No Se Puede, Dean Heller.

Remember Dean Heller's much publicized appearance at Hispanics in Politics in Las Vegas this past January? It came shortly after his botched meeting with the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce, and it was seen as Heller's "neutralizing" of his own xenophobic record.

Well, it looks like Heller's Latino outreach is going along just smoothly. In January, he pledged to team up with Las Vegas Latin Chamber CEO and fellow Republican Otto Merida to craft a "mutually agreeable [immigration] reform bill". Today, he's endorsing Shelley Berkley for US Senate. Steve Sebelius made an interesting point as he questioned aloud how Heller's and Merida's collaboration on that "mutually agreeable reform bill" went.



Wow. I guess Mitt Romney isn't the only Republican with "a Latino problem". But then again, Mitt Romney isn't the only Republican embracing the extreme xenophobic agenda of Kris Kobach, Joe Arpaio, and Nevada's own Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron Angle.

Even Republicans notice there's a problem.



We'll have to wait and see if Heller ever gets his head out of the sand.

Sharrontology Follies: Lies, Race Baiting, & Her Hometown Paper Telling It Like It Is

Is this for real?

"I think that you’re misinterpreting those commercials. I’m not sure that those are Latinos in that commercial."

Really? She's not sure if "those are Latinos" in this commercial?



Really? She's not sure if "those are Latinos in that commercial", even though her campaign paid Getty Images for an image of "Mexican men in Mexico"?

Angle's campaign has released more than five TV spots that accuse Reid, the Senate majority leader, of offering special breaks to illegal immigrants. The ads have drawn criticism from some immigration advocates worried that such messages encourage discrimination against Hispanics.

"Basically she is using the politics of fear and trying to tell Americans that, 'we are being invaded by Mexicans, so vote for me,'" said Lynn Tramonte, director deputy of America's Voice.

Angle campaign spokesman Jarrod Agen, who said Reid was "pro-amnesty," would not say why the images were chosen for the ads. [...]

Agen said one of the most criticized images, a still of three stony-faced Hispanic men, was bought from Getty Images Inc. The Getty caption notes that the image is of Mexican men in Mexico. [emphasis mine]

Sharron Angle lied yet again, this time to high school students who happened to be more than smart enough to see through her lies and call her out on it.

And they're not the only ones. Angle's hometown newspaper, The Reno Gazette Journal, dropped a bomb yesterday in their endorsements.

Nevadans already are burdened with a U.S. senator whose personal indiscretions have made him largely ineffective.

Now they're being told that they should jettison a four-term senator who has risen to the most powerful post in the Congress in favor of a woman who consistently was voted least effective member of the Assembly during her four terms in the Nevada Legislature.

Even members of Republican Sharron Angle's own party recognize the absurdity of the proposition. Such prominent Republicans as Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini, State Senator Bill Raggio and former Nevada first lady Dema Guinn have announced their support for incumbent Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader -- and they've been unfairly vilified for their temerity.

Other Republicans offer a particularly dubious rationale for supporting Angle: Get rid of Reid now; we can deal with Angle in six years.

Reid, seeking his fifth term in the Senate, is far from perfect, but he remains an effective advocate for Nevada's interests in the nation's capital, a skillful politician who has used his position to make a difference in his home state and help the nation work its way out of some very difficult times. He should be re-elected.

And look at the contrast! The RGJ couldn't have summed it up better.

And [Reid] points to a long list of accomplishments that have been important to Northern Nevadans, including funding for the railroad "trench" in Reno (as well as twisting arms at the Union Pacific Railroad to get its cooperation) and the Truckee River Operating Agreement that ensures that communities in the Truckee Meadows will be able to store critical water supplies for the future.

As Reid's work on the Truckee River agreement demonstrates, the effective use of clout in Washington isn't just about money. Just as often, it's about the ability to bring decision-makers, including Cabinet secretaries, to the table to solve a problem and the power to shepherd the necessary legislation through Congress. Without Reid in the Senate, it's likely that the contentious fight over Truckee River would continue for many years to come.

Angle has few accomplishments to claim for her eight years in the Nevada Legislature. And her much touted commitment to principle is questionable.

