Their Silence Says a Lot

"Not your typical Republicans." That's the meme Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson (R-Henderson) has been using in his quest to replace the "Minority" in his title with "Majority". And this meme isn't even true. It's all based on one dead horse he just can't stop beating.

But now, he's running scared. After Senator Michael Roberson pulled an outrageously misleading publicity stunt at local teachers' union headquarters, he's been pulling out of debates with Teresa Lowry, his general election opponent. And not only that, but he's encouraged his hand-picked G-O-TEA-in-disguise running mates, Patricia Farley & Becky Harris, to pull out of debates with their Democratic opponents as well.

So what are they hiding? And why are they hiding? Even Republicans like Former Nevada Republican Party Chair Amy Tarkanian are asking.



We don't often agree with Amy Tarkanian. But in this instance, she may be onto something.



Sure, we're now seeing our TVs light up (or darken down?) with misleading attack ads. And ironically enough, those attack ads are at least partially financed by the same person whose company's wrongdoing they want to tie to State Senator Justin Jones (D-Enterprise). Even Jon Ralston felt compelled to call BS on this.



Is it any coincidence that this ad dropped just as Senator Jones released his own TV ad touting the work he's been doing for his constituents? And is it any coincidence that this ad dropped just as criticism is mounting over Michael Roberson hiding himself, Becky Harris, and Patricia Farley from public view?



We've asked this before, but we must ask this again today: What are they hiding? And why are they hiding? These three Republicans want to represent a large portion Southern Nevada in Carson City. So why are they hiding from their voters?

Ironically, their silence says a whole lot about them.

The Real Issue

It was supposed to be the ultimate battle royale. It was supposed to be a war between Nevada royal families. It was supposed to be one of the "hot ticket races" of the 2014 election cycle.

Early this year, G-O-TEA operatives were salivating over the opportunity to knock out Ross Miller (D). The outgoing Secretary of State has built up quite the list of accomplishments during his tenure there. And even though he's running for Attorney General this fall, media pundits can't help but speculate about his political future. Obviously, Republican campaign consultants were shaking in their boots.

Then came Adam Laxalt (R). He seemed to be the answer to G-O-TEA prayers. He has a pretty face, a famous last name, and a seemingly impeccable resume. What more could Nevada Republicans ask for?

But when Adam Laxalt began revealing his "most flawed" "political issues", we could sense something was off. How could a well trained lawyer not understand the basics of Constitutional law? We understand he has his "political issues", but those should not become "legal issues" as well.

And speaking of "legal issues", Adam Laxalt has plenty. When his law firm did a performance review, Laxalt's self-assessment strayed quite far from the assessment of his seniors and peers. And now that this performance review is becoming public knowledge, his campaign has been in complete "damage control" mode.

Ever since Jon Ralston revealed the skeletons in Adam Laxalt's closet, his campaign has tried just about everything to change the subject. They've tried blaming whoever leaked the documents. They've tried questioning the authenticity of the documents. They've tried leaking some of Laxalt's military documents. And of course, they will probably try reviving "Gift-gate" yet again... Even as Laxalt jumps to accept all sorts of gifts from one Sheldon Adelson.

Herein lies the crux of Adam Laxalt's real issue. Forget the bombast over the "gifts". Forget the howls of protest over the "document leaks". And forget the whining over "political hits".

Here's the real issue: Adam Laxalt has yet to prove his qualifications to serve as Nevada's Attorney General. He and his biggest Republican boosters can throw temper tantrums on as many "newspaper" pages as they want, but this won't change the issue of Laxalt struggling to make his own case. They can cry as much as they want about Ross Miller being on top of his game, but it's not his fault that Nevada Republicans have so many issues with their handpicked opponent for him.

Seeing Florida Green

He's at it again. He's unloading his very overloaded wallet. And G-O-TEA politicians are rushing to worship at his feet to get in on the SuperPAC action.

G-O-TEA kingmaker Sheldon Adelson is back... With a vengeance. He's already writing the big checks again. "TEA" flavored politicians are flocking to Adelson's not-so-little corner of The Strip to curry favor. And Adelson is already trying to set the terms of debate for the 2016 Presidential Campaign.

So are we to expect a bunch of G-O-TEA Presidential hopefuls decry "reefer madness" next year? Believe it or not, Sheldon Adelson is now bankrolling the campaign to defeat a medical marijuana ballot initiative in Florida.

Why is Adelson pushing so hard against medical marijuana in Florida? He isn't funding the anti campaigns in the other states with marijuana on the ballot (such as the full legalization initiative in Oregon). And Adelson's medical research foundation has been funding medical marijuana research in Israel! So what's Adelson actually doing in Florida?

Apparently, he's looking out for Governor Rick Scott (R). Scott is locked in a difficult race for reelection, and some Republican consultants have worried that the medical marijuana ballot initiative will boost turnout this fall... Along with Charlie Crist's (D) hopes for a political comeback.

Of course, Sheldon Adelson is also looking out for himself. It just so happens that Las Vegas Sands wants to open casinos in Florida. But as of now, legislation to expand legal gaming in Florida (beyond the Seminole tribal holdings) remains stalled. Adelson seems to hope Rick Scott will try to revive gaming expansion if reelected... And make sure Las Vegas Sands emerges with shiny new contracts for shiny new Florida casinos.

We've been wondering why Sheldon Adelson has been so quiet about medical marijuana proceeding right here in his own state while he's bankrolling the anti-marijuana campaign in Florida (and funding medical marijuana research in Israel). Yet the more we sniff into this, the more we sense Adelson cares more about the kind of green he rakes in at his casinos than the kind of green Florida patients hope will finally become more accessible. And now, we're left to wonder if we'll be seeing more of these crafty political maneuvers as Adelson prepares to ramp up his 2016 political shopping spree.

Best Foot Forward?

What else could we say? We knew this was coming. Last month, we explained why there was a better chance of hell freezing over than Las Vegas hosting the 2016 Republican National Convention.

This is why Republicans probably won't pick Las Vegas to host their 2016 national convention. While Southern Nevada is home to a diverse electorate who likely resembles the future of America, "Republican rebranding" has accomplished nothing but the repeat of the same old lame excuses of why the G-O-TEA base rejects 21st century America. And even though Nevada is a key state that Republicans need to win more often in order to remain a nationally relevant party, the Nevada Republican Party long ago lost interest in winning elections as it's pursued ideological "purity" to the point of endorsing "Chickens for Checkups" and armed anarchy. Southern Nevada can all too easily remind everyone of why the Republican Party has become radically out of touch with the mainstream electorate, and this is why the Republican National Committee will likely "rebrand" itself into a convention somewhere else.

