What a Fool Believes

The drama. It just keeps overflowing. And they just can't stop themselves from churning out even more of it. They're addicted to the drama, we tell you!

Of course, we're talking about the drama addicted Nevada Republican Party. When they're not fighting mythical enemies and nonsensical conspiracies, they're fighting each other. And even when their own supposed leader, Governor Brian Sandoval (R), tries to take his party in a saner direction, they rebuff him and instead down more of Sharron Angle's signature Kool-Aid full of crazy.

So what is that crazy Nevada Republican Party up to now? Once again, it's cannibalizing itself over its new pre-primary endorsement policy. The former Nevada Republican Party Chair admitted on Twitter that the current Nevada Republican Party Chair "has little power". The Washoe County Republican Party passed a resolution condemning the State Republican Party's endorsement plans (while also condemning Sandoval's). And once again, we're seeing pure chaos erupt all over social media.

Queue the other Mr. McDonald...



Indeed. What a fool believes... We're seeing manifest itself in today's Nevada Republican Party. Crazy is king, folly is celebrated, and ignorance is bliss. No wonder why Senator Dean Heller (R) sounded so foolish last month when he tried to defend the crazy chaos of his party.

But then again, he's not alone. Just today, US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) simultaneously attacked and praised the very 21st Century Know Nothings who will determine his political future. He has to figure out how to win his own primary, yet he's afraid of the havoc they're wreaking in other primaries. And suddenly, his bizarre "gun show" at CPAC starts to make sense.

Meanwhile in Florida, Republicans are already bickering over an election that's yet to conclude tomorrow. And House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) already has a case of the sads. Perhaps he can join some discouraged Nevada Republicans for a drink at Las Vegas Country Club so they can all feel better. (Oh wait, that already happened.)

We've seen a whole lot of foolish behavior from G-O-TEA Culture Warriors and their favorite pandering politicians lately. And this is no accident. Republican "leaders" thought they could ride the wave of "TEA" to victory. They just forgot to consider what happens when they drink too much "TEA".

The drama. It just keeps overflowing. It overflows like the dangerously spiked "TEA" that's drowning the Republican Party locally and nationally. Perhaps they were a little too willing to accept what a fool believes.

What a Fool Believes: Nevada GOP to Do Voter Registration?

I guess the latest voter registration statistics are really starting to sink in. The "Real" Nevada GOP will be receiving $166,000 to contract out voter registration. Wow.



"Real" Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald says this is a sign of recovery from "The May-lee" that pretty much sealed the deal in ripping the party apart. Yet just as McDonald proudly announces this and enhanced "cooperation" with the Washoe County GOP, the Washoe GOP is continuing its legal divorce from the state party. And while McDonald claims he has a great relationship with the RNC, that hasn't stopped the RNC from funneling more money to the "Team Nevada" "Shadow GOP".

So what's the real story here? That's what I'm trying to figure out. And remember, we're talking about Michael McDonald here. This is the guy backed by the "tea party" loons who supposedly hate bailouts, yet he continues to milk the City of Las Vegas for more bailouts. And this is the same guy who let Ron Paul's campaign hijack the state GOP convention, yet he's now to be trusted with RNC money meant to help Mitt Romney?

Perhaps there's some kind of reasoning behind this. After all, that "Shadow GOP" isn't looking all that great now. Just look at what's happened to AFP since it started that bus tour. Maybe the "Real" Nevada Republican Party isn't looking all that bad by comparison?

Whatever the case, the Nevada GOP is back in the news. And whenever that happens, Republican consultants start crying into their coffee. Oh, what a fool believes.

The (Ron Paul G-O-TEA) Revolution May Not Be Lost, Even As It's Lost.

It's over. It's really over...



But is it? Elizabeth Crum saw this unfold at last night's Clark County GOP Central Committee meeting. Yes, this really happened.

The Clark County Republican Party (CCRP), which now consists of a majority of Ron Paul supporters, last night voted to condemn the Republican National Committee. They are also calling for Chairman Reince Preibus to resign.

The resolution says this is because the RNC is supporting Mitt Romney as the “presumptive nominee” even though other candidates are “still actively campaigning”. [...]

I guess these folks did not get the memo that Ron Paul has ceased to actively campaign.

Led by RNC committeewoman-elect Diana Orrock (reminder: both the national committeewoman and man were deposed at the state meeting in Sparks two weekends ago), CCRP also voted to condemn a United Nations initiative called Agenda 21.

I am sure the U.N. General Assembly will be very upset to learn that Clark County GOP opposes their plans for world economic development.

