Democrats, on the other hand, are constantly bugging local volunteers to get on the phone, knock doors, do voter registration tables, and bring as many eligible Nevada voters as possible to caucus locations. Democrats will be spending at least two hours at the caucus discussing the candidates, policy platforms, party organization, and volunteer opportunities. Local candidates will also be heard from on the 21st. All in all, the Democratic caucus model looks to be another opportunity to gin up enthusiasm and further strengthen the already reviving Obama campaign.

In the coming days, I'll be writing more about that supposedly "boring" Democratic Caucus and explaining exactly why it's anything but "irrelevant" or "dull".

Republicans & "Class Warfare"

2012-01-11T06:39:00.000-08:00

Mitt Romney is trying hard to brush off criticism of his "private sector experience". He's trying (again) to blame everything on President Obama and his Republican rivals, but can he afford to ignore what the actual voters are saying?

And can he ignore "tea party" Congressional "rock stars" (and key opinion makers) in upcoming early primary states?

So does REPUBLICAN Jon Huntsman really sound all that crazy, after all?

Nevada Republicans may now be worrying about how this affects the general election campaign, but they really can't blame some "big, bad Democrat bogeyman!!!" Sorry, folks, but neither President Obama nor Harry Reid told them how to run their party (into the ground), and neither one of them is forking over the big bucks to air these attack ads.

Actually, it's none other than Nevada Republican darling Sheldon Adelson! And really, does it sound all that different from this mini-documentary that MoveOn recently released?

So perhaps the issue here isn't who's attacking Mitt Romney. Perhaps the real issue here is what Mitt Romney did at Bain Capital.

BREAKING: Romney Wins New Hampshire... Or Is He?

2012-01-10T17:36:00.000-08:00

5:35 PM:

So Romney wins... Or is he really winning? So far, he's getting under 36% of the vote... In the state where he has a house, and in the state next door to where he was Governor. And for being "Mr. Inevitable", Mitt Romney can't seem to break 50% anywhere.

Again, if Romney is now officially the G-O-TEA front runner, then he's the weakest front runner we've ever seen!

Stay tuned for more as I keep live blogging the New Hampshire results.

5:50 PM:

Here's what I'm talking about. The LA Times looked at how Romney's numbers can and will be spun. They basically went easy and proclaimed any Romney win with 40% of the vote or more as a "real win". However if he gets 35% or less, then its a disappointment and we're officially allowed to declare that GOP primary season is still open. Right now he's at 36% with Ron Paul not too far behind at 24%, so suffice to say it still may not be over yet for Mittens.

6:15 PM:

It's looking increasingly certain that at least 60% of New Hampshire Republican voters rejected Mitt Romney today. Right now, he's getting exactly 37%. And again, we're supposed to crown him "inevitable"?

6:30 PM:

Remember where this contest is heading next. South Carolina has been hit quite hard by "The Great Recession", so Romney's growing Bain Capital scandal may really come back to bite him there. As we talked about yesterday, Mittens' Republican opponents have seemed to find their inner "Occupy Wall Street activists" in discovering his biggest political liability, which is his willingness to destroy American jobs being put front and center during a campaign in which Wall Street greed and economic inequality are key worries of voters right now.

Oh, and by the way, Romney's still down at 37.5% with almost 50% reporting, so Romney is indeed "making history" by limping along so weakly as "the front runner".

6:45 PM:

IMHO Debbie Wasserman Schultz nails it!

“Mitt Romney may have won in New Hampshire tonight, but he can't run from the fact that his support was rapidly eroding before any vote was even cast. Over the course of the last few months, Romney had the support of as much as 45 percent of the primary electorate —at one point boasting a nearly 30 percent lead over the rest of the GOP field. But tonight he fell far short of meeting expectations—especially in a state where he’s a part-time resident, which is next door to his home state of Massachusetts, in the same media market. He fell short next to a state where he raised a family and served as governor and where he’s been running on and off for political office over nearly two decades and for president for seven years.

“But what’s more troubling for Mitt Romney is the fact that the premise of his candidacy is unraveling. He leaves here wounded by a series of episodes that made it clear to voters—both in New Hampshire and for those watching across the country—that he is completely out of touch with the concerns of America’s working and middle-class families. Romney disingenuously claimed just a few days ago that he once feared getting a pink slip when in fact his campaign can’t offer any examples of when that might have been the case. Yesterday, he went as far as saying that he enjoys being able to fire people. He continues to call himself a job creator, but his accounts of creating 100,000 jobs at Bain Capital have been knocked down across the board. Even worse, as one of his colleagues said, he never considered what they did at Bain Capital as job creation. What they did was make a profit while companies were sometimes driven to bankruptcy, workers were laid off, and jobs were sent overseas. These revelations have led to a precipitous drop in Mitt Romney’s support—and his failure to perform better in the Granite State is a significant setback for both his campaign and his candidacy for president.”

I know Ms. DNC Chair just reiterated what I was saying earlier... And honestly, I love it. She really said it best. And Mittens knows we're right.

6:55 PM:

Here's another important metric to observe: How's that Republican turnout? Oh yes, it's looking awfully puny right now. And Americans supposedly "hate Obama" so much they'll crawl on broken glass to vote against him? Give me a break!

7:15 PM:

With about 2/3 reporting, it still looks like about 62% of New Hampshire GOP voters ultimately voted against Mitt Romney. Yet despite that, the key take away from TPM's post New Hampshire write-up is that the GOP establishment is worried about a prolonged primary fight weakening Romney. OK, I'll ask... Why?

In 2008, some Democrats were worrying about the same thing as the Clinton vs. Obama battle royale dragged all the way to summer. Yet even as the primary fight turned brutal, Democrats registered millions more voters, revved up enthusiasm, and ultimately made Barack Obama a stronger candidate. So why aren't Republicans seeing the same benefits for Mitt Romney?

Here's why: Bain Capital. Yes. That's right. It really comes back to that. Romney is seen as a "Wall Street elite corporate raider job killer" during an election when people are getting angry over Wall Street excess and lack of attention on working class needs. How can anyone get enthusiastic over backing "Mr. Wall Street 1%" himself?

Again, Republicans are getting worried... And that's why this current G-O-TEA primary madness can't end just yet.

New Hampshire. Tonight.

2012-01-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I'll be waiting for a flight (home!!!) at the airport... So no worries, I'll be here with you for at least the first 90 minutes of New Hampshire primary results. It seems we all know the "winner" already, but there may yet be some real intrigue as we see who actually "wins" the expectations game and following media cycle.

Oh, and later this week we'll be talking more about how the series of events and political theatrics since Iowa and New Hampshire affect this guy. So stay tuned here at Nevada Progressive. Tonight should be fun.

Thanks, G-O-TEA, for Bursting Mittens' Bubble

2012-01-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

Rick Santorum must be giddy right now. Instead of suffering an intense media focus on his role in John Ensign's career ending scandal, Mitt Romney just tossed him a reprieve... And a ready-made issue that may yet end Romney's political career. As we've been talking about endlessly here, Romney has a BIG Bain (as in, Bain Capital) problem.

And now, all of a sudden, Newt Gingrich is jumping on it...

“You have to ask the question, is capitalism really about the ability of a handful of rich people to manipulate the lives of thousands of people and then walk off with the money?”

Who said it — Elizabeth Warren? Dennis Kucinich? Noam Chomsky?

Not quite, that was Newt Gingrich talking to reporters at an energy company in Manchester on Monday about his new effort to paint Mitt Romney as a greedy one-percenter who finds “clever legal ways” to go about “looting a company” while screwing over its workers. [...]

The former Speaker is making the case that, in contrast to good old fashioned businesses who make stuff, Romney and his ilk have instead gamed the system to create a soulless machine that profits from the misery of others. Whereas Republicans used to merely whisper that Bain was an electability problem for Romney, Gingrich and other candidates are now openly making the case that the invisible hand has failed to stop corporate raiders from hurting American workers — even as they condemn President Obama as a radical socialist for his rhetoric on Wall Street.

“I am totally for capitalism, I am for free markets,” Gingrich assured reporters on Monday. “Nobody objects to Bill Gates being extraordinarily rich, they provide a service.” What he instead is concerned about is when an investor receives “six-to-one returns, and the company goes bankrupt.”

OUCH! And to add insult to injury...

When you go to South Carolina, that was one of those cities that had a business -- it was a photo album and a framing business. And those people are out of work today after Bain Capital basically gut the company. Took $20 million of profit out of it and people lost their jobs. There is a steel manufacturer here in South Carolina. Mitt Romney will have a hard time coming into South Carolina and have the people here think he's anything but a rich Wall Streeter that took advantage of their businesses. People lost their jobs, they lost their pensions, they lost a lot.

The bottom line for Bain was making money. It wasn't about helping the people of South Carolina or trying to keep these people employed. The idea that Mitt stood up and said he's worried about pink slips. This is probably one of the richest people ever to run for president of the United States. Son of a multi-millionaire. An individual -- Mitt Romney has never worried about pink slip. He might have worried about not having enough of them to hand out. But he's not worried about losing his job.

Whoops. I guess Mittens really does have a growing problem on his hands.

And you know what's really funny here? In their zeal for attacking Mittens and destroying his Presidential aspirations, they're actually doing a good job in articulating why their own G-O-TEA policies have failed America. No really, think about it.

Who's been making noise about "vulture capitalists" like Mitt Romney for the last 30 years? And who's been trying to get Americans to realize the consequences of deregulation and "supply side" mayhem? And who's been offering alternative economic policies that really work in creating jobs and providing more stability?

And now, it's none other than the Republican clown car circus of candidates themselves that are reminding Americans of why President Obama deserves reelection. Thank you, G-O-TEA. And I actually mean it. ;-)

Maybe Nevada Does Matter, After All?

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Now that Mitt Romney's real record of "job cremation" has come to the forefront...

“I would not put the cart before the horse and define him as an unambiguous frontrunner,” DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz told TPM in an interview at St. Anselm College in Manchester. “He’s coming off what at some point probably won't even be defined as a win in Iowa where fewer voters came out for him than came out in 2008.” She added that anything less than 50% in New Hampshire should be interpreted as a sign of weakness given his close ties to the state. [...]

“Mitt Romney, I think, is more of a job cremator than a job creator,” Schultz said. She added: “He was a corporate buyout specialist at Bain Capital. He dismantled companies. He cut jobs. He forced companies into bankruptcy and he outsourced jobs and sent jobs overseas. That’s not a record to write home about, that’s not a record to be proud of, and it’s something voters need to know.”

The other Republican candidates are ready to pounce. Apparently, some in the G-O-TEA are already getting sick and tired of a certain someone's "pious baloney"...

While others are, strangely enough, getting sick and tired of the media. For all his desperate pleas for media attention, Jon Huntsman rejects it when he finally gets some.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So what's going on here? The state of the race is in flux yet again. Mitt Romney still can't seal the deal, or even break 20% (!!!!), nationally. And in New Hampshire, the state where he now owns a house and next door to where he was once Governor, he can't even break 40%. The Republican Party faces a weird dilemma where it has a "clear frontrunner" (Romney) who's also simultaneously a "weak frontrunner". But because no single "anti-Romney" has yet emerged, he's been able to skate by with minority support.

Is this about to change?

Enter Sheldon Adelson. Apparently, he's Newt Gingrich's BFF. And apparently, he's just as mad as Newt about Romney trying to steal his "true conservative" thunder. So now, he's about to hit Romney right on his proverbial Achilles' Heel: Bain Capital. And what makes this even worse for Mittens is that "King Adelson of Macau" is about to target Romney in what may be his weakest early primary state: South Carolina, where Romney now clings to a fragile lead that may very soon evaporate once the "tea party" folks coalesce around one of their own.

