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When Harry met Rachel
In a wide-ranging, 24-minute interview Wednesday with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid briefly repeated his anti-GOP talking points, but then engaged in a fascinating give-and-take about his evolution on gay rights, Ted Cruz's ability to destroy the GOP, his friendship with Sheldon Adelson and more. The interview, embedded below, featured one of Reid's better and more revealing performances. His clear comfort with the interlocutor surely helped, but also did not result...
Vegas Chamber of Commerce to Wheeler: Go home!
The Las Vegas Metro Chamber late Tuesday called on Assemblyman Jim Wheeler to resign and urged other groups to follow suit. Here is the group's statement: The Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce calls for the immediate resignation of State Assemblyman Jim Wheeler (R-39) from the Nevada State Legislature. Mr. Wheeler’s comments regarding his willingness to endorse slavery are appalling, outrageous and do not reflect the values we embody in Nevada. His remarks are unacceptable and should not be...
Jim Wheeler hates Las Vegas
Jim Wheeler probably wants to make Las Vegas a slave to the rest of the state. Don’t believe me? He described southerners as rule-breakers not like rural Nevadans and who want to take northern money (the horror!), and he suggested Clark County could be split off into a separate district or (facetiously, I think) traded to Calfironia. Here’s exactly what he said about Southern Nevada on the now-infamous video: “That is the biggest divide in the state, North and South.  Las Vegas wants everything...
Jim Wheeler: He's no Stephen Douglas
Before the Civil War tore apart the country, a senator by the name of Stephen Douglas tried to find a middle ground on slavery with what became known as the “popular sovereignty” movement. That would have allowed territory residents to decide the slavery question by directly voting on the issue, thus bypassing Congress. Abraham Lincoln disagreed, and the idea sparked a bloodletting that eventually resulted in the new Republican Party, one firmly opposed to slavery. Now, a century and a half...
So the biggest GOP donor, a presidential nephew and a birther walk into a fundraiser....
Talk about eclectic: Incipient congressional candidate Niger Innis runs the gamut in his first fundraising event scheduled for next month, with the largest GOP donor in the world, the son of a former president's brother, a Republican presidential hopeful forced from the 2012 race and Nevada's most famous birther. Officially, the Nov. 5 event is for "The Niger Innins Congressional Exploratory Committee" and is hosted hosted by ex-Las Vegas mayoral candidate Victor Chaltiel, who is close to...
Wheeler to colleagues: Media having a field day, I was just kidding, but I apologize
Here's the email Assemblyman Jim Wheeler sent late Monday evening in response to an uproar over video (Update: now taken down, but I have embedded it below -- it's at the 37-minute mark) of his August remarks suggesting he would vote for slavery if his constituents wanted it: Dear Senators and Assembly members:   The media is having a good time with a clearly facetious statement I made in a town hall meeting earlier this year. They’re attempting to spin an extreme example I used about...
Intriguing congressional candidate sees opening, but Democratic primary will present challenge
Erin Bilbray, fresh off her singularly female and quite American performance on "Ralston Reports," suddenly finds herself with a primary challenger in her bid to unseat GOP Rep. Joe Heck in one of the most-watched House races of the year. Frank Kassela, a well-known poker player, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to run, telling associates he was unimpressed with Bilbray's campaign rollout and saying the government shutdown nightmare pushed him into the race. Kassela has an...
Immigration reform looms large in CD3, but can it cut Heck?
It's no secret that the Democrats hope to use immigration reform against Rep. Joe Heck, nor is it hard to figure out that the incumbent would try to thread the needle on the issue. Hispanics make up 16 percent of Congressional District Three, where both national parties will fight for a seat that is considered one of the more competitive in the country. The issue's potential saliency in the race became obvious this week. In just the last 24 hours, Democratic candidate Erin Bilbray botched an...
Best announcement video ever?
"I was indicted and later the charges were dropped."   Here is the indictment he's talking about.
Bilbray's campaign digs hole deeper after "Ralston Reports" appearance
Less than 24 hours after her appearance on "Ralston Reports," congressional hopeful Erin Bilbray had her campaign manager issue a series of "clarifications" to "set the record straight." It's hard to straighten a record on videotape, however. And Bilbray, who may have thought better of some of what she said, must not have ever heard that old expression about discretion and valor. Or as a political adviser might say: Stop digging. "Clarification" No. 1 -- Bilbray not only still won't acknowledge...

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