Yes, "The Ron Paul Revolution" continues. And that's what has longtime Nevada Republican insiders taking their money and running... To outside groups like AFP and pro-Romney Super PACs. And no, they're not apologizing for it.

“We’re a battleground state. There will still be a significant amount of money spent here,” said Robert Uithoven, a GOP consultant. “(But) the money will be spent around the state party and not through it. And that’s never a good thing.” [...]

“It has become evident after the convention that the new leadership for the party is not interested in getting Republicans elected as much as moving an ideology forward,” said Mendy Elliot, a longtime Republican and fundraiser for the Washoe County Republican Party. “The purpose of the party is to get Republicans elected and register Republicans. Until that focus is shifted back, it’s hard for mainstream Republicans to understand the purpose of the party.”

This goes back to what we discussed last Wednesday. Ron Paul's followers care deeply about their ideological priorities. And they deeply revere their dear leader (Ron Paul). However, they don't respect fellow Republicans and they don't seem to care about winning the election. And that's a problem for Nevada Republicans.

After all, remember the purpose of state and local parties. Their primary goal is supposed to be winning elections. When they stop caring about winning elections, we have to ask why they exist. So now, the Nevada Republican Party is headed right into an existential crisis as big right-wing donors and activists are switching their allegiance from the state party to pro-Mitt Romney independent expenditures and "Tea Party, Inc." groups like AFP. And yet again, Ron Paul's loyal foot soldiers prove just how influential they will be in this campaign (much to Romney's and other top Republicans' dismay).

Read His Lips, He Has to Govern

Last week, Governor Brian Sandoval reached an agreement with Amazon.com for Amazon to begin collecting Nevada sales taxes for all purchases made here in Nevada. It sounds simple enough. But beneath the surface, it's quite complicated.

Promising not to raise taxes — no how, no way, under any circumstance — might have seemed the smart political move for Brian Sandoval in 2010, when he was running in the Republican primary for governor.

But now that he’s running a state that is less than flush with tax dollars, he keeps bumping up against the line in the sand he drew as a candidate.

The latest is the agreement he reached with Amazon, under which the online retail giant will start collecting sales tax in 2014. Under the deal that Sandoval and his top staff personally struck with company executives during a meeting in the governor’s office earlier this year, Nevada will become just the seventh state to require the retailer to collect the tax.

The deal will be a $16 million-a-year coup for Nevada and was praised by the brick-and-mortar retailers as leveling the playing field with online companies, many of which don't collect the tax at all.

But it will also muddy one of his administration's talking points — that no Nevadan will pay more in taxes than they did when he came into office.

And that's something "Tea Party, Inc." will continue to scream about. Even in admitting the Amazon deal isn't really a "tax hike", Chuck Muth nonetheless complained that Sandoval was agreeing to yet another "tax hike". Once again, Nevada's "tea party" is mad as hell and refuses to take it any more... Even though these "tea partiers" can't even define "it".

OK, so maybe my last line was a bit harsh. But you know what's even harsher? Grover Norquist's tax pledge. For the last two decades, he's been boxing in Republican politicians across the country by forcing them to sign his no tax pledge, then threaten to turn them into rotten lying b-----ds if they cross him.

This is why Brian Sandoval is in a bind. He's been trying hard to erase his past of "tea party" flirtation by embracing what he had previously shunned and making the 2009/2011 "sunset tax" deal the new "middle of the road". But no matter how hard Sandoval tries to make the past go away, Grover Norquist and his Nevada henchman (Chuck Muth) always find a way to bring it back to the forefront.

This is why Sandoval has had to make so many backflips as of late. Even though Sandoval hasn't actually raised taxes, the Norquist-Muth tax pledge is so rigid and severe that even so much as a mere extension of a past tax increase, or an agreement with an online retailer to collect state sales taxes, leads to "The George Bush Dilemma". No wonder why Mitt Romney has had to shake his Etch-A-Sketch and veer hard to the radical right.

This is why Sandoval has to find excuses for what we once called "common sense governing". Because for Grover Norquist and company, "common sense governing" has become a crime. For them, even a corrupt "bailout happy" failed politician is better than an upstanding "moderate" who dares to cross their line on taxes.

What a Fool Believes, Nevada G-O-TEA Ready to Jump the Shark (Again)

Jeez, how did I miss this? On Monday, newly elected Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald was grilled "The Agenda" over his ethical failings and shady Las Vegas taxpayer funded bailouts senior housing developments.

(The fun starts at 10:00.)