So apparently, "we matter" again... Just not in the way Jon Ralston had originally imagined/desired. Amy Tarkanian may still be a complete joke who allowed the "tea party" loons to take over the Nevada GOP madhouse, but Sheldon Adelson is the local righties' top "money man" who can have more of an impact on the Republican primary war than any of the "Tark Sharks" could ever dream of. The Nevada GOP Caucus itself still looks to be a total train wreck in the making, but Adelson's emergence as Mitt Romney's worst nightmare ensures ensures that The Silver State will make some sort of impact on this increasingly weird primary fight.

And what really intrigues me here is that Sheldon Adelson indeed plans to hit Mitt Romney on his record of destroying American jobs at Bain Capital. Just as I had suspected last week, the Bain issue isn't just one that Democrats are now testing against Romney. It can also hurt him on the right side of the aisle, since "tea partiers" seem to hate slick "Wall Street elite" shipping American jobs overseas (even if they're all too often tricked into supporting these very policies that lead to the loss of American jobs) as much as all the rest of us. And Adelson clearly knows this, which is why he's targeting Romney's Achilles Heel in the exact state (South Carolina) where it can cause the most damage.

And funny enough, Mittens is playing right into Sheldon Adelson's hands.

So perhaps this G-O-TEA battle royale really isn't over just yet... And maybe Nevada really will play a significant role in it (just not in the way that benefits the Tarkanians or the state party).

Coming This Week...

2012-01-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

We'll analyze the latest developments in the G-O-TEA clown car wreck, take a closer look at what's about to happen in New Hampshire, come back to Nevada to look at local races heating up, and take another look at the most organized campaign in the state (President Obama's). This should be fun. So as always, stay tuned!

Frothy Irrelevance?

2012-01-07T08:26:00.000-08:00

Right now, everyone is asking what kind of role Nevada's GOP Caucus will have in this primary season. Apparently, there's a good chance it won't mean a hill of beans. We don't know yet how hard Rick Santorum really will be campaigning here, but now the $64,000,000 question is whether Santorum will be able to amass the kind of money he will need to take on Romney in bigger, more expensive, and more media dominant states like Florida and Ohio.

So what is to come in this primary season? That's what we still have to figure out. After all, there must be a reason why John McCain can't even remember Mitt Romney's name.

As we talked about earlier this week, a growing number of Republicans are realizing that they face a major "image problem" with Bain Capital "vulture capitalist" Mitt Romney leading their charge this fall... But how do they stop this speeding train? Can Rick Santorum amass enough money to stay competitive? Or is there enough time for some magical "dark horse" to emerge and stop this?

Nevada Republicans now look to face the ultimate "damned if he does, damned if he doesn't" dilemma. If Romney looks to be wrapping up the nomination by the end of this month, then their caucus really will be irrelevant and they will end up with a whole lot of egg in their faces for caving into New Hampshire's Secretary of State and the RNC so quickly. But if Romney somehow stumbles in the next few days, loses the expectations game in New Hampshire, and allows someone else to gain momentum in South Carolina, then Romney will be under extra pressure to prevent a total meltdown here in Nevada along with a painfully prolonged primary season. So Nevada Republicans now have to pick their poison: either they stay irrelevant by letting Romney coast, or they risk more bruising battles ahead by giving Santorum, Paul, and Co. another look.

But then again, this may mostly be out of their hands. It's all on New Hampshire right now. And regardless of what happens here on the GOP side, the cards will be dealt on Tuesday night... Only for South Carolina and Florida to play those cards out and ultimately determine when Republicans will get a nominee. Perhaps Nevada Republicans have already become irrelevant?

Heller Wants Latino Votes... But Still Farts in Their Faces (& I Commend Coolican!)

2012-01-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

He likes them, he really likes them...

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller waded into unfriendly territory today, speaking to a breakfast meeting of Hispanics in Politics and facing tough questions about his stances on immigration. [...]

Expectations were high for the meeting, after an incident last year in which Heller literally turned around while on his way to a meeting with the Latin Chamber of Commerce. Heller’s staff objected to the presence of a staffer for his Senate rival, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, and a camera at the chamber event.

But Heller stood his ground and sought to identify commonalities with his Hispanic audience Friday morning, promising Latin Chamber President Otto Merida that he’d sit down to discuss an acceptable immigration reform bill.

No, he really doesn't.

He opposes the Dream Act, which, according to The New York Times, “would provide legal status and a path to citizenship to young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children and receive a college education or want to enter the military. Under the bill, students who came to the United States when they were 15 or under, have been in the country continually at least five years, present ‘good moral character,’ graduate from high school or obtain a G.E.D., and complete two years of college or military service in good standing would qualify.” [...]

Heller opposes it. Why? Because the Republican base hates it. Well, that’s not what he said. He said he doesn’t believe American citizens should be denied benefits accrued to noncitizens.

What on earth does he mean by that? During a news conference after the breakfast, he said that under the Dream Act a Nevadan who qualifies for such benefits could go to Nevada state universities and pay in-state tuition, while an American citizen living in Utah would have to pay out-of-state tuition at Nevada state universities.

Are you for real?

Then there’s the dreaded “anchor babies.” Heller signed on to legislation that would end automatic citizenship for babies born in the United States, instead requiring that to qualify for citizenship one parent must already be a citizen.

You can imagine how this utterly un-American policy might offend Hispanics. It offends me because more than likely my ancestors would have been disqualified for citizenship. They came over on a boat from Ireland and had a lot of babies.

I know I've sometimes had spirited disagreements with Patrick Coolican before, but this time he's on the money. Heller is being completely disingenuous... As usual.

We're supposed to applaud Heller for chiding Mitt Romney's disgusting characterization of the DREAM Act as a "handout"... And ignore that Heller is just as cravenly opposed to the DREAM Act as Romney and the rest of the G-O-TEA buffoons?

Does Dean Heller really think Latin@ voters are that stupid? He claims he will work with fellow Republican and Latin Chamber of Commerce President Otto Merida to craft a "mutually agreeable reform bill". Ummm... Hello, Dean Heller! That "mutually agreeable reform bill" would be the same comprehensive immigration legislation that Republicans like recent Republican standard bearers George W. Bush and John McCain supported!

Of course, this isn't new for Dean Heller. He's regularly scapegoated Latinos for basically every perceived moral wrong one can think of! He's regularly twisted the facts and engaged in disgusting demagoguery to win the hearts and minds of paranoid teabaggers. But now that he's managed to show up at Hispanics in Politics and spew out a bunch of "moderate" hot air, we're supposed to forget about what he's actually done in Congress to block progress on comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act?

Oh, and by the way, Latin@s care about more than just immigration. They want health care. They want education. They want opportunities to succeed just as much as the rest of us. So how on earth are they supposed to cheer on Dean Heller cheering on Wall Street robber barons as he proposes more painful, job killing, and all in all economically destructive "austerity" on all of us in the other 99%?

Coolican rightly pointed out today that Heller's "civility" at Hispanics in Politics does absolutely nothing to make up for his cowardly pandering to xenophobic teabaggers. If Heller really cared about Latin@ Nevadans, he'd actually match his "civil" words with real actions.

Oh, and by the way, this is why Ralston is probably wrong on his predictions for this year. Latin@ voters proved to be the key to Democratic wins here in Nevada in 2008 and 2010. And as long as Heller and his G-O-TEA buddies continue to fart in Latin@ Nevadans' faces, it won't be that hard for Shelley Berkley to prove Ralston and the other pundits wrong. Mark my words... And take note of the last R-J/8 News poll.

If "It's the Economy, Stupid", Then Who's Really Stupid?

2012-01-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

We often hear this usual refrain from the usual media pundits: "This election will be all about the economy." And of course, there have already been countless references to that famous Clinton '92 campaign line I used in the title above. Now we've also heard many of the same pundits talk about how a prolonged focus on economic issues may somehow hurt President Obama's reelection campaign. So I hope they take a closer look at this... And take a really close look at this.

The numbers are out for job creation and it looks pretty good. The unemployment rate went down to 8.5% from [8.6%] and 200,000 jobs were created.

Here is the hidden gem. While looking into the different sectors, I found that the healthcare sector added 23K jobs in December and a total of 315K jobs in 2011. But if we listened to the right wing meme, the Obamacare law should have caused layoffs. Especially considering Obamacare DIRECTLY regulates the health insurance and healthcare industries.

The healthcare industry has seen their profits increase dramatically in 2011 according to [B]loomberg, “..profit margins at the companies widened to levels not seen since before the recession, a Bloomberg Government study shows.” So much for the talking point, that this law is bad for business.

So for all the G-O-TEA talking points about "ObamaCare kills the economy!!!", the health care industry actually ADDED jobs in 2011. There goes another false radical right meme down the drain! Also, take a look at this (with much thanks to Steve Benen for the beautiful charts!).

Overall, the U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in December, but as has been the case for a long while, it’s the private sector that continues to fare better. Last month, businesses added 212,000 jobs, making it one of the best months since the recession began.
For the 2011 calendar year, BLS data shows the U.S. private sector has now added 1.89 million jobs in 2011, well ahead of last year’s private-sector total of 1.2 million, and the best year for businesses since 2005. Since March 2010, American businesses have created 3.13 million jobs. (In 2008, the private sector lost 3.8 million jobs, and in 2009, the private sector lost 5 million jobs.)
And with that, here’s a different homemade chart, showing monthly job losses/gains in the private sector since the start of the Great Recession. The image makes a distinction — red columns point to monthly job totals under the Bush administration, while blue columns point to job totals under the Obama administration.

Just for fun, let’s add one more homemade chart, showing annual job losses/gains in the private sector over the last two decades. Red columns point to years under Republican administrations, blue columns point to job totals under Democratic administrations. (Note: 2011 was the best year for private-sector job growth since 2005, and the second best since 1999.)

Upon looking at the real facts and figures, it looks to be crystal clear that the President really does seem to know what he's doing on the economy. When we put money directly in the hands of working class families, consumer demand rises, jobs are created, and the economy grows. That's why it's so crucial to keep in place the payroll tax cut and continue the progress that President Obama kick-started in 2009.

I have been hearing on TV that the [current good] economic news is good for President Obama. And it is. But it misses the point. The news is good for the American people, for American businesses, for American jobs, for the American consumer. And President Obama is not simply the beneficiary of this good economic trend. He is the architect of it. He held the economy from falling off the cliff with the American Recovery Act, he relentlessly pursued and extended unemployment benefits and preserved the jobs of teachers and firefighters; he fought hard for the middle class and got the payroll tax cut and other targeted measures to inject consumer demand; he brought a 35% tax relief to small businesses for providing health care; he gave the fragile economy some breathing room even as the Republicans were trying to choke it off.

If anyone has any doubts about why the Republicans wanted to eliminate the payroll tax cut for middle class and working class Americans, there is your answer. They do not want positive economic news in an election year. After all, Barack Obama has already taken away national security (see: Osama bin Laden dead), fiscal responsibility (see GOP logic: tax cuts do not need to be paid for except the payroll tax cut), and damn nearly every other issue. Their only hope was to demagogue the economy, and the President's efforts seem to be paying off there too. Darn.

And if these trends continue - if jobs keep being created at a good pace, consumer confidence keeps heading north, new unemployment claims continue heading south, and so forth, there isn't much that will stand in the way of President Obama and a second term.

And that's what scares Republicans the most. As we talked about yesterday, they're freaking out over Mitt Romney's real job destruction record getting more attention. And now that reporters are finally paying more attention to Romney's real record of slashing jobs at Bain Capital, he and the entire G-O-TEA are in trouble.