The Republican candidate says that the federal government can't create jobs, but a federal-government-created job provided her family with a comfortable life, the same health insurance plan as the one available to members of Congress and a nice retirement. She says that she wants to get government out of our lives, but she was willing, as a legislator, to use the power of the state to install the scientifically dubious warning that abortion causes breast cancer in every Nevada woman's shower. And, despite her state opposition to "pork," she boasted in a previous campaign of winning a federal schools grant for the state "» a boast she continued even after state education officials said that she had nothing to do with the grant.

It seems Angle can't go a day without more lies and more hypocrisy. Now she's "the first Asian state legislator in the Nevada Assembly"?

"So that’s what we want is a secure and sovereign nation and, you know, I don’t know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me. I don’t know that. [Note: it's the Hispanic Student Union. The whole room is Hispanic teenagers.] What we know, what we know about ourselves is that we are a melting pot in this country. My grandchildren are evidence of that. I’m evidence of that. I’ve been called the first Asian legislator in our Nevada State Assembly."

Does she really think she can fool all of us? Did she think she could pull one over the eyes of those students who are now having to deal with the increased racial tension caused by her thinly veiled race-baiting? Did she think her hometown paper wouldn't notice her long trail of empty rhetoric and poorly hid hypocrisy? Did she think we would believe she was ever considered a leader in Asian-American civil rights? (HUH??!!) Does she really think Nevadans are that stupid?

Let's hope we ultimately prove her wrong.

Former GOP First Lady Dema Guinn Endorses Harry Reid

The Former First Lady, the widow of Governor Kenny Guinn, has broken her silence on the US Senate race, reminded us all what's at stake here in Nevada, and defended the legacy of her late husband.

I want to thank so many people from across this state for the outpouring of support they have shown me and my family since Kenny’s passing. While it has been very difficult to adjust to a new life without him, my family and our many friendships have been a constant source of strength for me.

As many people know, with the loss of someone so close comes an almost daily reminder of things you wish you had said, but didn’t, or things you wish you had done, but for one reason or another never took the time to do. These new perspectives give you great resolve to stand up for things you may have once ignored or speak out on issues on which you may have remained silent in the past.

I love this state, and my husband loved this state. We dedicated our lives to public service in one way or another through our support of education, many charitable and community causes, and eventually in his holding public office. All of these efforts were our way of trying to make Nevada a better place to live and raise a family.

Kenny believed very strongly in education. He believed it was the single most important element to a successful life, vibrant state and strong economy. With better education came better jobs, and the ability for people of all economic circumstances, race, or handicap to take control of their lives and their future.

Given the challenges Nevada now faces in education and unemployment, our collective efforts in these areas and the choices we make on who will lead our state through these difficult times are more important than ever.

That is why I am supporting Senator Harry Reid for reelection.

Senator Reid’s unwavering support for vital education programs such as the Millennium Scholarship, together with his tireless efforts to create new jobs and protect Nevada businesses from the unprecedented challenges we have faced during these trying economic times earned my respect, and my vote.

Dema just threw down the gauntlet. And let's face it, she's right.

Education is the key to our future success. Better schools lead to the kind of well-educated workforce that Nevada needs to recruit more employers. We've had to learn the hard way that casinos and construction couldn't keep us on "Easy Street" forever. Better schools mean better jobs. Better schools mean a better economy.

And Harry Reid has fought hard for Nevada's schools and Nevada's kids!





But guess who hasn't? Remember who said that "the problem is only in Harry Reid's mind"?



And yet another Republican, another Nevada First Lady, has already been reminding us of Sharron Angle's destructive anti-education, anti-jobs agenda.



And here's Sharron Angle BOASTING about fighting Kenny Guinn on the famous 2003 budget. Guinn wanted to keep Nevada's schools open. Angle wanted to prove her wingnut "purity".



And that's why Bill Raggio, the State Senate REPUBLICAN leader, is also endorsing Reid.

“What is difficult to overlook is her record of being totally ineffective as a four-term assemblywomen, her inability or unwillingness to work with others, even within her own party, and her extreme positions on issues such as Medicare, social security, education, veterans affairs and many others.

“Some supporters tell me we need to support her because we need her vote in the U.S. Senate as a Republican and she ‘can't do much harm as a junior back bencher’! Since when should this be the criteria on how we select and vote for a U.S. Senator to represent our State?, I ask.