And it looks like this is just a little taste of the rancor we may see at the Nevada Republican Party Convention in Sparks next weekend. Jon Ralston could barely contain his ecstatic glee "grief" over what's looking increasingly likely to go down next weekend.

As much as I would hate to see it, the Paul folks are intent on trying to do in 2012 what they almost did in 2008 — hijack the national convention delegation. Even though Republican National Committee rules mandate that the Nevada delegation votes proportionally to the caucus results — Romney received 14 delegates to Paul’s five — do the rules really apply to the Texas congressman’s acolytes?

It would seem any victory would be Pyrrhic, perhaps emphasizing Paul’s image in Establishment circles as the crazy uncle of the GOP. But the presumptive nominee also doesn’t want to alienate the legions of Paul sycophants.

Team Romney has sent a missive to every delegate to the state convention, trying to build the votes necessary to blunt the Paul surge. “It’s clear that now is the time to unite as Republicans to defeat Barack Obama in the fall! Attending the State Convention is a very important way for you to support the Republican Party’s efforts to turn Nevada red. We need your voice and your support at the convention,” Romney State Director Sarah Nelson wrote.

My guess is most of the Paul delegates immediately deleted the email. But, perhaps I am too cynical. Or conspiratorial.

Truly, I would hate to see chaos ensue at this hallowed event.

And I’m sure that won’t happen just because new GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, who will oversee the May 5 convention, is essentially an honorary Ron Paul person. His close allies — David Isbell and Jesse Law — are Paul guys. Bunce signed onto an endorsement list for McDonald. And Paulite James Smack, McDonald’s predecessor, endorsed McDonald. Oh, and the Romney campaign stayed out of the chairman’s election.

None of that can be good for Team Romney. But, I, of course, would hate to see any sparks in Sparks.

This goes back to Orrin Johnson's complaint that Ron Paul's campaign is out to steal national delegates from Mitt Romney. However, as I noted yesterday, Ron Paul's campaign has never really been secretive about its "delegate strategy". Remember, a senior Ron Paul campaign advisor went on MSNBC in February to boast about it! Doug Wead defended this by flatly saying, "80% of success is showing up, and our people show up", and that the Paul campaign is only playing by the very rules the RNC allegedly created to give Mitt Romney an extra advantage.

And now, some Republicans are worrying about this even more because of their new Chairman. After all, many of Ron Paul's loudest Nevada allies also happen to be big Michael McDonald supporters. Will he really be in the mood to stop another Ron Paul coup at the Nevada GOP Convention? Or might Ron Paul's campaign actually encounter more success this time than in 2008?



And it's not like McDonald doesn't have experience handling these kinds of issues. After all, he advised his "boyhood friend" Michael Galardi on how to bribe his way to becoming Southern Nevada's most powerful strip club owner (and extend his strip club empire to California!) and use local governments' regulatory authority to Galardi's advantage. That, of course, was the foundation of what we now know as "G-Sting".

Ron Paul's campaign has hurled a number of allegations of wrongdoing since Caucus Day. So how better for them to "fight back" than to enlist an expert in local government wrongdoing as a powerful ally! Just never mind that this powerful ally embodies everything that Ron Paul's "tea party" following supposedly reviles.

And to think, 2012 was supposed to be the year of "The Great Nevada Republican Comeback". Sure. It looks like Karl Rove is feeling awfully (NOT) confident about that.



Ah, what a fool believes...

Nightmare @ Central Committee (That Is, Mitt Romney's Worst Nightmare Come True)

Earlier this week on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow noted the still unfolding drama in the G-O-TEA primary. Even though all the rest of us consider it over and done for Mittens, Ron Paul's loyal band of followers still refuses to give up. And believe it or not, they're causing the Romney campaign more headaches than the DC pundits had originally expected.

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

And the drama isn't limited to the Midwest. In fact, there's quite a bit of that right here in Nevada! Remember that lovely legal, organizational, and "small d democratic" EPIC FAIL that was the Nevada Republican Caucus?



Ron Paul's Nevada supporters haven't. And apparently, they're now out for revenge.

Apparently, Reno conservative blogger Orrin Johnson isn't just keeping track of the Nevada GOP's Michael McDonald-"G-Sting"-Real Estate Bailout scandal. (And apparently, the Ron Paul folks also had their hands in that.) He's also has some serious accusations against Ron Paul's operation.

I recently received an E-mail from a disaffected Ron Paul supporter that Nevada Paul Campaign Chair Carl Bunce recently sent out to his supporters. The long and the short of it is that it’s a battle plan which encourages Paul folks to lie to pollsters to “fool” the Romney campaign, in order to make it easier to shock-’n'-awe their way to a Ron Paul National Convention slate. It’s full of paranoia about information control (Hah! Fail!) and secrecy, with a nice dab of Personality Cult for Doctor Paul.