Remember this MoveOn video from yesterday?

Believe it or not, it gets worse. Not only did Romney's Bain Capital slash 750 jobs at Missouri steel company, GS Technologies, and not only did Romney and Bain slash pension and health care benefits for GST workers, but Bain also had the gall to demand a $44 million federal government bailout of GST because Romney's Bain Capital underfunded GST's pension fund! And Mitt Romney wants to call himself a "job creator"? Seriously?

No wonder why even some Republicans can't hide the reality about Mitt Romney being so hopelessly out of touch with the 99%...

And why other Republicans have to go to such extreme measures to turn attention away from Romney's terrible jobs record.

Congrats, Rick Santorum! You're still crazy!

And Mitt Romney is still a job destroyer. And Barack Obama is still the candidate with the best record on real job creation and good economic stewardship. No wonder why Obama's poll numbers aren't looking so bad now.

BREAKING: Allison Copening NOT Running for Reelection

2012-01-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

So now, the question Carson City politicos have been asking for the last six months is finally being answered. From the Senate Democratic Caucus press release:

“Serving the people of Nevada these past three years has been an incredible experience,” Copening stated. “My decision not to run comes with mixed emotions. Helping people is what drives me and I will miss serving in the legislature. That said, when I am no longer in office, I will continue to stay involved as a volunteer advocate for consumers and homeowners.”

Senator Copening was elected in 2008 and was known for working in a bi-partisan fashion bringing all sides to the table in order to reach compromises. Prior to redistricting this seat was evenly split and considered a "swing district". With the drawing of new maps for 2012, the seat has now become a strongly democratic district where Democrats enjoy a significant registration advantage.

While the new SD 6 can still be considered "swingy", it does lean a little more Democratic after redistricting. And considering Copening's controversy over HOA legislation she introduced last session, this may actually help Democrats hold onto the State Senate. In a bad year for Democrats, Benny Yerushalmi came within 5% of stopping Elizabeth Halseth's ascent in SD 9. Now, Democrats hope he can save the fragile Senate majority.

“As a father, a lifelong Nevadan, and a local small business owner, I believe in a better Nevada with a more diverse economy and better schools. Changes need to be made to create jobs, to help our economy thrive, and to ensure that taxpayer money is spent more wisely. But the most important change of all is that our leaders, regardless of background or party, must put aside our differences and work together to address the very real struggles facing Nevada's working families,” stated Yerushalmi.

What may help here is that Yerushalmi does have a good background as a small business guy, and that he's already had experience gaining bipartisan support. Mark Hutchison, on the other hand, is nothing more than a radical right bomb thrower who was Jim Gibbons' hand picked man to fight health care reform in court. Now, Hutchison is the Republicans' hand picked man to run for Senate in this district.

Make no mistake, this will be an epic battle... But this is nonetheless a battle Democrats can definitely win.

Is It Over Just Yet?

2012-01-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

Mitt Romney may be trying hard to crown himself as "the chosen one", but it may really not be over just yet. Rick Santorum is now hiring Nevada staff, and he's making noise about staying in the race for more primary and caucus contests to come. I guess that's why he's turning up the TEA-nuttery in New Hampshire and repeating the odious radical right lie about how much the working poor pay in taxes (and staying mum on how little big multinational corporations pay).

But wait, isn't Mitt "the establishment pick" with all the money and all the resources to lock this up and do so quickly? Perhaps so, but the G-O-TEA base won't let him.

Romney, who is expected to win in New Hampshire, still remains the leading candidate — but not a candidate with groundswell support from Republicans, said Eric Herzik, the chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Reno.

“I’m not the only person saying this, but he (Romney) started the race (in Iowa) with 25 percent of the vote, and he ended the race with 25 percent of the vote,” said Herzik, a registered Republican. “That says Republicans have not warmed up to Mitt. And that is why Santorum is the next and probably last of the great evangelical conservative challengers.”

The fractured vote in Iowa showed that the Republican Party has issues, Herzik said.

“This is a party that is split among social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and those with antigovernment feelings, so the message of the Republican Party is not clear coming out of Iowa,” he said.

Unfortunately for Romney, Herzik is right. The G-O-TEA base is just not that into Mittens. No matter how hard his campaign tries to spin it into something else, that's what the Iowa results revealed.

How else could a candidate like former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who nearly beat the alleged frontrunner Romney in Iowa, actually compete after being in the single digits at the beginning of December? Voters have to really know they don’t want the conventional pick if they’ll go with someone who they really just heard about in the last few weeks of campaigning, even if Santorum did commit to retail politicking in the state.

The main idea seems to be that the GOP fractioning seen over the life of the Obama administration, from the real beginnings of the Tea Party movement, is really showing. If the same percentage of Republicans would be enthusiastic about Paul as they would be about Romney, then the field has reached a sort of ideological parity within the party — the proponents of the conventional choice no longer outnumber the rabble rousers. Of course, the idea would be to find a candidate that can unite the two, but as 2012 has shown, that candidate isn’t in the running.

And already, the same looks to be emerging in New Hampshire as well.

The "enthusiasm gap" has returned... But this time, it's the Republican Party that's suffering from it. They're still wrestling over what to do about Mitt. They know he's the "favorite son" of the Wall Street elite, but they also know he's hiding some deep, dark secrets in his tax returns that could come back to bite all of them later this fall. Oh, and there's that little "vulture capitalist" firm by the name of Bain Capital.

Bain Capital has been responsible for thousands of layoffs at companies it bankrupted, such as American Pad & Paper, Dade International, and LIVE Entertainment, which Romney’s stat completely leaves out. He’s also taking credit for jobs created long after he left the firm to launch his political career. To sum it up, the stat Romney uses [to claim he's a "job creator"] is incredibly dishonest, like much of his jobs rhetoric.

One of Romney’s Bain business partners has said that he “never thought of what I do for a living as job creation.” “The primary goal of private equity is to create wealth for your investors,” he added. And Bain has certainly done that, maximizing earnings “by firing workers, seeking government subsidies, and flipping companies quickly for large profits.” Due to a lucrative retirement deal, Romney is still making millions from Bain, as he goes across the country calling himself “middle class” and joking about being “unemployed.”

Despite Rick Santorum's constant attacks on the 99%, he's now seen by conservatives as "the blue collar guy" who's more relatable to "Middle America" than that white-collar, coastal, Bain Capital elitist. And that's telling. I guess some of these Republicans are starting to publicly admit they will have a major image problem if Romney emerges as their nominee. In an election when not just the nebulous, overarching theme of "the economy", but also the specific worries about income inequality and the slow decay of America's middle class, will be front and center, it just won't look right for the Republican nominee to be boasting of how much money he made while laying off American workers and shipping their jobs overseas.

One big mistake I've noticed in most "mainstream media" coverage of the Republican primary is the dismissal of Rick Santorum as a "One Issue Wonder" who's only claim to fame/infamy is his extreme religious right zeal. Now yes, that really is a big part of who he is as a politician. However, don't "misunderestimate" Santorum's ability to cut through the cultural divide on the right and appeal to those G-O-TEA "culture warriors" looking not just for someone who hates women and gays and people of color, but also someone who seems "populist" and in touch with them (even if Santorum's actual economic policies are just as pro-Wall Street-elite as Romney's). And no matter what ultimately happens to Santorum in the coming weeks, Romney's "99% problem" isn't going away any time soon.

Obama, Obstruction, & Occupy

2012-01-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

Today, on the heels of last night's buffet of crazy, President Obama is making a big power play.

The White House confirmed Wednesday morning that President Obama will announce a recess appointment for Richard Cordray to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at a speech in Ohio later today. Cordray was a well-liked Ohio Attorney General until last year, after he was toppled by the GOP midterm wave in 2010.

Cordray’s an accidental victim of a brazen act of GOP obstruction. They’re refusing to allow an up-or-down vote on any CFPB nominee until the agency itself is fundamentally weakened — an extra-legal attempt to nullify a key portion of an act of law. [...]

Though the Obama administration has made a couple dozen recess appointments since 2009, only a tiny fraction have been for officials in truly crucial positions, and none have occurred in the past year. This has frustrated progressives and good government advocates who worry that the executive branch has become riddled through like Swiss cheese with vacancies and can’t function properly.

So what does this mean? Well, the CFPB can finally function more properly. We know the G-O-TEA faction in Congress kept filibustering Cordray in hopes of weakening CFPB and ultimately undoing financial regulatory reform. In addition, Richard Cordray himself really seemed to scare the Wall Street beholden G-O-TEA-nuts.

[...] Cordray has a clear pro-consumer record, and has not been afraid to challenge the banks, making him an ideal candidate to lead the bureau when it officially stands on its own this week.

He was at the forefront during the foreclosure fraud scandal, and was “the first to sue a mortgage lender over incidents of foreclosure fraud,” launching a suit against GMAC Financial. “What we’re talking about here is not just sloppy paperwork,” Cordray said at the time. “We’re talking about fraud in a court of law. The [foreclosure document signers] were lying under oath, to a judge.” He’s called the foreclosure practices of the nation’s biggest banks “a business model built on fraud.”

As attorney general, he supported efforts to rein in payday loans, one of the most pernicious financial products. Cordray backed legislation to cap the interest rate that payday lenders could charge and sought the ability for his office to prosecute unlicensed lenders.

The financial industry is already up in arms about his nomination, with one attorney who represents the industry saying that of all the bureau’s officials, Cordray “frightens me the most.” Another derided him as having “all the hard edge and ambition of Warren without the charm.” [Consumer watchdog and now US Senate candidate Elizabeth] Warren herself supports the choice of Cordray, writing in an op-ed today that “he will make a stellar director.”

So do we really need any more evidence as to who stands with the 99%? Seriously. Look at who's allowed Wall Street to turn into an unregulated casino. And look at who wants to clean up the mess there and restore confidence in the American economy. Look at who best serves the wants of the 1%. And look at who best looks out for the needs of the 99%.

Today, President Obama decided to finally make a move and take action to ensure the CFPB gets up and running. In other words, he again did something for the 99%. And the G-O-TEA? Well, even Republicans acknowledge their own "leaders" are nothing more than agents of the top 1%... And they're still crazy, too.

Sorry, Mittens. It Ain't Over 'til It's Over.

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

So Mitt Romney won... By eight votes??!! And we're supposed to crown him "inevitable"? He's the big "winner", even though he only mustered the same support he got in Iowa four years ago?

Take a look at this map, then look at this map... And then, look at the exit poll. Looking at what happened in Iowa yesterday, it's looking increasingly clear that the Republican Party is a house divided against itself. As much as Mitt Romney is trying to ignore the battle on his own turf, the Iowa results prove that he really can't.

Is that why he has to resort to using deranged TEA-nut extremists as his campaign surrogates? And is that why Romney won't acknowledge the reality that continues to stare at him?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And is that why he has to resort to lying about President Obama?

First, there’s no comparison between President Obama’s rescue of the American automotive industry and Romney orchestrating leveraged buyouts at his vulture-capitalist firm. Obama wasn’t trying to profit; Romney was trying to make himself and his investors rich.

Second, Romney now claims to have created “over 100,000 jobs” at his vulture-capitalist firm, but he appears to have made this number up out of whole cloth. Keep in mind, just a few weeks ago, when Romney’s Super PAC ran an ad claiming he “helped create thousands of jobs” as CEO at Bain, Super PAC officials were asked to back that up with evidence. They refused. Fact-checkers haven’t been able to substantiate the claim in any way.

Third, Romney seems eager to boast about his record in Massachusetts, but that’s a mistake. His administration’s record on job creation was “one of the worst in the country,” ranking 47th out of 50 states in job growth. It’s one of the reasons Romney left office after one term deeply unpopular, and why his former constituents don’t want him near the White House.