Surprise, surprise, we were proven correct yesterday. But of course, "reliable sources" claim this happens due to "logistical reasons".

"Logistical reasons"... Like what? Cliven Bundy and his gang of "outlaw cowboys" fighting for free-dumb? Adam Laxalt continually reminding everyone of who's truly in charge of the Republican Party? Cresent Hardy's "segregation laws"? Sue Lowden's return?

Of course, @LV2016 operatives have been engaging in damage control. And to be fair, money (or more accurately, the lack of it) probably did play a role in the untimely demise of @LV2016. And perhaps the lack of an arena... Wait, what?! So Cashman Field, Sam Boyd Stadium, Thomas & Mack Center, and Henderson Pavilion weren't good enough for the RNC? Seriously?

Apparently, this was already a done deal before yesterday. So @LV2016 boosters tried their best to save face as their ship was sinking. And apparently, the best excuses they could come up with were "logistics" and money. (So #1 G-O-TEA Sugar Daddy Sheldon Adelson couldn't save their day?)

The Nevada Republican Party has been trying lately to put its best foot forward. And look how this latest attempt played out. Great job, Nevada Republican Party. And great job on that "Republican rebranding", RNC. So much for that putting best foot forward.

"Rebranding" the Same Old...

Rejoice! It will come! The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced Las Vegas as one of its finalists for the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Despair! It won't come. Already, two national media pundits have declared the RNC won't pick Vegas for 2016. And Jon Ralston's dreams of having a national Republican Party convention in his back yard have officially been dashed.

Does it really matter either way? In terms of political postioning, probably not. Republican Conventions don't have a great track record when it comes to flipping states from Blue to Red.

So why are so many media pundits treating the RNC's convention host selection process like it's a holy grail for 2016? Perhaps because it's easier to do this than to look more closely into the party's serious structural trouble?

Sure, plenty of ink has been spilled over "Republican rebranding". And party "leaders" seem to be suggesting that their 2016 convention selection will be the highlight of all this "rebranding". And of course, this is why many "party insiders" have suggested that Las Vegas is the perfect place to showcase the "rebranded Republican Party".

Well, this would be the perfect location to showcase the Republican Party that's rebranded its way into... Scaring away longtime Republican leaders like Sue Wagner, claiming the likes of (no, not that) Michael McDonald as its "leaders", trying to have it both ways on immigration reform, not even trying all that hard to hide its love of "segregation laws", and always trying its hardest to please its true leaders. Oh, yes. Las Vegas is the perfect location to highlight all the amazing rebranding the Nevada Republican Party has led the national Republican Party into.

And this is why it really doesn't matter where the RNC ultimately chooses to place its 2016 convention. As long as that "Republican rebranding" keeps going nowhere fast, hardly anyone will actually believe the RNC has anything new to offer.

Lessons Learned?

Apparently, this is becoming the hot topic of this election cycle. We've already been discussing the reality behind the Koch Brothers' extreme ideological agenda, as well as the great lengths they're going to amass power on Capitol Hill.

However, they're not alone. They're not the only "TEA Party, Inc." aligned billionaires who spend tons of money buying candidates influencing elections. And now, a character who's rather familiar to us here in Nevada is preparing to reemerge.

Remember Sheldon Adelson? He's back! And this time, he's looking for a new candidate to buy back.

This week, Adelson has summoned 4 likely 2016 Republican Presidential candidates to kiss his ring meet him at the Republican Jewish Coalition spring meeting here in Vegas. And so far, it looks like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R), New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R), Ohio Governor John Kasich (R), and Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R) will be accepting Adelson's invitation. But why, why is Adelson courting these 4 Republicans?

According to Adelson BFF (& 2011 Las Vegas Mayoral candidate) Victor Chaltiel, "He doesn’t want a crazy extremist to be the nominee." Instead, he wants a less "crazy/extreme looking" G-O-TEA lackey to carry his water and do so competently. Apparently, Adelson learned his lesson after bankrolling Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in 2012.

And now, Adelson wants to teach his party a lesson. Not only is he afraid of Hillary Clinton, but he's also afraid of his own party's base. And more specifically, he's afraid of Ron Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) rallying the G-O-TEA base to take the Republican Party in a more "libertarian populist" (aka batsh*t crazy "TEA" flavored) direction.

Apparently, Sheldon Adelson hasn't really learned his lessons from 2012. He's still shopping for damaged goods. And he's still picking nasty fights with the Paulistas. And both of these big mistakes will likely return to bite him, just as they did in 2012.

But in the mean time, let's think about the ramifications of Adelson starting another political spending spree. Last we checked, Las Vegas Sands is still facing legal trouble over its shady business operations in China. Meanwhile here in the states, Adelson's newest front group is catching scrutiny over its curious campaign to kill legal online gaming. And now, he wants to buy another Presidential candidate? When did this become "normal politics"?

And when will we develop the courage necessary to change this new, dangerous reality? Perhaps there are still lessons we must learn about money in politics?

Can Republicans Teach an Old "Team (Nevada)" New Tricks?

The 2012 campaign may now feel like a long lost memory, but it occasionally comes back to haunt us every so often. Remember "Team Nevada"? They're back! Nathan Sproul may be long gone, but his mischievous spirit lives on among Nevada Republicans.

Last year, we witnessed the "Quick Poll: Obama or Romney??!!" crew shouting down voters, chasing them into the DMV parking lot, and causing headaches for everyone else attempting to legitimately register voters. Oh, and by October, reports of voter registration fraud surfaced. For all the 21st Century Know Nothing whining about "VOTER FRAUD!!!", it turned out that they were the ones committing the fraud all along.

So far, we haven't heard any new reports of registration fraud. However, the general concept of "Team Nevada" is being resurrected. This time, #1 G-O-TEA Sugar Daddy Sheldon Adelson is bankrolling a 501(c)4 called "Engage Nevada". It's technically a non-profit, but it's backed by top Dean Heller and Brian Sandoval operatives. Jon Ralston wrote about it this morning.