Well, secret’s out, you dishonest goofballs. Everyone knows your game. [...]

Don’t these people realize that if they had a winning message, they wouldn’t have the need for all the secrecy? Don’t they see what hypocrites they look like when they cry about dishonesty and lack of transparency in government? And remember, this isn’t just some independent Paul supporter. This IS the Ron Paul campaign, and Ron Paul himself is directly responsible for it. Either the Congressman is blind to these types of shenanigans, or he endorses it. Which is it, Good Doctor? Will you renounce this assault on actual liberty being perpetuated in your name? There’s certainly nothing “libertarian” about any of this.

Nevada Republicans were promised by their Central Committee that their caucus votes would be proportionally binding all the way through the first round of voting at the national convention. I have to wonder – if these Paul people wind up going to the national convention, will they honor that promise? Or will they just openly betray the Nevadans they claim to want to represent?

Just remember this – people willing to lie, cheat, or steal in order to get power will lie, cheat and steal once they’re in power. Even if you find Paul’s platform compelling, after this there’s no way you could trust he’d follow through with any of it.

Now here's the thing: This was never really a well kept secret. In fact, this was NOT a secret at all. Back in February, Rachel Maddow actually interviewed Ron Paul campaign senior advisor Doug Wead and had him explain on national TV what their campaign is doing.



The only thing that surprises me about this is that it took Nevada GOP insiders and Mitt Romney operatives this long to realize what's been happening under their noses all along. So not only does Mitt Romney's campaign have to worry about loose cannons raising hell instead of money for the Nevada Republican Party, but they now risk a major embarrassment next month in Sparks if Ron Paul operatives actually succeed in hijacking the convention. Remember, they already took over the Clark County Republican Party at its convention last month. Is the state party next (again)? And will Nevada's Republican National Convention delegation be delivering an unwelcome surprise to Tampa this summer?

Perhaps revenge really is a dish best served cold. In February, many of them were denied a chance to caucus. Now, they get to deny Mittens a clean and easy nomination.

What a Fool Believes: Is "Tea Party" Showing Double Standard for McDonald?

The Nevada GOP has taken quite a few hits this week over the election of former Las Vegas City Council Member Michael McDonald as its new Chairman. And I'm not the only one talking. Ralston had this to say.

I want all of you — especially Gov. Sandoval, Sen. Heller and Rep. Joe Heck — to imagine it is October. CNN is here. Fox and MSNBC, too. You turn on your TV to hear, “Joining us now, the chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, Michael McDonald.”

Do you:

A. Pray

B. Hold your breath

C. Both

As the Nevada Policy Research Institute said in a screed Tuesday: “You just can’t make this stuff up.” The conservative think tank was referring to McDonald’s latest juice job at City Hall, with NPRI correctly pointing out that McDonald has a pattern of questionable conduct. Indeed, McDonald almost was thrown out of office 11 years ago after the state Ethics Commission found “his loyalty to his employer motivated him to assist (his private sector boss) in attempting to overcome a difficult financial situation by using access to staff and other members of the City Council (which an ordinary member of the public would not have) and lobbying them to take action which would benefit (his boss) and, therefore, himself. ... There was absolutely no evidence that the action Councilman McDonald was advocating ... was a good economic deal for the City of Las Vegas and in the public’s interest.”

Some things don’t change. The ex-councilman’s history neuters him when it comes to assailing Democrats on anything. McDonald is not just a flawed messenger; he is a fatally flawed messenger.

Maybe Michael McDonald is right in arguing that no one will pay any attention to him, that he will unify the party and that he will lead the GOP to smashing victories in November. Or maybe, as Michael McDonald also once said, that’s what a fool believes.

But perhaps the most searing indictment of the Nevada GOP for this move comes from one of its own, Orrin Johnson, who had this to say about his party's new leader.

Taken in the kindest possible light, new GOP Chair Michael McDonald’s past and current “property development” activities proves that he’s all for government-forced redistribution of wealth. A more honest assessment would be that he’s all about brazenly using positions of political power to enrich himself and/or his friends at taxpayer expense to the tune of millions of dollars.

Either way, he’s EVERYTHING the Tea Party Movement – and conservatism generally – is supposed to be against. And yet he was elected supposedly as the tea party, anti-establishment, “true conservative” option to chair the Nevada Republican Party. How did this happen?