I guess he just can't run on his own record.

Of course, Romney has tried to spin his private sector role as that of a “job creator.” But a closer look at Bain’s modus operandi reveals that firm spent a lot of time laying off company employees rather than hiring them — all while turning a profit. More than 20 years ago, Bain — with Romney at the helm — opened a new plant in Gaffney, South Carolina with the promise of “highly anticipated manufacturing jobs,” only to shut down that plant four years later, laying off 150 workers while making millions [...]

“In the real world, some things don’t make it,” Romney offered as an explanation for the layoffs he had overseen as Bain’s CEO. However, the plant in South Carolina is not an isolated incident. Under Romney, “four of the 10 companies Bain acquired declared bankruptcy within a few years, shedding thousands of jobs.” But documents show that “Bain investors profited in eight of the 10 deals, including three of the four that ended in bankruptcy.” Indeed, the firm pointedly made higher profits “by firing workers, seeking government subsidies, and flipping companies quickly for large profits.”

As Romney’s own business partner stated, “I never thought of what I do for a living as job creation.” It’ll be an interesting display of acrobatics to see how Romney explains to South Carolinians that the profit his company made off the backs of 150 laid off workers proves his bona fides as a job creator.

Mittens was hoping he could wrap up the G-O-TEA nomination last night so he could start distracting us from what he really did and what he really said. But funny enough, Rick Santorum simply won't let him. Apparently, Rick Santorum is now the G-O-TEA's "great 'white working class'/blue collar hope"! I guess that's why he recently went on his crazy @ss racist rant against imaginary black people on welfare?

Mittens thought he could wrap it all up last night, but he forgot. It ain't over 'til it's over.

And the Winner Is...

2012-01-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

Well, it certainly isn't sanity!

And it isn't the 99%.

A close examination of all of the GOP candidates’ records and policy positions reveals that Mitt Romney is not the only candidate who “represents the one percent.” All of the Republican candidates share at least one thing in common: an economic agenda that will benefit the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans at the expense of the other 99 percent.

Each and every Republican candidate has called for trillions of dollars in new tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and corporations — all while calling for ending Medicare as we know it and dramatic cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, and countless other programs and services that Americans depend on each day.

All of the candidates would take us back to the Bush-era policies that increased income inequality, resulted in the worst job growth in decades, exploded the deficit and national debt, and ultimately crashed the economy. Indeed, the policies proposed by the candidates would not only embrace this failed economic agenda, they would take it even further.

Let's not forget what Mitt Romney has said about underwater homeowners in our own state.

No matter what the final results from Iowa are tonight, it's looking increasingly clear that sanity and equity did not win the day among Republicans there. So why do we even treat these looney tunes like "serious" candidates? The winner of Iowa's G-O-TEA caucus tonight is: CRAZY!!!

Live from Iowa... Well, Almost.

2012-01-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I'll keep tabs of the Iowa Caucus results so you won't have to. Stay tuned for that, starting at 5:00 PM here at Nevada Progressive. And tomorrow morning, I'll have more of that "valuable" insight and analysis that you've come to love/loathe here.

Happy First Election Day of 2012! ;-)

NV-04: And I Thought Barbara Cegavske Was Nuts

2012-01-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like someone is already emerging to challenge Ms. Delusions of Grandeur for "New Leader of the TEA-nuts" title...

Ummm... How exactly is "Obama destroying the economy"? By ending the Iraq War that Dan Schwartz's G-O-TEA buddies so enthusiastically supported (diverting money that otherwise could have gone toward creating jobs here)?

By making health care more affordable and more accessible to more Americans (which the G-O-TEA still fights tooth and nail)?

By fighting to ensure middle class Americans get a tax cut (that the G-O-TEA nearly killed)?

What am I missing here? Oh yes, Obama's actual record of saving our economy versus this steaming pile of stupid. Oh, and I eagerly await Dan Schwartz and Barbara Cegavske to tell us whether they support their fellow G-O-TEA-nuts Dean Heller and Joe Heck in torpedoing our economic recovery and forcing more pain & suffering on middle class families, all in the name of "austerity".

Cheese, louise! Iowa hasn't even caucused yet, but already the stupid is piling up among NV-04 Republicans.

Happy New Year, Nevada!

2012-01-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

Apparently, last night was a blast...

And here's to a better and more prosperous 2012! Happy New Year, and stay tuned for an exciting first week of 2012 here at Nevada Progressive. :-D

10 of 11: Meta... & Long Overdue Shoutouts!

2011-12-31T09:01:00.000-08:00

So here we are. This is the very last diary of 2011. A new year is about to begin.

So what better way to send away the old year and ring in the new than reflect on all the changes to Nevada's progressive blogosphere in the last year?! Ah, where should I begin?

For one, The Nevada View is now here to stay. Congrats to the TNV team for offering more news and views reflecting the real concerns of the 99%.

I also must give big props to @LauraKMM for her online @ss kicking at The Sausage Factory. There's a reason why (despite her not posting as often as we'd like) she's now officially one of our state's best.

And where, oh where, would any of us be without Desert Beacon? She moved her platform to Wordpress earlier this year, and it only seems to have made her blog even better. And in a time and place where it can be awfully difficult to find real, fact-based insight and analysis, Desert Beacon is always THE reliable source for Nevadans "in the know".

Another valuable resource deserving more attention is Nevada State Employee Focus. At a time when public servants are all too often falsely and unjustly villainized, Jim Pierce has been doing an amazing job fighting back and calling out the radical right's malicious and lie-fueled attacks on the working class for exactly what they are. And seriously, I can't thank him enough for exposing the weird anti-worker "Mary Kate" troll... As my current Republican Assembly Member who recently announced he won't be running for reelection (because my new district is too Democratic for him, ha)!

And before I go, I must give a big shout-out to the #nvp2 tweeters who make political blogging in this state that much more fun:

- @LauraKMM, as mentioned above

- @iamderekw, for some of the most entertaining Twitter wars with "journalists" who like to play fast and loose with the facts

- @RepAmodei, for setting up perhaps the best Twitter (PARODY!) page for any of our Congresscritters (hehe) ;-)

- @JimRogersNevada, for telling it like it is... And having a big enough platform for media pundits to actually pay attention (it helps that he owns one of them)

- Oh yes, and @KenKraftNV always has great facts and figures and data and analysis. And of course, "numbers nerds" always excite me.

And of course, there are many more that I just can't list now. But hey, there's always hope you'll be on our 2012 list!

Happy New Year, everyone! :-D

10 of 11: Is It 2012 Yet?

2011-12-29T10:45:00.000-08:00

Funny enough, one of the biggest stories of this past year has been about... NEXT YEAR??!! Yep, that's right. Since hardly anything could be accomplished in Congress as our own Legislature kept kicking the can further down the road, focus turned quickly to the big election year that will begin in just 5 days in the snowy fields of Iowa. And back here in Nevada, the G-O-TEA is in full panic mode after the last R-J/8 News/UNLV poll delivered plenty of holiday cheer for President Obama and Shelley Berkley. Meanwhile, news broke this morning about another big ballot battle coming to a polling place near you in 2012.

The initiative, which would change state law, will be based on the “margins tax” proposed by Democrats during the 2011 Legislature, according to a source. That tax proposal was modeled after Texas’ “franchise tax,” which was levied on business gross receipts.

Proponents will have to collect 72,000 signatures — 18,000 in each of the state’s four congressional districts. If successful, the proposal would go to the Legislature for consideration in 2013. If the lawmakers don’t pass it within 40 days, it will go to the ballot in 2014 for voters to decide.

Advocates for changing the state’s tax structure and increasing the funding for social services and education hope to build a coalition of support among business leaders, gaming, mining, teachers and labor. [...]

However, the state’s power brokers, including gaming, mining, the teachers union and AFL-CIO, have been talking about changing the state’s tax structure since the 2011 session ended in June. The challenge: to close the state’s budget deficit of more than $1 billion.

At the end of that session, the Legislature re-extended taxes passed in 2009, but did nothing to change the tax structure, which critics say is too dependent on gaming and sales tax.

That led to widespread frustration in the Nevada establishment and a consensus that no tax, even one that was revenue neutral, could pass the Legislature, where it takes a two-thirds majority to raise a tax or fee. (A ballot question only requires a simple majority of voters for it to pass.)

Apparently, we truly are coming around full circle and "Californication" has arrived in Nevada. After several disappointing sessions full of dashed hopes and so much kicking the can down the road, the can now looks to land in our laps. And perhaps 2012 will be the perfect year to do it. After all, these folks in Chicago are feeling increasingly confident about "The Map".

Remember when Jim Messina came here in August to discuss the restart of the Obama campaign? When he was explaining how OFA was about to lay the foundation for this campaign, even some on the left were asking how on earth Obama could expect to regain the trust of Americans when so much seemed to look so wrong.

Last night, Messina acknowledged that this may be their biggest challenge going forward. So much really has been accomplished by the Obama Administration, but will the American people really care? And why should they care when the unemployment rate is still over 9%, people are still losing their homes to foreclosure, and three wars are still being waged abroad while Congress breaks for recess after debating whether or not to end Social Security & Medicare as we know it?

Now we're getting a clearer picture... And Jim Messina doesn't sound so crazy, after all. While Mitt Romney brags about his plan to force commercials onto "Sesame Street" and Ron Paul embraces pro "death penalty for teh gayzzz!!!" Christ-o-fascists, OFA has quietly been building a strong operation from the grassroots upward. And when no one was noticing, the economy started to heal and now the President isn't looking so bad after all.

Just over a year ago, hardly anyone was expecting this. But sometimes, one just has to expect and accept the unexpected. Between the changing tide (yet again) of public opinion, the revival of the Obama campaign, the new awareness surrounding "The 99%", and the huge curveball that redistricting turned out to be, Nevada in 2012 may prove to be the ultimate opportunity for progressives to rescue this state... And perhaps take this state in a bold, new direction.

10 of 11: Education Matters?

2011-12-28T10:43:00.000-08:00

Last week, we noted the channeling of growing angst over inequality into the still maturing Occupy/99% movement. This week, I want to remind you that #Occupy was foreshadowed right here in Nevada. Remember "Sandoville"?

Remember the largest protest in Carson City's history?

And remember what was discussed right here on this blog on the heels of that historic rally?

How many more times must I explain this? With inadequate schools, new companies won't move here. Businesses are now looking for a more educated workforce, and Nevada can't provide that with underfunded, overcrowded, underperforming, overburdened, and all around collapsing K-12 schools and colleges. Without good schools, we'll never have the foundation needed for a more stable economy and lasting jobs.

But do enough legislators understand this? Do they really want to continue being penny wise and pound foolish? Do they want to force Clark County School District to sue them for inadequate funding? Do they really want to "beggar thy neighbor" by forcing unfunded mandates onto local governments? Or are they finally ready to make a change and do the right thing?

Everything we "know" on the budget is wrong. The revenue is there. The mining industry can certainly afford to pay its fair share, and so can other large multinational corporations taking advantage of our consumer dollars while refusing to pay what we pay. Our system is broken, our state is failing, and we can no longer afford to ignore this crisis.

Yep. It's STILL the schools, stupid.

It seemed like despite all the growing body of evidence showing exactly how Nevada fails because we fail to properly invest in public education, some in Carson City continued to stick their heads in the sand and hope for something that won't ever (and really shouldn't ever) come back to Nevada. In March, I was asking why we would want to kill ourselves like this

As we've talked about before, many thousands of students from throughout the state have begged Brian Sandoval and The Legislature to let them continue learning. Under Sandoval's proposed budget, entire departments are set to be eliminated from UNLV and UNR, UNLV will likely go bankrupt, and entire colleges, like Western Nevada College in Carson City and Nevada State College in Henderson, may be permanently closed. Now what would that say about our state planning ahead for a better economic future?