Chris Carr, a former state GOP executive director and Mitt Romney operative, has set up a non-profit called Engage Nevada to facilitate the effort. I have no doubt that the Sandoval/Heller machine is behind this as Carr has been recruited to helm the GOP ground game this cycle.

But Sandoval folks will keep their distance because this technically is a c4, which means it has to be nonpartisan and theoretically register all voters. But with Carr as the head and Adelson involved, this is a fig leaf. It's about as nonpartisan as Americans for Prosperity.

Said Sandoval/Heller guru Mike Slanker: "We are supportive of their work." I bet.

"Engage Nevada is a nonpartisan, non profit 501 (c) (4) organization. Its purpose is education and voter registration," the group's attorney, Dan Stewart, told me. "It registers for all parties and non-partisans. By law, it cannot push people to register a certain way; it must return all applications. Engage fully complies with all federal and state law."

They'd better. Otherwise, they will fall into the same hole that Nathan Sproul led "Team Nevada" into.

Again, so far I haven't heard any reports of fraud here. I have, on the other hand, heard some very familiar stories of "Engage Nevada" workers spouting off on Obamacare, taxes, and guns in front of the DMV. It remains to be seen just how "nonpartisan" this "nonpartisan non-profit" will be.

After all, Nevada Republicans are increasingly worrying about the warming NV-03 campaign. And they're still trying to increase their ranks in the Nevada Legislature. And they still don't trust their own party to deliver any goods. So now, they're (especially Sheldon Adelson) going all in for "Engage Nevada".

We'll see if they can teach an old "Team (Nevada)" new tricks.

Look Who's Playing in #NVLeg Races Now

In case you thought Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson were too busy attacking President Obama with all their "PAC attacks" to bother with the rest of the ballot, there's more evidence proving that you're wrong. Just take a look at what they're doing now.

Companies controlled by Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, the two most vocal casino operators who have been critical of national Democrats, particularly President Barack Obama, have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to a Republican group focused on state-level races, according to IRS filings and interviews with Republican operatives.

That committee, the Republican State Leadership Committee, has been funding mail pieces in the five competitive Nevada Senate races that will determine whether Republicans can wrest control of the state’s upper house from Democrats.

The Republican State Leadership Committee received a $475,000 contribution from Wynn Resorts in July, and $150,000 from the Las Vegas Sands, the company controlled by Adelson, in 2011.

Multiple Republican political sources confirmed that additional sums targeted at the state Senate level had been committed by the companies, though they would not provide exact figures. Tax documents for the group, which voluntarily reports contributions and expenses on a monthly basis, were only available for the period through Aug. 31.

In case you were wondering about the loads of mail, billboards, and other ads (attacking Democrats and/or promoting Republicans) that have been popping up lately, now you know how they've been paid for.

So why are they playing in #NVLeg races now? Basically, they know what's at stake. And they want to strengthen their grip on power both in Carson City and in Washington, DC.

Remember what we discussed in February.

So perhaps more so than ever before, the Legislature campaigns of 2012 will really matter. If one wants to fix the broken and outdated tax structure straight out of the 19th century, fully fund public education, improve our state's health care system, rebuild the rest of our state's public infrastructure, and properly invest in the kind of job creation that will benefit our economy for many generations to come, the choice will be crystal clear. And thanks to both redistricting last year and the major developments of the past week, we may actually have a unique and unprecedented opportunity to change the dynamics of Carson City for the better.

Wynn & Adelson are threatened by this, so they want to stop it. Expect even more of their big bucks to drop in the coming days, as we're now in the closing month of the 2012 campaign. It's all about maintaining their power and the status quo for them.

Paul Ryan: Mitt Romney's Las Vegas Headliner

He's here! Paul Ryan will be headlining a Mitt Romney campaign rally at Palo Verde High School in Summerlin today... Followed by an uber-exclusive fundraiser with none other than Willard's #1 money man ( Sheldon Adelson) at The Venetian. Wow, what a man of the people. Paul Ryan will be rallying Nevada "TEA-publicans" at the high school serving some of the highest income neighborhoods in the entire state, then he will be raising money from the guy on The Strip who actually makes the bulk of his billions from wheeling & dealing with the Macau mafia. What a guy, that Paul Ryan!

And already, Nevada Republicans are set to give Paul Ryan a very warm welcome. Just look at what they're doing to prepare for his arrival.

The Ryan pick is also shaking up the races that will decide which party controls the Senate. Dean Heller of Nevada — appointed to the Senate last year — is already under fire for the unique distinction of being the only lawmaker who voted for the Ryan budget in both chambers. Montana Republican Senate candidate Denny Rehberg is running fast from the Ryan budget. And in Florida, a state where the senior citizen vote is crucial, vulnerable Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson could barely contain his glee at the opportunity to attack the Ryan budget.

The reality is that Ryan is now all Republicans' running mate whether they like it or not, forcing GOP candidates who would just as soon run from the debate over senior citizen entitlements to embrace the third rail of American politics like never before.

One GOP insider lamented that party leaders “have spent the last year” trying to take Medicare off the political front burner, but the Ryan pick “puts it all back out there now.” [...]

Following the selection, Heller praised Ryan’s “courage to make the tough decisions needed to restore our nation’s fiscal health.” But Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley saw a ripe opportunity to drive home what Democrats see as Heller’s biggest weakness: voting to reconfigure Medicare.

“No one is happier today than Sen. Dean Heller, one of Rep. Paul Ryan’s strongest supporters who said he was ‘proud’ to vote twice for the Ryan budget plan that essentially ends Medicare by turning it over to private insurance companies.”

Both Joe Heck and Dean Heller are inextricably linked to Paul Ryan and his plan to destroy Medicare by replacing real health care coverage with vouchers. Yet since Mitt Romney has launched Paul Ryan and his quest to end Medicare & Social Security as we know it onto the center stage of the Presidential Campaign, Heller & Heck have to be more careful in tip-toe-ing around their own record of standing with Ryan. After all, about 20% of Nevada's electorate is retired. And even more Nevadans fear the kinds of cutting and gutting of Social Security & Medicare that Paul Ryan has long championed.

Already, Ryan has put Mitt Romney into even more of a precarious situation here in Nevada. But now, the entire ticket is threatened. And if/when Romney & Ryan drag down Heller & Heck with them, they can all thank the Romney-Ryan plan to slash the social safety net for the middle class (to pay for more "billionaire bailouts") for it.