The Nevada State GOP began hemorrhaging credibility back in October. With McDonald’s election, they’ve officially eliminated it completely. This will end badly for the state party, and for any politician stupid enough to get to close to Mr. McDonald. When it does, I just hope there are enough Republicans left untainted by this to save the conservative movement from total irrelevance for the foreseeable future.

Again, that's from a Republican! And hey, I at least have to give both Orrin Johnson and NPRI some credit in calling out their own.

However, do you remember the last time some "tea party" Republicans called out one of their own? Come on now, you must. It was only in February when none other than Chuck Muth took down Elizabeth Halseth and her political career by airing her dirty laundry. It was quite the sight to behold, since earlier that year he honored her as one of his "true conservative" stars.

Now as I said in February, Halseth made her dirty laundry into a legitimate problem by fleeing the state and her duties as a Nevada Legislator over it. And it only made things worse that she campaigned on "moral values" while failing to practice what she preached.

Back then, I gave Chuck Muth kudos for being honest about a politician he once backed. So why won't he do the same now? He's been a relentless cheerleader for Michael McDonald despite his sleazy "land deals cum bailouts" and "G-Sting" history. In fact, he's now attacking Orrin Johnson for simply pointing out the obvious! So Elizabeth Halseth was in the wrong for letting her affair with Tiger Helgelien get in the way of her public duty, but it's perfectly OK for newly elected Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald to cheat Las Vegas taxpayers and still refuse to apologize for his role in "G-Sting"?

And folks wonder why Nevada Republicans always seem to be in trouble?

Sorry, but this looks to me like a double standard. If Elizabeth Halseth had to face consequences for her ethical lapses, then so should Michael McDonald. I'm just perplexed as to why Chuck Muth can't see what all the rest of us see, especially since McDonald's line of "business" flies in the face of what the "tea party" is supposed to be about.

Oh, what a fool believes...

Meet the New Nevada GOP Chairman (Or What a Fool Believes)

And looky here, none other than the hacks "esteemed luminaries" at NPRI are out to give Nevada Republican Party Chair Michael McDonald a proper introduction.

In April 2009, the city council gave McDonald a sweetheart deal, selling him a 3.9-acre parcel of land for $1.3 million. They did so with full knowledge that McDonald planned to immediately spin off the property to a supermarket chain for $3.1 million — netting himself a quick $1.8 million by shorting taxpayers on the value of their land.

Moreover, McDonald was convicted of violating city ethics laws involving another land deal that he pushed for while a member of the city council in 2000.

Redevelopment financing is an area where those with political connections routinely exploit low-income taxpayers. However, the city council's current deal with their ethics-challenged former colleague — against the advice of city staff — blatantly rubs salt in the eyes of citizens.

And just recently, we saw this.

That's when Las Vegas city council members voted to award their former colleague Michael McDonald $3.5 million in redevelopment funds, as well as $1.1 million in federal grant funding to subsidize the cost of constructing a downtown housing development that will include some "affordable" housing units for seniors. McDonald was also awarded a 75-year land lease — worth $1.4 million in present value — for just one dollar.

City council members voted to approve the project even though city staff recommended they not do so.

Staff noted that the city's subsidy alone would amount to more than $115,000 per unit. (McDonald's estimates were much lower — about $65,000 each for the first 60 units — although, once the state subsidies sought by McDonald are factored in, total taxpayer support would amount to $183,000 per unit.) Yet the median value of existing homes in the surrounding area is only $72,000.

Oh, jeez. This may be the first (and perhaps ONLY) time I quote a NPRI publication!

So basically, Michael McDonald ran into quite a bit of trouble while he was on the Las Vegas City Council. And even though he's no longer on it, he's still using his "juice" at City Hall to get sweetheart deals. And now, he's the Chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, the party of crazy anti-government teabaggers "NO BIG GUV'MINT! NO BALE-OWTZZZ!!!"



But wait, there's more!

Yesterday, former City Councilman Michael McDonald was elected as the Chairman of the Nevada State Republican Party Central Committee replacing former Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian, who stepped down the day after the Nevada Republican caucuses in February.

Former Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald has a very checkered past, he was connected to one of the biggest FBI sting operations in Las Vegas history, which was dubbed the “G-Sting”.

The “G-Sting” involved organized crime, strip clubs, politicians and the FBI. And Michael McDonald was front and center, giving advice to his “boyhood friend” and owner of the strip clubs Michael Galardi, who owned Jaguars, Cheetahs and Masters strip clubs.

Remember G-Sting? Apparently, Nevada Republicans don't. Either that, or they followed Chuck Muth's advice to not care about that pesky, minor stuff.

What a fool believes...