Commentary
The civility con
Republicans have finally zeroed in on a winning message for the midterms: Civility won’t be restored to public life unless you vote for men (and they’re almost all men) who blindly support the man who obliterated it in the first place. Let’s recap: A woman came forth with allegations of sexual assault against a Supreme […]
Daily Current excerpt: Laxalt’s relatives; Laxalt’s youth; Laxalt’s weekend
Occasionally the Undercurrent blog publishes a breezy excerpt from the Daily Current newsletter. The following is adapted from Monday’s edition. (Click here to subscribe to the Daily Current. It’s free.) Speaking of Laxalt… Unlike the one named Adam, there are many other Laxalts who actually are from Nevada, and many of those have little use […]
Shells, sectionals & a sandbox: Laxalt’s half-baked “economic plan”
Things Nevada newcomer Adam Laxalt would like to do if elected governor include but are not limited to: Make Nevada even more of a haven for sketchy shell companies; Allow financial service “innovators” to prey on consumers in new and innovative ways; Let interior decorators decorate interiors without a license. Laxalt floats several other propositions […]
Nevada turnout is more important than Rosenstein & Mueller
We don’t know if Trump is going to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, or, in the event, if Rosenstein’s replacement will fire special counsel Robert Mueller. As Philosopher Donald Trump is fond of saying, “We’ll see what happens.” In the meantime, we also don’t know if Nevada voters would care. Anyone with any idea […]
Microcommentary: Heller’s “hiccup”
Sen. Sycophant. On a call with Very Important Republicans, Nevada sort of important Republican Dean Heller could not stop gushing about how “great” Donald Trump is, and dismissed the allegations against Brett “Biff” Kavanaugh as a “hiccup” (NYT, Indy). All Republicans have to do is bend over and drink a glass of water upside down, […]
Nevada can, and should, outlaw this industry
South Dakota is the most recent state to run off its payday loan industry. In 2016, 75 percent of South Dakota voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that capped total interest, fees and charges on loans at an annualized percentage rate (APR) of 36 percent. Evidently a 36 percent APR just doesn’t pencil out for […]
Bundy, Hansen, and Lord, oh my
A couple-three observations from the Reno Gazette Journal/Suffolk University poll released Tuesday… Third party candidates are notorious for performing better in polls than in elections. People who tell pollsters they support third party candidates tend to have a gut check in the ballot booth, and end up voting for the candidate who seems to most […]
The attacks on Ford aren’t about Ford: Why the AG race matters
A bunch of mining industry guys from California and their California bankers and California lawyers decided in the 19th century to put Nevada’s capital in a mining camp, and Nevada has just left it sitting there ever since. As a result, like the overwhelming majority of my fellow Nevadans, my contact with the Nevada Legislature […]
Woodward rudely rains on Kavanaugh’s parade
Poor Brett Kavanaugh. All he wanted was a dignified Supreme Court nomination process, and instead his hearing was lined with women dressed as extras from The Handmaid’s Tale, people were yelling all the time about everything, and horrible terrible Democrats (as if there are any other kind) tried to scuttle Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing before it […]
Guest op-ed: A vote for Kavanaugh is a vote against health care
Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, 294,000 Nevadans have gained coverage, the uninsured rate has fallen 45.6% in Nevada and medical bankruptcies have dramatically fallen. Because of the law, insurers can no longer deny coverage or charge more to the 1,215,300 Nevadans with a pre-existing condition, no longer cut coverage off when an […]
Sandolak? Sisoval?
Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval may not endorse Democratic candidate for governor Steve Sisolak, but Sisolak is endorsing Sandoval’s agenda. Sisolak released a pair of ads over the weekend that all but gush over Sandoval and his signature accomplishments. In one of the ads, Sandoval even makes an (unauthorized, presumably) appearance. “When Governor Sandoval did the […]
About Sandoval snubbing Laxalt…
Last week, Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval announced that no, in point of fact he would not, could not, bring himself to hold his nose and endorse Adam Laxalt, his party’s nominee to succeed him. Now seems as good a time as any to remember that about this time of year in 2011, Sandoval endorsed Texas […]