Mitt-pocrisy

Whoops. Apparently, Mitt Romney's attempt to show he's the guy who can "restore the Anglo-Saxon relationship" is totally backfiring on him. He's the one throwing ridiculous accusations at President Obama, yet he's the one insulting Britain and suggesting London can't handle The Olympics!

Yet while that affair "across the pond" is fun to watch , there's another one back here in "The States" that may be even more troubling for Mitt Romney.

Earlier this month, more evidence was unearthed on how Mitt Romney and Bain Capital were involved in outsourcing American jobs overseas. Now, Mother Jones' David Corn is back... And he's exposing another inconvenient truth about Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital.

When Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts he kept his distance from gambling. He turned down donations from the gaming industry for his privately underwritten inaugural gala. And though he initially supported allowing the establishment of slot parlors in order to close a $3 billion state deficit, he later announced he would not consider an expansion of gambling and decried the "social costs associated with gaming." On the presidential campaign trail this year, Romney similarly declared that he opposed online poker because "of the social costs and people's addictive gambling habits." He explained,"I don't want to increase access to gaming. I feel that we have plenty of access to gaming right now through the various casinos and establishments that exist."

As a onetime bishop of the Mormon church—which opposes gambling,including state-sponsored lotteries—Romney's lack of enthusiasm about legalized gambling is hardly surprising. Yet such reservations did not hinder him when he was a mega-financier. While Romney ran Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded, he owned a Bain-affiliated investment fund that bet heavy on betting.

In March 1999, shortly after Romney departed Bain to run the 2002 Winter Olympics, Brookside Capital Investors Inc., a Bain-related entity wholly owned by Romney, filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission detailing the investments held the past quarter in its $559 million portfolio. On this roster were 1.2 million shares of GTECH Holdings Corp., then valued at $29 million. The company billed itself in its 1999 annual report as "a leading global supplier of systems and services to the lottery and gaming/entertaining industries." This description put it mildly; GTECH was the world's largest supplier of computer equipment for lotteries. It operated about 30 of 37 state lotteries in the United States, along with lotteries in England, Israel, Turkey, Australia, and other countries. It also was teaming up with big gaming firms to buy or revamp casinos and race tracks, adding and upgrading gambling equipment at these venues.

In 1998, GTECH had pulled in nearly $1 billion in revenue from its various gaming ventures. At the time Romney was investing in the firm, it was seeking to become a pioneer in Internet gambling.

The SEC filing reporting the GTECH investment doesn't state when Romney's Brookside Capital fund first purchased shares in the firm, but in the mid- and late-1990s the gaming company had a controversial reputation. In 1998, Guy Snowden resigned as head of the company a day after losing a bitter libel battle against billionaire Richard Branson, who had accused Snowden of trying to bribe him into withdrawing from a competition to run England's national lottery. Reporting on Snowden's departure, Fortune noted that "Snowden's often sleazy, win-at-all-costs tactics…have helped make GTECH the dominant force in the computerized lottery business." Snowden's exit followed a run of GTECH scandals. In 1996, a top executive of the Providence, Rhode Island-based firm was convicted in New Jersey of fraud, bribery, money laundering, and conspiracy. (The exec had hired lobbyists to push for expanding the New Jersey lottery and had received kickbacks.) In Texas, where GTECH paid a well-connected lobbyist $3.2 million, there were also allegations of kickbacks and shady wheeling-and-dealing.

Yet again, Mitt Romney says one thing while doing the exact opposite. He claims he despises the practice of outsourcing American jobs overseas, yet his company is a "pioneer of outsourcing". And while Romney claims to piously observe the teachings of his church and court the religious right by decrying the gaming industry, his company was investing in not just any gaming company, but a very controversial one at that!

But then again, we really shouldn't be surprised. This is really Mitt Romney's MO. After all, he's fully embraced Sheldon Adelson and all his Macau mafia (supplied) mega millions that he's pumping into pro-Romney Super PACs. Even though Romney won't publicly embrace Adelson and his "Chinese enterprise", he certainly won't turn down any campaign cash from Las Vegas Sands' head gondoliere.

Really, does Mittens have any core at all? Is there anything he will stand for (other than not releasing his tax returns)? I wonder what he will do next. Will Romney admit his like for the gaming industry in an attempt to warm up to us here in Nevada? Or will he keep denying his gaming industry ties in order to prevent further alienation of the radical religious right (who hate gambling)?

Yes, a Few Rich, Angry, Old White Men DO Want to Buy This Election.

And he's back! Harry Reid has really been showing off his badass side lately. He did it again yesterday when speaking about the Republican filibuster of the DISCLOSE Act.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) warned Monday afternoon that if Congress fails to limit campaign donations from the wealthy, a group of "angry, old white men" with billions of dollars to contribute will be able to determine political outcomes in the United States.

Reid's remarks on the Senate floor set up a vote later in the day on the Disclose Act, which would require companies and groups to report all campaign spending above $10,000. He said Republicans were expected to prevent consideration of the bill.

"Their newfound opposition to transparency makes one wonder who they're trying to protect," Reid said. He then offered the theory that Republicans do not want voters to learn about how they are sourced, and indicated that GOP money comes from a few wealthy contributors.

"Perhaps Republicans want to shield a handful of billionaires willing to contribute nine figures to sway a close presidential election," he said. "If this flood of outside money continues, the day after the election, 17 angry, old white men will wake up and realize they just bought the country."

The Disclose Act is a reaction to the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case, which said the government cannot limit campaign spending by corporations, unions or other groups. Democrats have sought to temper that ruling by requiring these groups to publicly report their campaign spending.

As usual, certain pundits were throwing their hands into the air and screaming about what a horrible thing Harry Reid just said. Does he even know what he's talking about?!

Actually, yes. And I'll explain why. No wait, I already did!

Sheldon Adelson has already dumped tens of MILLIONS of dollars into pro-Romney and pro-Congressional Republican Super PACs. In addition to "Mr. Macau Megabucks", Romney has lined up even more corporate titans to bundle for his campaign. Yet while they're raising money for Romney, he refuses to tell us who they are and how much they're giving.

Here's the problem. As Desert Beacon warned us yesterday, we're seeing elections turn into auctions. This is not what our Founders had ever intended.