As I've repeatedly exclaimed here before, the ONLY way for Nevada to survive is for us to diversify our economy and bring in companies looking for an educated workforce. But as long as we continue to defund our schools, Nevada will be nothing other than a third world society slowly unraveling as casino conglomerates look elsewhere to profit off gambling going global.

This year's budget really is a life or death decision for Nevada. Will we decide on economic and social murder-suicide by way of destroying what little public infrastructure we have? Or will we choose life? Will we decide to build on that very public infrastructure that the vast majority of the private sector has told us is critical for them to do business here?

Sadly, Brian Sandoval continued to drown out the crying and raging masses while the Legislature continued to suffer under partisan stalemate (thanks to the more extreme G-O-TEA caucus). On May 26, I asked how much longer "we the people" could be ignored.

For far too long, we have been told to "suck it up" and "celebrate the free market". Look where that has taken us. Even though we have the cheapest state government and one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation, we have the highest unemployment rate in the nation and an economy unraveling due to casinos investing more offshore and the real estate bubble bursting. The Nevada "success story" of the past has been found to be just a mirage, an illusion, a trick.

Can we be ignored?

We know what we need to fix our economy and put our state back on track. While Sandogibbons continues to dream of making it big time, many Nevadans' dreams of making it to the next day fade away. There were so many people in Grant Sawyer yesterday testifying of how they're trying to do the right thing by staying in school, working on college degrees, and aspiring for real, stable jobs. But as Sandogibbons and his merry band of cannibalistic teabaggers continue to pull the rug out from under them (by way of forcing class eliminations, school closures, further health care rationing, etc.), they don't know if they can survive here. [...]

Can we be ignored? Or is Nevada about to get a brutal wake-up call?

And funny enough, on that exact same day a "Deus ex machina" appeared... In the form of a Nevada Supreme Court ruling that was almost literally released at the 11th hour and just barely in time to stop the Legislature from collapsing without a budget agreement. Yet despite that, we only ended up with the usual political games of how much more to cut and how little to tax to keep funding schools at the ridiculously low levels they've always been. However, not all hope is lost. As we discussed at the start of this series, there may be efforts in the new year to finally get Nevada to invest in its people again. It may ultimately have to go to the ballot box, but at this point we may need to do that just so we no longer have to endure Carson City dragging its feet on making our schools work.

10 of 11: Redistricting!

2011-12-27T09:28:00.000-08:00

This is probably the quirkiest and funniest story of 2011. At the start of the year, everyone was wondering what kind of deal would be made to please most incumbents and share the treasures of Congressional gerrymandering. Honestly, that's what I was thinking when I released my first scenario for changing Nevada's Congressional map. I mean, come on... Nevada's Legislature had always been able to agree to a bipartisan gerrymander that kept most happy. Couldn't they do it again?

By April, the answer was starting to sound like one big fat "NO!" And as spring sprang and the budget brawl was becoming increasingly brutal, Nevada's pundit class was finally starting to realize that a huge "game change" was in the works. And despite the Legislature brokering a budget deal in late May (once the state Supreme Court forced it), a compromise gerrymander was looking increasingly impossible. And once sine die was reached in early June, the legal fight officially became a battle royale... And I noted that it wasn't exactly a bad thing.

Maybe this really isn't a bad thing? After all, the current districts we have are a result of a bipartisan "incumbent protection" gerrymander. Perhaps now that judges will decide the new district boundaries rather than politicians looking to protect their own behinds and/or use redistricting as a bargaining chip for something else, we'll see Congressional and legislative districts that actually make more sense. Here's to hope!

In August, redistricting took a weird turn when Judge James Todd Russell appointed "special masters" to handle the map drawing... And decide all the legal issues that he was supposed to rule on! By October, Secretary of State Ross Miller rushed to the Nevada Supreme Court to beg our state's highest court to end what seemed to be turning into a fiasco. By then, most of our state's politicos were begging Governor Sandoval and the legislators to try one more time to agree on some sort of redistricting compromise. Jon Ralston most notably asked the Gube and the Leg to "make them (Judge Russell and the "special masters") irrelevant", but I wasn't ready to give up on our new bold experiment just yet.

So is independent redistricting perfect? Nope, just look at what's happening next door. But by the same token, we can also look next door and see an overall better functioning process that gives voters more control than the usual powers that be. And that would be quite the "special" departure from the usual politics that surrounds redistricting here in Nevada.

I honestly don't know if the current judiciary mess or retrying the Legislature is the better path to take for this current round of redistricting here. But moving forward, we really need to reexamine our State Constitution (which currently requires the Legislature to redraw its own districts and Congressional Districts) and ask if we really want to endure this kind of nonsense ten years from now.

I noted that despite many legal and political hiccups, both Arizona and California ultimately ended up with fairer and more logical Congressional and Legislature maps. Maybe if we just let this process work, Nevada could also be as lucky?

Oh, we certainly ended up so! The new maps were released in mid October, and the new state of play suddenly sent a whole lot of politicians scrambling. And in addition to Congress, the Legislature also saw a huge overhaul as both Assembly and Senate districts shifted southward.

Of course, this made the Nevada GOP furious. Funny enough, they were originally pushing for court drawn maps in the hope of the redistricting law suit landing on the lap of a Republican friendly judge. And of course, they got that! However, they still threw a temper tantrum once the new maps emerged. Why? Oh, it wasn't a gerrymander... And all of a sudden, they were forced to acknowledge the shift of the balance of power from rural white Republicans to multicultural and multi-ethnic urban and suburban Democrats.

Huh? When did the Voting Rights Act ever elevate "population minorities" to the same legally protected status as racial minorities? Is [Assembly Member Pete] Goicoechea [R-Eureka] really trying to claim that rural Nevada is "discriminated against" when it has the most subsidized government services of any of us? I dare Pete Goicoechea to go to West Las Vegas and talk with the residents who remember the "Mississippi of the West" days, when no African-Americans were allowed to even step in the front door of any Strip casinos! And I dare him to go to East Las Vegas and talk with the residents who are still enduring the anti-Latin@ xenophobia that his party's US Senate candidate tried to tap into to win last year. [...]

So what's the real objection here? Simple: Population. And Power.

For decades, rural Nevada, along with Washoe County, has had disproportionate power and control over state affairs. Even though Clark became the most populous county in the state in 1960, we still haven't yet seen Clark become all that much of a force in Carson City. Again, look at the distribution of state college funds, and the distribution of public safety funds, and the constant resistance to progressive tax reform despite growing support statewide.

This really looks to be "The Cow Counties' Last Stand". Deep down, they know that Nevada is changing. Not only is Nevada's population growing more diverse, but it's also becoming more urban as Greater Las Vegas continues to reinvent itself. As we talked about on Monday, the "Bonanza" vision of Nevada is fading as the state makes the transition from bucolic desert wonderland to dynamic urban destination. And as we make that transition, our attitudes are changing on issues like taxes, land use, environmental stewardship, civil rights, and the overall needs for government.

In the end, only minor changes were made to the Legislature maps and the Nevada Supremes ultimately green-lighted the new maps this past fall. So in addition to the wide open Legislature races, we now have a red hot (even if deep blue) Democratic primary in NV-01, a real barnburner of a general election coming to Joe Heck in NV-03, and Barbara Cegavske's increasingly comical delusions of grandeur in NV-04. And who knows, maybe at some point NV-02 will join in on the fun and games next year as well.

10 of 11: #Equality

2011-12-26T11:31:00.000-08:00

Not so long ago, LGBTQ equality seemed a distant dream. Hell, much of the community was excluded not that long ago as even many community leaders would only talk of "gay rights". But over the course of the last decade, this would change in a radical way. And in 2011 here in Nevada, we saw some big changes.

The year started with some uncertainty as pro-equality bills like AB 211 were being overshadowed by the bigger budget brawl. In March, the vote counting was still very much underway in Carson City. But in May, we saw a breakthough when AB 211 finally passed the Legislature and Brian Sandoval agreed to sign it into law. Never before in Carson could any transgender rights bill even reach the Assembly or Senate floor. But now, transgender Nevadans can finally work without fear of easy firing because of who they are. We also saw bills addressing housing discrimination, school bullying, public accommodations, and kids in foster care become law to the benefit of the entire community.

It seems like in the course of just three years, Nevada has made a great leap forward in treating its LGBTQ residents as full human beings. However, we still saw reminders this year that we've not reached full equality just yet. While the LVCVA took the long awaited step of marketing more to LGBTQ tourists, many of the powers that be in this state still can't admit that issues like marriage discrimination hold us back. And in October, the RGJ actually published a smart and insightful story on the hardships local LGBTQ families still face in this state.

[Joe] Edson said that, as a couple, [he and registered domestic partner Mike Hardie] have "jumped through all the legal hoops backwards" to get many of the same rights and protections that come to opposite-sex couples. That includes legal powers of attorney for health issues and revocable trusts. Edson said he had to be treated for colon cancer in 2004 and that helped propel the decision to get family rights.

"Any drunk heterosexual couple can wander into an Elvis chapel in Las Vegas and get all of these rights automatically," Edson said. "We have the education and the financial wherewithal to get those kinds of rights documented. A lot of our friends do not."

While domestic partnerships certainly offer more legal protections, rights, and responsibilities than the great heap of nothing we had before 2009, they're still not marriage. But even with this, there's hope emerging. The Prop 8 case in California is still making its way through federal courts. And if Judge Walker's overturning of the California marriage equality ban continues to stand, then it sets an encouraging federal precedent that will likely lead the way to the end of our own Question 2 marriage ban, as well as other discriminatory marriage bans across the country.

And speaking of federal matters, another encouraging development was the end of DADT. Last year, our own Harry Reid helped lay the foundation for its ultimate demise. And this year, homophobia fueled discrimination in America's armed forces finally landed where it belongs, in the dustbin of history. It's just too bad that the G-O-TEA still refuses to enter the 21st century.

Wow. Has the Republican Party really sunk that low? Apparently so. Remember, a bunch of Florida Republicans attending last night's debate in Orlando booed an active duty soldier, and did so simply because he's gay and he wanted to ask the Republican Presidential Candidates about reviving DADT.

And you know what makes this even more disgusting? Only two Republican candidates (neither of them with any real chance of getting the nomination), Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, rose to defend Stephen Hill and the end of DADT. Apparently, the rest of the GOP "clown car candidates" think discrimination is fabulous.

What really makes this appalling is that the Florida Republican audience at that debate last night showed complete and utter disrespect for an active duty soldier. They essentially booed our military and showed contempt for our country. Think about it. For as long as I can remember, the Republican Party has tried to position itself as "the patriotic party", the party that believes in the sanctity of the flag and everything it represents. Yet last night, we didn't see that party. Rather, we saw the continuation of a trend in the unveiling of a "new Republican Party" that's been hijacked by "TEA Party" extremists who care more about radical ideology than even the well being of our military and our very national security.

And therein lies our continuing challenge. But hopefully one day soon, we shall finally overcome bigotry's last stand and achieve full equality.

Did Santa Come Early (for Nevada Democrats)?

2011-12-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering, our 10 of 11 series will continue after Christmas. Don't worry about that. But in the mean time, I just have to interrupt our reminiscing to show you the 8 News Now/R-J UNLV poll that's giving Nevada Republicans "the vapors". (Trust me, we'll tie it all together at the end of this diary!)