“I am a lifelong Republican and unlike Ms. Angle, I have never changed parties. I have always supported Jeffersonian principles of free enterprise, low taxes, limited government and fiscal responsibility. These were the same principles endorsed by every one of our Republican presidents, since the days of Lincoln, and including President Reagan, whom I knew personally, and who laid down the Republican 11th Commandment: Don't speak ill of other Republicans. In other words, quit calling dedicated people like former Governor Guinn and many other good Republicans RINO’s and other derogatory terms.

“Other than my inability to accept her extreme and often even radical ideas and positions, if there was any concern about my natural preference to endorse a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, it was removed altogether when Angle, in a secretly taped conversation, expressed her true feelings by slamming and disavowing the Republican Party saying it had ‘lost its standards and principles.’

“For all these reasons, I am unable to support Sharron Angle. We need someone in the U.S. Senate who can be effective, work with others, and best represent the interests of our State.

And this is something that Harry Reid is always striving for. That's why so many Republicans throughout Nevada have been endorsing Reid.





They know he's been working to bring more jobs here to Nevada. They know he's fought hard for Nevada schools. They know he's fought hard for Nevada's open spaces. They know he's the right fit for Nevada... And Sharron Angle is simply the wrong angle.

Is Reid perfect? Nope. Raggio thinks he's "too liberal" and too supportive of "Obama's socialist agenda". I think he's too conservative and should push President Obama and the Senate ConservaDems closer to what Democrats want and what Americans want. But you know what? It's not about either of us. It's about what's best for Nevada, and what's best for America. We need someone who will keep working for working Nevadans. We don't need another extremist ideologue who cares more about her personal agenda and her California lobbyist patrons than what's best for our state.

Republicans Rejecting Extreme Sharrontology

Not that long ago, the Nevada Republican Party truly was a "big tent", one that could fit the more traditional "libertarian conservatives" that once dominated, pragmatic conservatives, moderates, and others. But these days, it seems to be dominated by "Tea Party, Inc." and the radical religious right. And no one better demonstrates this better than Sharron Angle and her ascendancy in the Nevada GOP.

Perhaps this is why we're seeing more and more "Republicans for Reid" speaking out?

Former Clark County Sheriff Bill Young spoke about how Harry Reid has delivered in keeping Nevada safe.



And First Lady Dawn Gibbons spoke about Reid's commitment to education, reminded us of all her work on education reform, and made sure we didn't forget about Sharrontology's desire to starve it to death.



Interesting enough, John L. Smith wrote in his column this morning [I'd LOVE to quote from it, but I'd rather not get sued by Righthaven.] about what may be a larger trend of prominent Republicans coming out to endorse Reid. Why? Well, they've been here in Nevada for quite some time, they understand the strong relationship Harry Reid has with our state. Plus, they've also seen with their own eyes Sharron Angle, her dangerous extremism, and how detrimental a "Senator Angle" would really be to our state.

No wonder why more and more Republicans, whether they be traditional "paleo-conservatives", pragmatic business folks, or middle-of-the-road moderates, are speaking out and speaking up for Reid.







Remember that this used to be the party of Abraham Lincoln, the party of Teddy Roosevelt, the party of Dwight Eisenhower, the party of Barry Goldwater, and the party of Kenny Guinn. This used to be a big tent for civil rights advocates, environmentalists, libertarians, old-school conservatives, rural interests, urban interests, and more. But now? Now it's this?



Perhaps it's the reverse of what Ronald Reagan used to say. These people haven't left the Republican Party. The Republican Party has left them by veering so extremely to the right and nominating people like Sharron Angle who care more about getting praise from outside interests than doing what's right for Nevada.

Sure, there have been many times when progressive Democrats were irritated by Reid. He's certainly no progressive icon, and there have been many times I've taken Reid to the woodshed for not being more progressive.

But you know what? At the end of the day, Reid is not in the Senate to be some progressive icon. He's there to serve ALL OF US in Nevada. Perhaps that's why all of these Republicans can join Democrats, even "dirty fucking hippie" progressives like moi, in supporting Harry Reid. That's something Sharrontology doesn't get, and I guess that's why she can't win here.