It's horrifying enough that we now live in an era when a few ultra-rich individuals and multinational corporations can spend as much as they want to buy elections. It's even scarier that we don't know the full picture of who's actually giving how much to what. In a rational environment, the DISCLOSE Act is just basic common sense. It's really the least that can be done to help us figure out who's behind the shadowy attack ads popping up on our TVs, tablets, and mailboxes.

But apparently, Capitol Hill is no longer a rational environment. And common sense is now being vilified for overly political reasons. I'll let Kevin Drum explain this.

The DISCLOSE Act was initially a response to the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, which permitted unlimited contributions to independent expenditure groups but explicitly allowed Congress to require disclosure of those contributions. From the very start, though, the DISCLOSE Act was opposed more-or-less unanimously by Republicans. The thing is, disclosure had always been something of a fig leaf for them, a way of demonstrating that they had a reasonable policy alternative to contribution limits. But once they had the Supreme Court on their side, making contribution limits a dead letter, they suddenly didn't need the fig leaf anymore and support for disclosure evaporated. That happened the very first time the DISCLOSE Act was introduced in 2010, and it's been the solid Republican position ever since. It really doesn't have anything to do with the current campaign season.

But that's not the whole story. The current Republican position is not merely that Democrats want to "shame" rich donors, but that Barack Obama has compiled a Nixonian "enemies list" and is secretly using the full power of the United States government to harrass and intimidate anyone who dares to oppose him. Because of this, it only stands to reason that America's richest and most powerful citizens need to keep their campaign contributions in the shadows. Whether the Republican leadership has actually talked themselves into believing this fantasy, or merely trots it out to gull the Fox News set, is anyone's guess.

Ironically enough, "Senator by Appointment Only" Dean Heller was too busy "campaigning" to even bother voting on the DISCLOSE Act yesterday. How funny. So for Heller, campaign finance reform is only important when he distorts Shelley Berkley's record in his attack ads to make himself look better? OK, whatever.

I just wonder what Dean Heller and Mitt Romney will say to each other when Romney returns to Reno on August 3. It's supposedly his last trip to Northern Nevada before the election. And of course, it's for an uber-exclusive very-high-dollar fundraiser full of rich, angry, old white men (with a few of those women folk allowed in).

Why Mitt Romney's Campaign Couldn't Give Their Favorite Nevadan a Shoutout

Yesterday, Mitt Romney's campaign bus finally arrived in Las Vegas. When the bus arrived at the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" Sign, tourists gawked. When the bus arrived at a local Cardenas supermarket, shoppers raised eyebrows. And when Nevada's #1 Mitt Romney fan Joe Heck arrived on the bus, he made sure to get in front of the press corps and offer his "sage campaign advice".

Yet despite the Romney bus' arrival here in Las Vegas, there were no answers on the questions we're all asking about him. There was no mention of Bain Capital. And despite the bus arriving on the Las Vegas Strip, there was no mention of the man who's probably become the most important figure in Mitt Romney's campaign. Oh yes, I'm talking about Sheldon Adelson.

Think about it. The bus was just minutes away from The Venetian & The Palazzo. Adelson recently dropped $10 million in a pro-Romney Super PAC, then gave $5 million to Congressional Republican Super PACs. And Romney's campaign had nothing to say about their #1 money man?

Hmmm, I wonder why. I wonder why.

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There's a reason why Mitt Romney and other Republicans don't want to talk about how Sheldon Adelson makes his money. As we talked about yesterday, it messes with the image of them that they want us to see.

[Steve] Jacobs was fired in July 2010 from his role overseeing the Macau properties. He sued the companies and Adelson three months later.

In the lawsuit, he accuses the company and Adelson of breach of contract and of pushing him into illegal activity in Macau, a former Portugese colony near Hong Kong where Sands has established a strong business presence. The company owns the Venetian Macao and Sands Macao casino resorts, the Plaza Macao hotel, restaurant and shopping complex and the newly opened Sands Cotai Central resort with three hotels and two casinos.

In documents revealed Thursday —including a sworn seven-page declaration that Jacobs submitted along with a summary from his attorneys of problems obtaining documents from Sands —Jacobs describes an effort he launched after arriving in Macau in May 2009 to rid the casino floor of "loan sharks and prostitution."

"This project was met with concern as (company) senior executives informed me that the prior prostitution strategy had been personally approved by Adelson," Jacobs said in the documents.

In his court filing, Jacobs alleges other documents that haven't been turned over include records of misuse of "blue card' work permits and the hiring of illegal workers in Macau; emails and records of Adelson controlling a "Chairman's Club" allowing favored members, including known or suspected organized crime figures, exclusive access to Sands China's most luxurious accommodations; and email requests from Adelson to a Macau lawmaker who Jacobs said was hired as outside counsel after Jacobs was fired.

If you want to know even more of what's been going on behind the scenes at Sheldon Adelson's Macau casinos, I highly recommend this New Yorker article. It will really help explain why these Republican politicians (and their Super PACs) love to take all those big checks from Sheldon Adelson... Yet are afraid to be seen too close to him. Again, the more we know about Adelson's business, the more hypocritical these "family values, America loving, communism hating, tea party" Republicans look for taking Adelson's money.

Sheldon Adelson's Pandora's Box (for Republicans)

What else can I say? I told you so. In February, we first caught a whiff of the skeletons hidden in Nevada G-O-TEA money man Sheldon Adelson's closet. Now, ProPublica is busting down that closet door to dig for those skeletons.

First off, the documents they obtained confirmed the longstanding suspicion of many American gaming regulators that Las Vegas Sands (Sheldon Adelson's global gaming powerhouse) has indeed hired local lobbyists to bribe "influence" the Chinese government to let Las Vegas Sands expand its footprint in Macau. Hiring anyone to influence a foreign government to legislate in favor of one's business violates the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

But wait, there's more. These documents also confirm the longstanding suspicion that Las Vegas Sands has grown to be quite cozy with key local triad (Chinese mafia) leaders. Nevada law forbids any licensed casino operator from involvement with organized crime.

William Weidner, president of Las Vegas Sands from 1995 to 2009, said he understood from the beginning that opening casinos in Macau meant dealing with "junkets" —companies that arrange gambling trips for high rollers.