President Barack Obama would handily defeat any of the Republican presidential candidates in Nevada if the election were held now, according to an 8 News Now/Las Vegas Review-Journal poll conducted by UNLV's Cannon Survey Center.

With a sample size of 600 registered voters and a 4 percent margin of error, Democrat Obama would defeat his closest rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 45.7 percent to 39.8 percent.

In a presidential caucus, Republicans favor Romney but his closest foe, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, trails within the 6.5 percent margin of error in that particular contest. This result reflects registered voters, but not likely caucus-goers.

The telephone poll, conducted Dec. 12 through Dec. 20, had Obama topping Texas Congressman Ron Paul 45.4 percent to 35.7 percent, Gingrich 47.3 to 35.4, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum 49.3 to 30.9, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman 48.8 to 30.1, Texas Gov. Rick Perry 50.8 to 31.1 and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann 50.2 to 27.1.

Whoops. I guess Americans really are getting tired of "tea party" madness... And realizing that sanity really is a good thing. Hell, the G-O-TEA is now turning voters AWAY (especially if they're gay or not super-rich)!

But wait, it gets worse for Nevada Republicans. It also turns out that Dean Heller isn't all that popular, either.

Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley would defeat Republican Sen. Dean Heller in a nail-biter to represent Nevada in the U.S. Senate if the election were held now, according to an 8 News Now/Las Vegas Review-Journal poll conducted by UNLV's Cannon Survey Center.

The poll of 600 registered Nevada voters showed Berkley edging Heller 44.4 percent to 43.2 percent. But the contest, which will be decided in the November 2012 general election, is well within the poll's 4 percent margin of error. The telephone poll was conducted Dec. 12 through Dec. 20.

Now Heller isn't doing as poorly as Romney-Gingrich-Paul at the top of the ticket, but he's nonetheless in real danger. As we noted on Tuesday, he's fallen from a double digit lead to a tie... And now, perhaps falling behind Shelley Berkley in the US Senate race. Hmmm, I wonder why?

Apparently, Nevadans are smart enough to realize his unbalanced nonsense means less work and more suffering. And they're smart enough to know that the source of Washington's problems lies on Capitol Hill (not The White House). So maybe 2012 won't bring the G-O-TEA another "Red Tide" after all? And in the mean time, Nevada Democrats should probably enjoy these nice stocking stuffers from Santa Claus... Then work their behinds off in 2012 to really make it come true.

10 of 11: #Occupy

2011-12-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

After "The Arab Spring" and Europe's summer of discontent, many were wondering why America couldn't protest what we supposedly couldn't stand. Well, we all now know what happened next...

"The American Autumn" began, and it came here in full force.

It probably doesn't help that despite economists marking the official end of "The Great Recession", household income continued to fall nearly 7%. No matter how much we say the recession is over, for many Americans, and a whole lot of Nevadans, it rages on as they live in fear of losing everything. But in the last couple of years, that fear has been turning into anger. In the beginning, "Tea Party, Inc." was hoping to co-opt that anger and direct it at "LIB-RULZZZ!!!" But now that Occupy Together is offering a non-corporate alternative to the "tea party" corporate front groups, people are realizing they now have a chance to redirect their anger at the forces that really caused this mess. [...]

This is why Americans are angry, and this is why Occupy Wall Street may become more than just one protest. People want jobs, but Congress does nothing. People are feeling ignored. Even while the 99% suffer, no one cares as long as the top 1% continues to prosper. Though people are demanding real economic solutions now, all they're seeing on Capitol Hill is more bickering about policies that do nothing to help formerly middle class workers.

This is why Americans are angry. They feel like the system is broken. And really, can we blame them? Can we blame them for being angry at Koch Industries buying as much "free speech" as they want with each upcoming campaign while they were continually ignored?

It even came here and reached us locally. Down south it seemed to hit a climax in October, when the G-O-TEA thought they were just going to see a debate and do a conference inside. They didn't expect an uprising outside.

Yes, there were a few conspiracy nuts. And there were some Ron Paul fans. And there were some genuine socialists.

However, there were also unemployed workers. And there were frustrated students. And there were union workers. And there were angry seniors. And there was an amazing cross-section of Southern Nevada present outside The Venetian. For all of Wall Street's efforts to smear and denigrate the Occupy/99% movement, there's obviously far more to it than just the small radical fringes that's really resonating with the strong majority of Americans. And that scares the corporate powers that be.

This is what scares them.

They just can't lump together all the Occupy/99% protesters as "crazies". It's easy to zoom in on one person and try it, but it's not so easy to dismiss this kind of crowd. And it's not easy to dismiss the policy ideas that most in Occupy support that most Americans also support, such as making the super-rich pay their fair share so we can make better investments in taking care of our seniors, putting people back to work, and educating our future leaders. The big corporate powers that be simply can't spin that as "fringe" or "extreme", and that scares them.

It seemed like The 99% Movement was about to "go big" and reshape American politics, but then it hit a snag. Winter was fast approaching (btw, Happy Solstice!), and so were the cops. And in the process, it seemed like Occupy was losing steam. Honestly, I was getting concerned.

However, I am concerned about The 99% Movement going forward. Is apathy laced diaspora the best approach to this next election? An election that can take this country in a radically different direction? An election that will again prominently feature the Supreme Court? An election that may feature [Mitt Romney or Paul-Gingrich-Perry-???], both of whom holding nothing but contempt for the 99%, as the Republicans' Presidential Nominee? An election that will either get Congress working for the 99%, or result in a Congress that's even more hostile to the 99%? When much is at stake here, I don't see the use in progressives sitting out this election to engage in street theater... While "Tea Party, Inc.", is set to spend however much it takes to take full control of the government.

If one wants to change the system, one can't just sit back as a bystander. One must work to create that change. And while protests are fine and dandy and a great way to express one's right to free speech, protests alone will not solve our problems. We have to remember to vote, too.

But then this happened, she came back, and I saw reason to hope again.

It can be quite easy to become discouraged by the whole process. And it can be quite easy to become distracted by the endless media hype and speculation over meaningless "dog and pony shows". And it be quite easy to become disgusted by all the dirty corporate money thrown around. Sometimes, it's quite difficult to remember what really matters.

However, we just can't forget. We can't forget the importance of getting involved, contacting our members of Congress, building a real movement, and ultimately using our votes to change what we don't like. That's the beauty of our system, and that's something we should never feel compelled to give up.

We can't wait for job creation. And we can't wait for an end to Congress' charade games that keep threatening middle class families. We need real, bold action on job creation. And if the current G-O-TEA House majority prevents Congress from acting, then we need to change Congress by occupying the vote.

Hopefully, this will finally come to fruition in 2012.

10 of 11: The Rise & Fall of the "New" Nevada GOP

2011-12-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

Without a doubt, 2011 was a dramatic year for our friends and foes across the aisle. They started off on a high... Despite failing last year to "take out" their top target. In fact, it seemed like Brian Sandoval's early success in blocking needed revenue lifted them up to Cloud 9 where they could enjoy their AFP/"Tea Party, Inc." funded orgy. And even though the Nevada Supreme Court ultimately nipped that G-O-TEA fantasy in the bud in late May, they were still optimistic. And hey, why not when their biggest thorn in the side was finally magically erased?

But then, something funny happened on the way to Dean Heller's "coronation". Just as Brian Sandoval tried to essentially hand him our US Senate seat, they both got a loud reality check in April. Remember when we first talked about it?

Sandoval really thought this blatant snubbing of Nevadans would be glossed over as just another instance of "politics as usual". However, so far it looks like we the people want to take a closer look and ask why Dean Heller deserves a "head start" in next year's Senate election, and why we the people should be forced to pay for a special election to replace Heller exactly when Sandoval wants to slash public education to death, force elderly & disabled Nevadans onto the streets, and endanger Nevada's fragile economic recovery.

What, are Carson City political games more important than the lives of real Nevadans? Is this what Brian Sandoval meant by "shared sacrifice"? And is this just another instance of Dean Heller practicing something far different from what he preaches? Is it more important to cheat against Shelley Berkley than to actually focus on what their respective jobs are supposed to be?

When PPP and Mellman first showed a tightening Senate race, the pundits were shocked. But now that it's still tight (PPP's last poll showed a tie race), they expect another barnburner of a Senate race in the coming year. Whoops.

But wait, what about Mark Amodei? Yes, what about him. He went from facing a potentially scary upset (for him) to an easy win. And yes, both his political resiliency and Kate Marshall's shocking crashing & burning of her own campaign forced a nasty "gut check moment" for Democrats in Tonopah this past September.

As I wrote then...

Of course, last night's special election results weren't good for Obama or Congressional Democrats, but on the other hand many in DC are forgetting the local dynamics of both races. Here in Nevada, Kate Marshall positioned herself to essentially run against Obama, which demoralized the Democratic base and caused the entire election to be played on the Nevada GOP's turf. And in New York, Orthodox Jews and older white "Reagan Democrats" turned hard Republicans made that election into a referendum on Israel, social issues, and internal Brooklyn & Queens political drama. And while special elections tend to produce dramatic results as of late, they rarely provide a clear forecast of the political climate of the following election cycle.

What will be far more telling in the coming weeks and months, however, is what happens to the economy next, how politicians and political parties react to the state of the economy, and how voters respond to the politicians' reactions.

And that's when the tide turned yet again.

In August, the G-O-TEA seemed to be flying high again after "The Great Debt Ceiling Debacle of 2011". Democrats again seemed demoralized (see above note on Kate Marshall's campaign), the "tea party" looked to take control of the narrative, and we all just needed to shut up and embrace our "bright future" ahead with Mitt Romney. But then (again), something funny happened on the way to Romney's "coronation" and the Nevada GOP's "reascendancy". He told us to "drop dead", but it was really only the local G-O-TEA outlet that followed through. Ralston couldn't contain himself as he saw them turn to slow-motion implosion, but I wasn't too surprised, as I saw for myself the dreaded "Obama-Reid Machine" rise again while the G-O-TEA were arguing over how irrelevant their caucus was to be.

As we discussed back in late October when the Nevada GOP sealed the deal on the "Great RNC-New Hampshire Cave-in of 2011":

Too late, Mrs. Tark Shark. It's already been a huge debacle, an unnecessary distraction, and a way for New Hampshire politicians to use our state as their personal pinata. Maybe you avoided getting deposed as Nevada GOP Chair, but you've already lost as your party has just become the national laughingstock. [...]

While OFA and Nevada Democrats are busy being... Well, productive, in registering voters and calling to recruit more volunteers, Nevada Republicans were too busy chickening out to New Hampshire teabaggers and sacrificing our state's dignity to pay for Florida's original sin [in moving their primary to January 31, triggering the chaos that led to the RNC forcing the Nevada GOP to push back their caucus to February 4 so New Hampshire can do their primary exactly when they want it]. So there you have it. This may very well be the moment that clinches Nevada, and perhaps the overall 2012 election, for President Obama next year.

What? You think I'm crazy? I think everyone needs to review what happened in last year's Senate election. Welcome to deja vu. The spirit of Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron lives on in the Nevada Republican Party. [...]

Funny enough, the usual "Sharrontology Fan Club" TEA-nut conspiracy theorists were trying to claim, "Big Bad Harry Reid HIJACKED!!!!!" their pointless central committee meeting, but that's just crazy talk. Neither he nor Obama needed to. Nevada Republicans are doing a great job losing the upcoming election all by themselves!

And here's where it all comes full circle. Just as they blew it last year in picking the ultimate extremist to lose to Harry Reid and muck up their own message in the process, the Nevada GOP are set to lose more elections all on their own all over again. They threw a hissy fit over the nonpartisan judicial redistricting results that they supposedly wanted. They focused on stupid "CUL'CHUR WARZZZ!!!" crap when people were asking for jobs. Dean Heller and Joe Heck were too busy catering to "Tea Party, Inc." and nutty extremists to notice their constituents protesting outside their local offices.

