(Chuck Muth) – As the year winds to a close, here are my picks for 2010’s Top 10 Nevada Conservatives.
Yes, as one of my regular readers pointed out, nobody united conservatives around the state this year better than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. But despite this impressive accomplishment, Harry Reid is no conservative, so he doesn’t make the list.
Then again, neither does Sharron Angle. Sorry, Charlie, but you don’t blow $27 million and the single best opportunity to take out the #1 targeted Democrat in the nation by either your own or your campaign’s incompetence (probably a combination of both) and be rewarded.
#10: Sen. Mike McGinness. No, he’s no fire-breathing movement conservative. No he hasn’t signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. In fact, he voted for the Mother of All Tax Hikes in 2003. However…the Republican state senator from Fallon was angry enough with liberal Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio’s (RINO-Reno) support for tax hikes in the last session, as well as his support for Harry Reid in this year’s U.S. Senate race, that he challenged and dethroned Sir Bill after 37 long, long years as the GOP’s Big Dog in the state Senate. That took…er, stones.
#9: Frank Ricotta. Ricotta got his start as an activist and organizer in the tea party movement at its inception in 2007. He and others successfully “infiltrated” the Clark County Republican Party and eventually took control of the operation. Alas, charlatan tea partier SpongeBob Ruckman rose up to the chairman’s position at the start of this year and proceeded to muck everything up. By summer, Ruckman had unsurprisingly crashed and burned. Ricotta took his place and is quickly and effectively moving the organization in the “right” direction.
#8: Victor Joecks. Victor is the deputy communications director for the Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI), Nevada’s only conservative think tank. But Victor’s no egg-headed geek. He has an unusual ability to look at complicated public policy issues and write about them in an entertaining and easy-to-understand manner. (He reminds me of somebody else I know; I just can’t put my finger on it.) Anyway, we need more conservatives who can communicate the limited-government message effectively, and Victor is a true rising star in the movement. Now if only I can get him to stop picking fights with people who buy ink by the barrel and paper by the ton.
#7: Mark Ciavola. If it wasn’t for Ciavola’s voice from Right Pride, an conservative organization of gay Republicans, Republicans in Nevada wouldn’t have had hardly any voice at all in Nevada politics, other than the Reid race, in 2010. Ciavola is also the new president of the UNLV College Republicans. His leadership has resulted in both organizations becoming more active in campaigns, more visible in the media, and more in the face of the opposition, especially Democrat Senate Majority Leader Stephen Horsford.
#6: Ciara Matthews. One of the few bright spots in the disastrous Angle debacle. Matthews went from the thankless, near hopeless job of communications director for the all-but-invisible Nevada Republican Party to the thankless, near hopeless job of communications director for the all-but-invisible Sharron Angle. Brash, but knowledgeable; youthful, but mature. In public appearances against Harry Reid’s spokesmodel, Matthews kicked butt. She has a very bright future in the conservative movement…if the Angle mess didn’t burn her out.
#5: Adam Stryker. A well-like political activist before joining the unsuccessful Sue Lowden for Senate campaign, Stryker didn’t quit or move away after the primary. Instead he took the challenge of Nevada state director for the wildly successful and conservative Americans for Prosperity organization….which hosted its wildly successful Right Online blogger conference in Las Vegas this summer. Stryker’s the kind of guy who gets things done, and he’s now heading an organization with both the experience and funding to do it.
#4: Joe Heck. The knock on Joe Heck as a state senator was that he was a moderate. But after switching gears from the governor’s race to the congressional race against uber-liberal Rep. Dina Titus a little over a year ago, Heck signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and went on to preach the conservative limited-government gospel as well as, or better than, almost anyone else in the state of Nevada. Oh, and he beat Titus in a district with a LOT more Democrats than Republicans.
#3: Debbie Landis. As an early tea party organizer in Reno, Landis formed an organization called Anger is Brewing. This year she successfully transitioned the organization’s anger into action. Easily the most organized, visible and active of the tea party organizations in Nevada, Action is Brewing hosted a senatorial and gubernatorial primary debate, conducted several successful rallies and joined legal efforts to kick tea party imposter Scott Ashjian off the ballot. She also came up with my favorite sound bite of the season. When asked by a reporter what she had against Ashjian, Landis responded, “He annoys me.” A true master of understatement!
#2: Bob Irwin. First, the guy owns a gun store in Las Vegas and is one of the staunchest Second Amendment defenders in the land, as well as a Taxpayer Protection Pledge signer. That alone is enough to get on my list. But Bob also took one for the team by mounting a near-impossible challenge to Democrat Assemblyman John Oceguera, the man everyone knew was going to be the next Speaker of the Assembly and who, therefore, had big-dollar lobbyist bucks coming out his wazoo. But Irwin put together a credible campaign that scared the tar out of Johnny O, forcing him to spend money on his own race that otherwise would have gone to defeat conservative Republicans in other districts. Bully on you, Bob!