Gambling is illegal in mainland China, as is the transfer of large sums of money to Macau. The junkets solve those problems, providing billions of dollars in credit to gamblers. When necessary, they collect gambling debts, a critical function since China's courts are not permitted to force losers to pay up.

Weidner said junkets are a natural result of China's controls on the movement of money out of the country, channeling as much as $3 billion a month from the mainland to Macau.

"To Westerners, the junkets mean money laundering equated with organized crime or drugs," he said. "In China where money is controlled, it's part of doing business."

Weidner resigned from the company after a bitter dispute with Adelson.

Nevada officials are now poring over records of transactions between junkets, Las Vegas Sands and other casinos licensed by the state, people familiar with the inquiry say. Among the junket companies under scrutiny is a concern that records show was financed by Cheung Chi Tai, a Hong Kong businessman.

Cheung was named in a 1992 U.S. Senate report as a leader of a Chinese organized crime gang, or triad. A casino in Macau owned by Las Vegas Sands granted tens of millions of dollars in credit to a junket backed by Cheung, documents show. Cheung did not respond to requests for comment.

Another document says that a Las Vegas Sands subsidiary did business with Charles Heung, a well-known Hong Kong film producer who was identified as an office holder in the Sun Yee On triad in the same 1992 Senate report. Heung, who has repeatedly denied any involvement in organized crime, did not return phone calls.

Funny enough, it was none other than former Republican Presidential Nominee and current US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) who went on PBS NewsHour last month to warn his fellow Republicans about Sheldon Adelson and his "funny money". The good stuff starts at 7:30 on the video below.

Watch Sen. John McCain: 'There Will Be Scandals' in Campaigns on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

I'm now reminded of the Ancient Greek tale of Pandora's Box. In this case, Sheldon Adelson and his shady Macau money are the box, Mitt Romney and Congressional Republicans are Pandora, and the Citizens United era Supreme Court is Zeus. As The New Yorker has recently reported, Sheldon Adelson has dipped his hands into quite the unsavory business practices in Macau. And now, Mitt Romney and his fellow Republicans are gladly taking his campaign checks. This is now their problem.

Sheldon Adelson is the casino mogul and philanthropist whose ten-million-dollar donation last month to a Super PAC supporting Romney was “by far the biggest gift to date,” according to Forbes. Then, two weeks ago, Adelson reportedly pledged ten million more, this time to 2012 campaign efforts involving the Koch brothers, “cementing a potent alliance of two of the biggest spending forces in conservative politics,” Politico reported.

The end of that week brought a less glamorous headline: “Sheldon Adelson Denies Greenlighting A ‘Prostitution Strategy’ At His Macau Casinos.” That was a recap of the latest in a lawsuit working its way through Nevada courts, in which the former head of Adelson’s Macau operation has saddled Adelson with a range of lurid allegations involving Chinese triads, bribery, and criminal activity. (As I described in the magazine in May, those accusations have prompted the S.E.C. and Justice Department to investigate Adelson’s company.)

On June 28th, the former employee making the accusations, Steve Jacobs, dropped a list of new charges into a sworn declaration, including that he wanted to rid the casino of “loan sharks and prostitution” but was stymied when “senior executives informed me that the prior prostitution strategy had been personally approved by Adelson.” That is all it says, so it’s unclear if the plan purportedly “approved by Adelson” was intended to preserve or prevent prostitution. (Local police reportedly arrested more than a hundred prostitutes and twenty-two syndicate leaders in a 2010 operation at Adelson’s Venetian Macau.) The filing also accused Adelson of allegedly hiring illegal workers, and controlling a “Chairman’s Club” that permitted “favored members, including known or suspected organized crime figures.”

Yep, this is how Sheldon Adelson reaps in his billions. And this is how Mitt Romney and the outside "Tea Party, Inc." front groups coming into Nevada to help Romney, Dean Heller, and Joe Heck intend to fuel their campaigns. Remember this. Especially remember this whenever these Republicans try to lecture us on "corruption", "family values", and/or "personal responsibility".

Sheldon Gives Newton Another Lifeline (& Mittens Rejoices)

He's back...

The top super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich is going up with nearly $900,000 worth of radio ads in six key states holding contests in the next two weeks.

The Winning Our Future ad buy appears to come on the heels of another significant cash infusion from casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and gives Gingrich the kind of presence on the airwaves that he hasn’t had on Super Tuesday, which could be a make-or-break moment for his struggling campaign.

According to figures provided to The Fix by a media buy, the super PAC bought $238,000 worth of ads in Georgia, $235,000 in Ohio, $172,000 in Tennessee and $98,000 in Oklahoma. It is also buying in two Southern states holding primaries a week later — $92,000 in Alabama and $32,000 in Mississippi.

Are any of us surprised? He spent his way to put Newton on top in South Carolina last month. And it seems that Gingrich (and perhaps Romney soon?) will be more than happy to keep taking Adelson's money despite growing concerns over his company's legal problems involving his Macau casinos.

So much for Willard and Newton trying to call everyone else a "Manchurian Candidate"...

It looks like The Chicago Tribune caught a sneak preview of Newton's Super PAC's upcoming attack ads.

One of the new TV ads features what appears to be man-on-the-street interviews with working-class voters who express suspicion of Romney.

“I looked at Mitt Romney’s record and I can’t figure out what he stands for,” says one woman. “It changes.”

“I just don’t relate to Romney,” says another woman.

“I really don’t know if I can trust him,” adds a man.

One of the women describes Gingrich as “the only one who understands what we’re going through today,” citing the high price of gas. “Romney’s not the type to pump his own gas,” she adds, as the screen shows an image of Romney boarding a private plane. [...]

A series of new radio commercials that are airing nationally, designed to sound like a call-in radio show, takes aim at both Romney and Santorum.

In one, a caller named Joey with a distinct New Jersey accent dismisses the idea that Romney could be the GOP nominee.

“Somethin’ about him,” Joey says. “He’s not one of us. He’s not tough enough. And Rick? He ain’t my guy, either. What’s he ever done?... If you really want to stick it to the bums in D.C., it’s Newt. The guy’s a fighter. And he ain’t afraid to hurt nobody’s feelings.… You imagine what he’d do to Obama in a debate? He’d take him apart.”

Hmmm... So Newton is attacking both Mittens and Ricky? It does make me wonder what his Super PAC chief and Sheldon Adelson are thinking here. However, I'm sure some folks in Chicago are quite happy to see Newton's vanity contribute to the implosion of the G-O-TEA this year.