And as all of this was happening all around them, Nevada GOP "leaders" couldn't realize the turmoil at their own doorstep because they were too busy believing Barbara Cegavske's delusions of grandeur! Hey, how else can we explain what they did this year? They rose so high, only to fall so fast.

Sorry, Nevada GOP. Apparently Democrats won't be so easy to beat after all.

Two new major national polls show President Obama’s approval ratings making solid improvement, and putting him close to the 50% threshold that is seen as key for an incumbent seeking reelection. In addition, the polls suggest that Obama could be doing better than the Congressional Republicans in their ongoing political fights. [...]

The CNN poll had only a simple version of [a question on the economy and how Obama can handle it], with a very good result for Obama: “Do you have more confidence in President Obama or in the Republicans in Congress to deal with the major issues facing the country today?”

The numbers: Obama 50%, Republicans 31%.

10 of 11: Gabby... & Jared

2011-12-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

Even though this clip is from 2010, it's a lurid foreshadow of how 2011 was to begin:

And yes, sadly, there's a Nevada Angle to this story.

While she may not have been the main cause of the Tucson massacre that killed six people and wounded nineteen others, including US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona), Sharron Angle's and the tea party's increasingly violent rhetoric certainly helped to create the environment that encouraged fringe radicals like Jared Lee Loughner to use "Second Amendment Remedies". Back in January, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik pointed it out.

“When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous. And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.” [...]

“We need to do some soul searching … It’s the vitriolic rhetoric that we hear day in and day out from people in the radio business and some people in the TV business. People tend to pooh-pooh this business about the vitriol that inflames American public opinion by the people who make a living off of that. That may be free speech but it’s not without consequences.”

And the Southern Poverty Law Center researched the origins of the conspiracy theories Loughner embraced, and found some startling clues for what motivated him to turn violent.

At one point, Loughner refers disparagingly to “currency that’s not backed by gold or silver.” The idea that silver and gold are the only “constitutional” money is widespread in the antigovernment “Patriot” movement that produced so much violence in the 1990s. It’s linked to the core Patriot theory that the Federal Reserve is actually a private corporation run for the benefit of unnamed international bankers. So-called Patriots say paper money — what they refer to with a sneer as “Federal Reserve notes” — is not lawful.

At another, Loughner makes extraordinarily obscure comments about language and grammar, suggesting that the government engages in “mind control on the people by controlling grammar.” That’s not the kind of idea that’s very common out there, even on the Internet. In fact, I think it’s pretty clear that Loughner is taking ideas from Patriot conspiracy theorist David Wynn Miller of Milwaukee. Miller claims that the government uses grammar to “enslave” Americans and offers up his truly weird “Truth-language” as an antidote. For example, he says that if you add colons and hyphens to your name in a certain way, you are no longer taxable. Miller may be mad as a hatter, but he has a real following on the right.

Loughner talks about how you “can’t trust the government” and someone burns a U.S. flag in one of his videos. Although certain right-wing websites are already using that (and his listing of The Communist Manifesto as one of his favorite books) to claim that Loughner was a “left-winger,” that does not strike me as true. The main enemy of the Patriot movement is certainly the federal government. And so-called Patriots have certainly engaged in acts like burning the flag.

And if you think this is all just "crazy talk", tell that to Iowa. According to PPP, Ron Paul has now taken the lead there as the Iowa Caucus is fast approaching. Remember, Ron Paul has repeatedly winked and nodded at these conspiracy theories as he's trying to turn the fringe into mainstream. And it's not just Paul. The whole radical right likes to play footsie with this kind of crazy... Until something like this occurs, when they then try to rewrite history.

As I wrote back in January...

OK, so Loughner may have been dabbling in some looney tunes nonsense, possibly even including a known white supremacist hate group. What does this have to do with Glenn Beck... Or Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle for that matter? Well, it comes back to the ["tea party"]. The "tea party" is a sort of umbrella classification of a number of far right organizations and politicians, but there is definitely strong evidence to show that leading "tea party" figures are trying to legitimize the same extreme ideology of the extreme right that influenced past terrorists, like Timothy McVeigh.

And worse, as Glenn Beck warns of supposed "conspiracies of the left" to bring about "imminent violent revolution", and as Sarah Palin tells her followers, "never retreat, instead RELOAD!", and as Sharron Angle suggests "Second Amendment Remedies" to take care of "enemies in our own system... in the walls of Congress"...

Far too many media pundits and politicians in DC have been far too willing to simply dismiss this as "politics as usual". This is NOT "politics as usual". This is an ever escalating culture of political violence that must stop!

Again, I had feared something like this would eventually happen. Last year, I feared Harry Reid would be the victim. I had seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears the teabaggers' unplugged, unfiltered, and unfettered irrational hatred of Harry Reid... As well as President Barack Obama, for that matter. While "Tea Party, Inc." consultants in California were just focusing on building enough opposition to win an election, the opposition among many teabaggers ran far deeper.

And that January, we found out the hard way how deep that was.

Yet while we saw the far right turn increasingly radical, we also saw glimmers of hope as folks in The Southwest turned away from it. Pay attention again to Gabby's own words.

Strangely enough, Giffords talked with an long time Republican friend about starting a campaign to tone down the increasingly extreme rhetoric in today's politics right before her "Congress on Your Corner" town hall that turned so bloody. Yet while Giffords herself ultimately couldn't lead on this, others soon filled that void. Extreme anti-immigrant Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now facing his own legal troubles for politicizing law enforcement there. Russell Pearce, the state senator who briefly turned Arizona's legislature into a breeding ground for "tea party" extremism, was recalled by his own constituents just last month. Jan Brewer, the Arizona Governor that signed the SB 1070 "papers, please" law and campaigned for reelection on it, is now seeing her popularity fade fast in light of a failed redistricting power grab. And in another twist of fate, Daniel Hernandez, the intern who helped to save Gabby Giffords' life, won election to a seat on the local Tuscon school board.

So maybe there is hope, after all. Gabby Giffords herself continues to recover. She's showing remarkable progress for someone who suffered that kind of brain injury, and is showing interest in running for reelection to Congress.

I'll leave you with this from Time.

There was much to hate about politics this year, especially the amount of hate that seemed to poison it. But if there was an antidote, it came from one of the victims: Gabrielle Giffords, vibrant and valiant member of Congress from Arizona, gunned down when a deranged shooter outside a supermarket put a bullet through her brain. That she survived at all was a miracle; that she recovers — slowly, stubbornly, each day a search for another word, another milestone — is a model. "You have to have hope and faith," she says at the end of Gabby, the book she wrote with her husband and fellow warrior against all odds and expectations, astronaut Mark Kelly. "I will get stronger. I will return."

10 of 11: In the Capitol... And from California to Here

2011-12-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I hinted at the strange dynamics of state government this year. Believe it or not, Nevada wasn't accustomed to the hurly burly of intense, combative, highly partisan "contact sport" politics... Until this year. Yes, for a moment it looked like Nevadans' worst nightmares were coming true and we really were turning into California (albeit led by the radical right that supposedly hates our next door neighbors so much).

Yep, that's right. Republicans here always make scary comments about this state becoming some sort of "Little California", but their very obstruction on the budget and diabolical brinksmanship games with state government are turning us into California!

Sometimes, I really do wonder if Republican legislators are spending time that should be used working on a budget deal to instead study up on how California Republicans have turned Sacramento into an endless game of "Mortal Combat"... Where the folks who get killed off are kids in need of education, and seniors & disabled in need of health care. Read Calitics' budget diaries and notice the strange air of familiarity to them.

It seems like both at the federal level and in other states, Republicans are exporting the California model of obstructing their way to broken government to the rest of the country.

However, I still sensed something different. When I arrived in the capital city myself, I saw it with my own eyes.

There really is an intriguing game of political chess happening in Carson City right now. Democratic leadership is figuring out where to find the votes to pass an actual balanced budget, and Republican leadership is trying to find "cover" so they can provide enough votes for a budget that won't anger "we the people" too much.

I had a chance to talk with three of my favorite legislators this week on what's happening up north. My Senator, Shirley Breeden (D-Henderson),is busy doing her "homework", studying the numbers, and pressing for a final budget that keeps kids in school and keeps our hope for a better economy alive. David Parks (D-Paradise) is working hard on a number of LGBTQ equality bills (that you will be hearing more from me on soon!) and hopes for agreement on these as well as the budget. And as part of the new wave of Latin@ legislators providing some much needed representation in Carson, Ruben Kihuen is already off to an amazing start in The Senate... He even expressed some hope that his fellow legislators, especially on The Senate side, can work together this session.

Interestingly enough, there may actually be some opportunities for just that. That Republican legislator I spoke with was willing to keep an open mind on AB 211, the transgender inclusive workplace non-discrimination bill. Another Republican legislator apparently expressed concern over Sandoval's proposed budget cuts this week, and signaled support for the LGBTQ equality bills. And even though GOP leadership are playing "hard to get" right now in demanding some of the same union busting run amok in Wisconsin and Michigan, they may also be realizing that they can only ask for so much, and that it may not be too smart to antagonize working Nevadans when they've already sacrificed plenty and are ready to share in even more sacrifice this year.

Hopefully, what I saw behind the scenes in Carson City this week are real signs of hope that our Legislature will be working on actual solutions that will make Nevada an even better state. The "sausage making process" may be messy, but let's keep pushing them to ensure the final product is safe for human consumption.

Well, at least the final product wasn't totally lethal. And thanks to a last minute court decision, the logjam was finally broken. And looking beyond the budget, we did score big victories on the LGBTQ equality front with legislation passed to address housing discrimination, school bullying, public accommodations for all, and a long desired win for transgender equality at work. That was the major bright spot that at least somewhat made up for the idiotic Trash Tahoe bill, the ugly continuing attacks on our public servants, and the ridiculous final state budget that was yet another pile of patches, band-aids, and "quick fixes" that are destined to combust all over again in 2013 (if not sooner).

But funny enough, the postscript is still being written. And coming around full circle, Californication may indeed continue next year... But this time, it may actually be for the better. I'll leave you with these words from June, which may yet come to fruition on our ballots next year.

Either way, Nevada's governance will start to look a lot more like California's, and more like other Western states (such as Arizona) that have become accustomed to partisan turf wars, ballot box budgeting, and "direct democracy gone wild". It's now a question of whether Nevada will keep sputtering on its way to the bottom, or if progressives can turn this around and take advantage of this unique opportunity to inject more common sense into our state government. The days of Kenny Guinn and Barbara Buckley and Bill Raggio making "grand bargains" seem to be long gone. Term limits are taking away experienced legislators. Meanwhile, the power vacuum is being filled by corporate lobbyists, party central committees, and other outside forces.

So what can we do? In the long term, I still believe it's in our best interest that progressives work toward reforming state government to make it more responsive to the people and less beholden to special corporate interests. But in the mean time, we can't wait on the sidelines for the next [year] while Nevada's people continue to suffer inadequate public education, health care, transportation, and other infrastructure necessary to make our state whole again.

So now, we have to ask ourselves not whether and when we will go to the ballot and ask the people to save our state, but how we will do so and who we will build coalitions with. Should we work with gaming and mining on a broad-based business tax? Should we work with other progressive activists on a corporate income tax? Should we push for some sort of mining tax reform? 2012 may seem like a long hike away, but it really isn't [especially with the Presidential Caucuses right around the corner and just a month away for Democrats!]. We need to start planning now to take the first necessary steps to save our state and bring real progressive reform to Nevada government.

