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Relax, GOP. A veto-proof Democratic legislature won’t fix NV’s upside down tax system. (Sadly)
Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s top priority over the next seven months until the 2024 election will be exactly the same as his top priority over the last 8 months since the 2023 legislative session ended: Do whatever he can to help the Better Nevada PAC that loves him defeat a few Democratic assembly candidates and […]
Trump’s Iceland ambassador makes big buy in NV GOP Senate primary
Republican Jeffrey Gunter announced a $3.3 million ad buy Tuesday in his bid to win the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Nevada. Gunter was ambassador to Iceland during the Trump administration, a post in which he reportedly created an “untenable” employment situation and ruffled Reyjavik officials when he requested permission to carry a gun […]
Headline-hunting Lombardo mistakes urban sprawl for affordable housing policy
You can’t begrudge Gov. Joe Lombardo for trying to throw some shade on Joe Biden when the president made a campaign visit to Nevada Tuesday. Democrats do the same thing when Trump comes to Nevada. But let’s not pretend the letter Lombardo sent to Biden – and more importantly for Lombardo’s purposes, to the Nevada […]
Democrats run a real nobody against Amodei in CD2
Friday was the last day for Nevadans to file as candidates for elected office in 2024. In Nevada’s second congressional district, no Democrat did. Only four people, all Republicans, have won the solidly red district since its creation after the 1980 census: Barbara Vucanovich, Jim Gibbons, Dean Heller, and the district’s current representative, Mark Amodei. […]
Lombardo backs Brown in Republican U.S. Senate primary
Gov. Joe Lombardo endorsed Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown Thursday, Brown’s campaign announced in a release. Brown already has the backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) committee, the Republican Senate’s campaign arm, in his bid to win the primary and challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen in the general election. Other Republicans […]
The Supreme Court won’t save the country so it looks like Nevada will have to
“Institutions will not save you.” That was the third rule listed in an eminent essay published by Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen shortly after the 2016 election, “Autocracy: Rules for Survival.” The rule’s validity is being powerfully telegraphed lately by the U.S. Supreme Court. Several constitutional scholars, some of them notable conservatives, strenuously supported the Colorado […]
Rerun. Sorry. Deal.
Two years ago last Saturday, hybrid-totalitarian, war criminal and multiple murderer Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. Republicans in South Carolina marked the anniversary by voting for life-long conman and aspiring authoritarian thug Donald Trump, who envies Putin, looks up to him as a role model, and shills for him. (In other words, the […]
Lithium: Hot or not?
When they embarked on political careers that would lead them both to the U.S. Senate, a pair of Nevada Democratic politicians – Harry Reid and Richard Bryan – were dubbed the “gold dust” twins. More than half a century later, the phrase “lithium carbonate twins” doesn’t have as cute a ring to it. But it’s […]
Now, clearly, is no time to raise the gaming tax
“Our Las Vegas Strip Resorts and MGM China set new all-time records” in 2023, MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle gushed Tuesday in a statement announcing the corporation’s fourth quarter and full year earnings. MGM’s numbers are indeed pretty splashy. Net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2023 ($4.4 billion) were 22% higher than the […]
The Super Bowl is the crowning achievement of Nevada economic policy. Unfortunately.
Although the economic impact of the Super Bowl is typically overstated, and the public cost typically understated or ignored, civic leaders in cities work hard to land a Super Bowl. It’s exciting. It gives the host city lots of friendly publicity. It’s fun. But in Las Vegas, hosting a Super Bowl isn’t just a one-off […]
Haley campaign says Thursday’s Nevada caucus ‘rigged for Trump’
Other than filing as a candidate in October for today’s Nevada Republican Presidential Primary, former South Carolina Gov. Nikke Haley’s campaign has shown no indication that it knows or cares about Nevada’s third spot on the Republican nominating calendar. The campaign at least noted the state Monday. In a conference call with reporters, Haley’s campaign […]
Two Nevadans likely to benefit from a Trump nomination: Lee & Rosen
Much as they might disdain him, perhaps no one in Nevada is poised to directly benefit more from Trump winning the Republican presidential nomination than Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen and Democratic Rep. Susie Lee. They’re the incumbents among the state’s congressional delegation whose races are expected to be most competitive this year, and the outcome […]