Another Day, Another Campaign Finance Scandal

Wait, didn't we already have Groundhog Day? So why does it seem like we keep waking up to the same damned story?

This time, the latest scandal du jour involves real estate developer Harvey Whittemore. Because he's the subject of an federal investigation and involved in a growing number of law suits, all of a sudden everyone from Harry Reid to Dean Heller and others (in both parties) is throwing out Whittemore's campaign contributions like rotten eggs.

And this morning, Jon Ralston tried to explain "how Harvey Whittemore became a leper".

Whittemore’s ebullience and intellect endeared him to many elected officials, who often counted him as a friend and counselor as well as donor. His insinuation into their lives brought him immense power and them hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars. The man everyone simply called or knew as Harvey was ubiquitous, whether lobbying in Carson City or building at Coyote Springs.

Now, like Jimmy Stewart’s Harvey, he is invisible, turned into a not-so-benign ghost because of three scarlet letters that see-no-evil politicians cannot abide: F-B-I.

I make no judgment yet on the sulfurous allegations that have made their way into court documents and the media as part of the acidic breakup of Whittemore and his business partners. But without knowing exactly what Whittemore may or may not have done (the schadenfreude contagion notwithstanding) and putting aside years of cozy, unquestioning interaction, suddenly these politicians have adopted a guilty-until-proven-innocent posture and shed Harvey’s campaign cash like it was mob money.

This I do judge. And I judge it to be craven, pathetic and phony.

The default response here, as it is in almost any situation for elected officials, is not whether someone they have consorted with for years did anything wrong. No, it is a simple calculus that is brought to bear: How does this make me look? This solipsistic reflex thus allows them — to borrow the immortal words of ex-Nevada Sen. Paul Laxalt, who offered them to Ferdinand Marcos when his time was up — to cut and cut cleanly.

And so that's what's happening. No one wants to be associated with someone who "looks like a crook", even if we don't really know yet if he's actually a crook. As Heidi Klum would say on "Project Runway": "One minute you're in, but the next minute you're out." Six years ago, Whittemore (and all his campaign cash) may have been oh-so-stylish and in. But now that there's a legal gray cloud hanging over his head, he suddenly finds himself out.

And funny enough, Ralston also predicted the next campaign finance scandal to erupt soon. Remember how Sheldon Adelson became Newton Leroy Gingrich's #1 Sugar Daddy the casino mogul who singlehandedly revived Newt Gingrich's political career (if only for another three weeks)? Apparently after promising Willard Mittens Romney that he'll become Romney's #1 Sugar Daddy switch his campaign cash flow to him if he becomes the G-O-TEA nominee, Adelson may end up throwing another $10 million into the pro-Newton Super PAC just because he doesn't like "Frothy" Ricky Santorum.

Right now, Newton and Willard are competing to be Adelson's new BFF. But at some point in the near future, that may all change. A while back, WikiLeaks released a series of diplomatic cables that we now know included concern about Adelson directly lobbying China's central government in Beijing over his Macau casinos. Now, the federal Department of Justice and Securities & Exchange Commission are investigating Las Vegas Sands (Adelson's global casino empire) over possible illegal bribing of Chinese government officials, as well as over LVS' long rumored involvement with the Macau mafia.

Whoops. How long can Willard and Newton keep dancing with this? And how much longer can they, along with many Nevada Republicans, ignore the Macau problems now plaguing their other favorite casino mogul? We all know how Steve Wynn believes that America has become some hot socialist mess, yet China has somehow become the new global beacon of freedom. (HUH??!!) Former Wynn BFF and business partner Kazuo Okada is now calling BS on Wynn's delicate China dance, and he's asking for documents regarding Wynn Resorts' recent $135 million pledge to the University of Macau, a pledge that just happens to coincide with the expiration of Wynn Resorts' Macau gaming license. Recently Steve Wynn has become more a beloved figure in Nevada GOP circles because of his constant rants against President Obama and constant campaign donations to Dean Heller, but how long will this last?

And really, how long can we keep missing the forest for the trees? I'm already seeing the usual "tea party" suspects claim that Harry Reid is some epic, "EVIL!!!" figure for taking Harvey Whittemore's donations. So when will they condemn Dean Heller for doing the same? And when will they condemn the likes of Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney for flirting with casino billionaires suspected of bribing the Chinese government?

And when will the entire Nevada political establishment stop this ridiculous kabuki theater that resumes whenever another campaign finance scandal emerges? In 2010, we saw plenty of "outrage" over scandals encircling state legislators Barbara Cegavske and Steven Horsford... But very little was done last year to change the system. The same "outrage" surfaced again once Rory Reid's politically posthumous campaign scandal surfaced. And again, no one wanted to talk about the root of this problem.

So I guess I have to bring out the handy dandy clean elections video yet again...



And yes, I will keep doing this until Nevada's pundits and political elite stop with the kabuki theater and mindless finger pointing, and start discussing real solutions to this ongoing fiasco.



Until we clean the campaign money supply, we'll only see more of these scandals surface. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's time to put up or shut up. If folks here are serious about stamping out the corruption of big corporate money in our politics, then it's time to take the big corporate money out of our system and support clean money & clean elections.

#NVCaucus: "Not an Election"?

OK, I just can't help it. And frankly, I think I have to bring this up again... Especially since Clark County GOP boss Dave Gibbs actually said his caucuses were "not an election". Just as many of us were suspecting all along, the Nevada G-O-TEA's last minute decision to placate their #1 Mr. Moneybags, Sheldon Adelson, hold an evening caucus at the Adelson Educational Campus in Summerlin is now causing a whole lot of controversy... And possibly future legal headaches, as well.

Michael Dicicco, 23 and a Paul supporter, said he was unable to attend the morning caucus because he was working and came out to the Adelson school after receiving a call from the Paul campaign.

"I thought this was a second opportunity to vote," said Dicicco, who was turned away after refusing to sign the declaration. "I don't understand why I wouldn't be able to vote if I'm not Jewish." [...]

Metro Police were called to remove Stephen Melancon, who was obstructing the entrance while trying to question a Clark County GOP official about the declaration.

Melancon, a high school teacher who said he was a Republican delegate in the 2008 elections, missed the morning caucus because he had to cover a shift at an adult mental health group home where he also works, he said.