10 of 11: Shutdown

2011-12-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

As we start our "10 of 11" series and look back on the big stories of 2011, I want to start with the story that's already in the news again... And one that's likely to play a big role in 2012. Once upon a time, it would have been "unthinkable" to shut down the government over petty political disagreements. But now, it's become commonplace. This is really one scary instance of us becoming accustomed to dysfunctional government.

Really, think about it. When the G-O-TEA turned the debate on extending the payroll tax cut for middle class families into yet another high stakes death match, did anyone express shock? That may be the problem here: We've become too used to "brinksmanship/disaster governing".

Already, we've seen this happen at least three times. First we saw a budget battle royale in April, and total shutdown was threatened. Then in July, we saw not only a threat of shutdown, but of total explosion of the global economy, when the G-O-TEA threatened not to raise the debt ceiling and extend the full faith and credit of the USA. That episode led to the game of charades often referred to as "The Supercommittee"... And as we all should have expected, it failed, and it did just that thanks to the usual G-O-TEA brinksmanship games. But thankfully that time, there was an automatic fail-safe "trigger" built in to render that whole experiment as neutered navel gazing.

And now, there's this. When did it become so hard to simply fund our government? And by the way, it wasn't just happening on the federal level. This brutal reality started hitting home this year, as well as an interesting foreshadowing of the Occupy/99% Movement to sprout up later this year (which we'll tackle in a future diary). In 2011, we learned that not even Nevada is totally immune from this type of legislative breakdown.

So for now, I'll leave you with this diary I wrote back in April. It really summarizes how I started feeling about this whole shutdown madness.

It's been said that the hallmark of a good bipartisan compromise on legislation is that it irritates broad swaths of folks across the ideological spectrum. If that's the case, then we have a real winner in the budget deal President Obama made with Congressional Republicans... As well as the next deal about to be made on next year's budget and the debt ceiling! [...]

It really underscores Obama's challenge tonight in presenting a "balanced approach" to balancing the budget. Even as he faces huge challenges abroad with Middle East unrest [which became "The Arab Spring" and resulted in Obama's two great foreign policy achievements: killing Osama bin Laden and letting Libya get rid of Kaddafi] and continued fallout from Japan's huge earthquake and tsunami [substitute Europe's continuing economic earthquakes and political upheaval today], the key challenge now really looks to be domestic. The teabaggers on the extreme right will be pleased by nothing (other than perhaps Obama being impeached on fictitious charges, then replaced by "President [Newt Gingrich]"), and now the left is becoming more vociferous in drawing a line in the sand. Meanwhile, folks from across the blogosphere keep yelling and screaming and taunting Obama as "weak".

It's interesting to see all these complaints now, and to see the glories of our dysfunctional system at work. Congress has to agree on a budget, but hardly anyone wants to make the tough choices and tougher compromises. And as the debt ceiling quickly approaches, some Republicans in Congress are enjoying flirting with total annihilation. Still, we need to recognize good policy and fight for it... And hopefully, Obama will do just that tonight.

Still, let this be a lesson learned (so far) that no one can get everything one wants with a divided government.

Pity Reno? Maybe Vegas Should.

2011-12-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

As more holidays draw closer, I wanted to spread some good cheer. But alas, Coolican is playing Grinch again. This time, he's laughing at poor Reno's despair.

In the new Muppet movie, Reno appears as a sad sack dump for Fozzie Bear's failed solo career. The TV show “Reno 911” has long mocked the city’s police department, and to add insult to injury, the show isn’t even filmed in Reno — where this week two bins of “Toys for Tots” were stolen from a Walmart only to be returned.

And then on “Saturday Night Live” last week, “Weekend Update” host Seth Meyers had this to say: “According to a new list, the least happiest city in America is St. Petersburg, Fla. But that’s only because Reno, Nevada, finally killed itself.” (Las Vegas is actually the suicide capital of America, but moving on ...)

Well, Reno is fighting back!

Some genius in an editors’ meeting of the Reno Gazette-Journal decided he’d had enough. (Somehow I know it was a he.) The paper asked its readers to contribute to an “open letter to Seth Meyers” that will be published Sunday from the people of Reno, a city known for the purity of its methamphetamine.

(Note: The SNL joke on Reno starts just after 9:00 here.)

But wait, it gets worse. RGJ editors started a campaign earlier this week to fight back by turning the joke on Seth Meyers, but Coolican won't have any of that.

The problem here is that these aren’t funny. In fact, the whole flaw in this plan, as I noted on Twitter on Tuesday (@jpcoolican), is that Seth Meyers is funny. Whereas the people of Reno — where the dirt flooring of the homes serves for both sleeping and eating — and the editors of the Reno Gazette Journal are not funny.

If they were funny, they wouldn’t be living in Reno, where we all hope girls will be permitted to go to school someday. They’d be in New York City getting paid to be funny. (Same goes with me, s’pose.)

Wait, how does that old saying go about people who live glass houses throwing stones? Remember all the sturm und drang over Mindy Kaling saying something stupid about Downtown Las Vegas and Luv-It Frozen Custard? And remember all the fire and brimstone being directed at President Obama for speaking obvious common sense in decrying gambling with our tax dollars or our kids' college funds?

Yes, Coolican, we have our own moments of embarrassing overreactions to otherwise inoccuous comments. For heaven's sake, we were even criticizing the President of the United States for criticizing banks misuing taxpayer supported TARP bailout funds on Las Vegas pleasure junkets! So maybe, just maybe, we should lay off Reno as they're engaging in their own moment of overreaction to silly throwaway comments by far away celebrities.

Sure, I understand that perhaps a few tourists really do base their travel decisions on shit Seth Meyers or Mindy Kaling says. And maybe some big multinational banks really were pressured out of wasting Americans' tax dollars on another "conference" on The Strip after President Obama chided them for misusing TARP funds. But seriously, Las Vegas, Reno, and really all of Nevada have bigger problems than shit celebrities say. I mean, come on, we all deserve to be the punchline of jokes when we don't take investing in our own people and our own success all that seriously. Maybe we should actually reform our 19th century tax code to start giving our kids the 21st century education they deserve so we no longer invite the rest of the country to declare us "The Armpit of America"?

Oh, but who am I to point out Nevada's unique talent of sparking "OUTRAGE!" over others pointing out our own shortcomings? And who is anyone in The South to mock The North for taking a well worn page out of our playbook? Sometimes, a joke is just a joke. Lighten up.

As 2011 Comes to a Close...

2011-12-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

I've been holed up and sick for the last week, and I can tell you it hasn't been fun. I've also been spending time with family (no, it really isn't an excuse for avoiding some budding nonexistent sex scandal!) as we're dealing with some difficult changes. I apologize for not spending as much time here as I'd like, and I promise major improvements as 2012 begins.

Still, I won't be completely absent in the next few days. I'll be keeping an eye out for important stories as they develop. And in the mean time, I'll soon bring back the "10 of..." series by highlighting the ten most fascinating and game-changing stories we discussed here this year. Stay tuned for that.

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope our amazing journey at Nevada Progressive continues in the coming new year.

Did Nevada GOP Destroy Mittens' Last Chance?

2011-12-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

After posting yesterday's diary, I've been thinking more about all the drama in the GOP primary. And then this morning, it dawned on me. Not only did the Nevada GOP piss off Jon Ralston, but they may have also dashed the Presidential hopes and dreams of their "Favored Nephew", Mitt Romney. No really, think about this.

Taking a step back from the various state polls, and looking at the flow of the calendar itself, something starts to become clear: If a person had sat down to write a primary calendar, designed around the goal of making things hard for Romney, they could not do much better than the current one.

It is, of course, too early to know what will happen. But on the other hand, if the current trends do end up continuing — and if his new main rival, Newt Gingrich, does not collapse — Romney may be on the verge, despite his long march of running for president in 2008 to now, of having a very rough time in January.

The earliest contests in January are mostly in territory that is simply not a natural fit for Romney. Things turn around in February, with primaries and caucuses that could be better for him — but by then, if current polling trends holds out, the damage could be irreparable.

So let's take a look at the first states.

- Iowa, January 3: Newt Gingrich is leading all the polls, with Ron Paul increasingly taking 2nd place.

- New Hampshire, January 8: The Granite State still looks like a bright spot for Romney, but this small light may dim if Newt continues to nip at his heels and whittle away Mitt's lead.

- South Carolina, January 21: Gingrich now looks to be running away with this primary, and an especially crushing loss for Romney may deliver a potentially fatal blow to what's left of Romney's "air of inevitability".

Now before we go on, let's take a closer look at what's missing. Remember the original plan of both the RNC and DNC to ensure the "First Four" states' place at the top of the primary calendar? Yes, I know, it seems like an eternity ago. But now, this is where "The Great Nevada GOP Fold of 2011" comes in to stomp on Mitt Romney's campaign. At this point, a momentum boosting Nevada caucus win would look awfully attractive to Team Mittens. But since RNC poohbahs teamed up with New Hampshire election officials to essentially bully Nevada Republicans into paying the price of Florida's original sin (remember, it was Florida jumping the gun yet again that started this mess), our GOP caucus is now scheduled for February 4. And as we're about to see...

- Florida, January 31: Newt Gingrich may end up thanking his lucky stars for Amy Tarkanian's folly! He now sports a commanding lead in all the recent primary polls, and winning Florida's media-centric primary may be the perfect way to wrap up a great January for the new "tea party darling".

Again, Nevada's GOP caucus isn't until February 4. And by then, the damage may already be too great for Romney to recover. What was once a sure bet for Romney to gain momentum and bragging rights will probably turn into much ado about nothing. And what was once touted as a potential showcase for local Republicans may end up turning into President Obama's last laugh.

Gotcha, Mittens.

2011-12-11T09:02:00.001-08:00

In case you were too busy enjoying your Saturday night, here's the soundbite that has the Beltway pundit crowd a-Twitter...

Mitt Romney, meet Sue Lowden.

She learned the hard way about the side effects of "foot-in-mouth disease".

But wait, why are we even talking about this? Why does this matter? How does this elevate the tone of the campaign?

Let me explain.

Just how long have we had to hear Mitt Romney claim he has "real economic experience"? And how long have we had to endure endless media blathering about Romney being so "electable" because he supposedly has "the right message on the economy"? As much as I'd personally like for him to be exposed simply due to the (lack of) merits of his economic policies alone, today's media orchestrated circus just doesn't work like that... And that's what Romney was counting upon.

But just as "Tea Party, Inc.", took advantage of Sue Lowden exposing her own politically fatal flaws last year, Romney is undoing his own political house of cards and allowing his opponents a great opportunity to use this moment to highlight the building narrative of "out-of-touch poor lil' rich guy Mittens". And just as Lowden exposed herself as clueless on any of the real issues impacting working class families, Romney is now doing the same.

DNC officials, starting with press secretary Melanie Roussell, began tweeting a #What10kbuys hashtag to amplify their message, with items like a year of daycare for the average family. Within less than a half hour of the debate’s end, it was one of the top trending topics not just in Iowa, or in the United States, but around the world, according to Twitter.

“I’ll bet you ten thousand beers Mitt lives to regret that $10K bet line,” Democratic strategist Paul Begala tweeted.

The episode recalled Romney’s “corporations are people” moment at an Iowa event, which Democrats pounced on in similar fashion. Romney responded to that episode, which many observers interpreted as a gaffe at the time, by doubling down on the line and using it again on the trail and in his official economic plan.

I'll bet you 10,000 blog diaries that Mitt Romney can no longer hide his disdain for policies that help working class families or his allegiance to failed "trickle down economics" nonsense behind a slick ad campaign.