"It makes the whole thing a sham," he said of the declaration. "It bothers me that in a process like this they're requiring people to lie (in order to caucus). I didn't come here to do anything other than cast my vote for Ron Paul."

Even some who were attending the evening caucus because they had been honoring the Sabbath were uncomfortable with the form.

"I don't think it's any of their business why I'm here," said Donna Fisher, who is Jewish. "They should just be glad I'm out here to vote."

The Nevada Republican Party required all Adelson Campus caucus-goers to first sign a declaration stating that they couldn't participate at their regularly scheduled neighborhood caucus due to religious reasons. Yes. That's right. You read me right. These caucus-goers essentially had to sign a pledge addressing their religious beliefs in order to vote.

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if federal election laws were violated last night. And no, I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of those angry caucus-goers is on the phone with an election law attorney right now. This is about to get awfully ugly.

But then again, it's already looking awfully ugly now. No, really. Look at the headline of this Sun story by Anjeanette Damon.

Nevada GOP dealing with “trouble box” of questionable ballots

And if that wasn't bad enough, there's even more explosive material in the actual story!

Party officials have confirmed that ballots in multiple precincts exceeded the number of voters who signed in. The “trouble box” also includes ballots on which two candidates were marked and other irregularities.

David Gallagher, executive director of the state party, could not confirm or even give a rough estimate of the number of ballots in question.

“It’s a small number,” he said.

Party officials spent much of the morning in a closed-door meeting with campaign officials to discuss the process for counting the ballots and determine what to do with the ballot box.

A procedure for dealing with the “trouble box” will be agreed upon by party and campaign officials, Gallagher said. He and other party officials acknowledged that some of the precincts may be “thrown out.”

“Obviously we want to count as many ballots as possible,” Gallagher said. “We want people’s voices to be heard.”

Wait... HUH??!! So Clark County Republicans want "people's voices to be heard", so they're actually considering throwing out votes from entire precincts? Weren't they supposed to honor the votes of participants who suffered in caucus locations plagued with mass confusion and improper ballot distribution?

And apparently, the chaos wasn't limited to Clark County. There were problems up north as well.



And again, this is leading to talk of making Nevada a primary state (again). After all, if we're supposed to believe Dave Gibbs of the Clark County GOP, "This is NOT an election. This is a caucus." Well, guess what, Dave Gibbs? Nevada voters want an election, not a chaotic hot mess and farcical fracas of a "caucus".

And we're wondering why the "snooty East Coast big media elite" were taken aback by the Nevada G-O-TEA's amateur hour?

Dave Gibbs may sound cruel, but maybe he has a point. This really doesn't look like an election... And that's the problem here. It's looking increasingly clear that people trying to caucus at the Adelson School in Summerlin last night were disenfranchised. And if Clark County Republicans just throw out ballots despite promising voters (who suffered "caucus irregularities" like not being given official ballots) that their ballots would be counted, then even more Nevada Republican voters will be disenfranchised.

Oh, and it wasn't just the "East Coast Big Media Elite" that snickered as the local G-O-TEA faltered. Their "Left Coast" West Coast colleagues were also appalled.





Sure, Ron Paul's fanatical band of fringe followers are harping on this issue and already crying foul. But you know what? Those "crazy Ron Paul people" may be right about this. Sure, they're wrong about all their other wackadoodle conspiracy theories involving everything from the gold standard to JFK's assassination to "the illuminati" to the "9/11 inside job" to raw milk. But when it comes to the Nevada G-O-TEA flagrantly violating voters' rights, putting up these ridiculous barricades to voter participation, and doing nothing to reassure Nevadans that the vote count they're releasing is honest and accurate, the "crazy Ron Paul people" may ultimately prove to be right on the money.

If this is "not an election", then why do we allow this to happen?

Yes, We Really Do Matter.

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.

Republicans & "Class Warfare"

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.

Maybe Nevada Does Matter, After All?

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).

Republicans to Nevada: "We're Just Not That Into You."

Could it possibly be any clearer?

For months, Nevada Republicans have giddily anticipated how today’s nationally televised presidential debate and subsequent Western leadership conference would draw the eyes of the nation to the state and establish its first-in-the-West caucuses as a key contest for GOP contenders.

Instead, most candidates spent the past week pledging to boycott Nevada’s Jan. 14 caucuses over a dispute the state is having with New Hampshire related to its primary date. [...]

But Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, who placed first and second in the Nevada caucuses four years ago, were the only candidates to hold public rallies by the eve of the debate (which will be aired at 5 p.m. on CNN).

“Most of the candidates, they’re going to use us as a great backdrop ... but you start looking at their plans, and there isn’t really much in there for Nevada,” UNLV politics professor David Damore said. “My fear is that we get sort of taken as a prop.”

Good point. What's really in there for Nevada? Look at Rick Perry's "energy plan" (which was completely copied from these Big Oil hacks), and one can see that all he offers is continued enslavement to the fossil fuel industry. Look at Mitt Romney's tax proposals, and notice that 73.9% of middle class families would see no benefit from his "middle class tax cuts" (which are really more capital gains tax cuts that benefit the super-rich). Meanwhile Herman Cain continues his xenophobic crazy talk, and Jon Huntsman won't even bother coming here because the Nevada GOP hurt the New Hampshire Secretary of State's feelings in moving its caucuses to January 14. And perhaps most puzzling of all, none of them have bothered to come up with any real jobs plan to get people back to work, or anything to help people save their homes from bank foreclosure?

Oh, and don't even get me started on Newt Gingrich...



Again, why do we even bother with these clowns? Isn't it obvious that these Republican candidates are just not that into us?

Corporate profits are now at a 60 year high, but small businesses are still struggling. Real estate tycoons are getting back into the speculation game, yet working class families are still losing their homes to foreclosure. Everything may be coming up roses for these Republicans' big campaign contributors, but folks out here in the rest of America are still struggling.

Think about it. Will we hear anything of consequence at tonight's debate? Are the Republican candidates really taking Nevada's economic worries seriously? Remember what we talked about yesterday on perception and reality. I'm sure the GOP candidates who actually bother to show up at The Venetian tonight will claim ability to wave a magic wand and make all our problems disappear, but look closer. Look past the empty rhetoric. And realize that actions speak louder than words, and that their actions clearly indicate they're just not that into us.