#1: Elizabeth Halseth. She’s young. She’s attractive. She’s intelligent. She has a B-E-A-utiful family, as everyone who saw her campaign signs can attest. She’s also a fire-breathing conservative. In fact, almost as soon as she publicly announced her campaign for the state assembly in the fall of 2009, she emailed me a photo of herself signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge at her kitchen table.
With little money, no backing and no name ID, Elizabeth launched a high-profile grassroots campaign in a very crowded GOP primary field on both foot and the Internet. Then on the last day of filing last March, after Michele Fiore pulled out of the state senate race in the same district for a shot at the congressional seat, Halseth withdrew from her assembly race and filed for the state senate seat against sitting liberal incumbent state Sen. Dennis Nolan rather than let him go unchallenged in the primary.
No shrinking violet, Halseth aggressively went after Nolan and his support for a convicted rapist like nobody’s business and beat the longtime veteran.
Alas, the conventional wisdom was that while a staunch conservative could beat a liberal Republican in a GOP primary, she couldn’t win against the well-established, well-liked, well-respected, well-funded Democrat opponent in this Democrat-majority district. Elizabeth kicked his…er, donkey.
Still in her twenties, Halseth is a diamond in the rough who still needs some work on her public relations skills, especially with the media. But if she gets some good direction and takes some good advice, we could be looking at a Nevada version of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann – that’s how much potential she has. And that’s certainly something for conservatives here to cheer and celebrate as we usher in the New Year.
Sen. Halseth will be feted at our Awards Luncheon at Citizen Outreach’s annual Conservative Leadership Conference in Las Vegas this spring. She will also receive a free, one-year subscription to Silver State Confidential, a tube-sock filled with nickels (with this ongoing recession, we can’t afford quarters!) and a case of Turtle Wax.
Congratulations, Elizabeth!
Hmmm. Some good choices, but one GLARINGLY bad choice. This Ricotta character certainly did manage to infiltrate the Republican Party, but where he has taken it isn’t exactly the “right” place. All he has done is to marginalize conservatives who have been active in the party for a very long time (in fact, go to a ccrp meeting, none of them even go anymore) in favor of the party being run by a whole bunch of Paulturds. Sure, they are united, but alot of the slappin-back, ain’t-we-something goings on down at party hq doesn’t win elections. It gets you candidates like Sharon Angle, Ron Paul, Chris Dyer, and James Smack. Guess what that gets you? Harry Reid, Shelley Berkley, and a whole slate of democratic up-and-comers who won’t need much to convince the electorate not to go along with the wing-nuts that guys like Ricotta string along.
Halseth, Irwin, Heck, Mathews, Ciavola, and Joecks, OK. Rocotta goes into that mix only if you’re playing the game, “which one of these people doesn’t belong.” I can think of a dozen great Republicans who should be on the list above Ricotta. I’ll bet you can, too. How many can you name?
Comments:
#9. Being chairman of the cash strapped Clark County Republican party is a tough job and the jury is still out on Frank Ricotta. But, so far, it does not seem any different than things were under Bob Ruckman who, as the author notes, seemed in over his head. CCRP Central Committee meetings are reminescent of the Supreme Soviet. Both Ruckman and RIcotta view it as big success if you just get a bunch of people to show up even though they have no meaningful power to exercise.
The county party’s website under both Ruckman and Ricotta does not offer much information and rarely changes content. It has been redesigned under RIcotta and has become harder to navigate without being more informative.
After the state central committee meeting at Fallon, the website promised more details about the procedure for selecting delegates at the 2012 precinct caucus. That has not occurred yet but a fortunately a poster of another Nevada News and Views article provided a detailed report on the subject. He was from Reno.
#6. Ciara Matthews sought to plug a lot of holes in the struggling Sharron Angle campaign early in the process and she can be applauded for that. I am not sure if I was watching the same program that Chuck was watching when he says that she kicked butt. I remember a Face to Face program with Jon Ralston where Matthews was debating a Reid spokesman. It might have been Jim Manley. Anyway, she looked like a deer in the headlights which was understandable since the Reid guy was very experienced and she was just off a short stint at KXNT radio before joining Angle’s campaign. I agree the experience will make her better.
#1. More power to Elizabeth Halseth. But I don’t know why she is any more deserving than Scott Hammond who won an assembly seat against a labor union official who outspent him or Michael Roberson who knocked off imcumbent Senator Joyce Woodhouse.
I noticed that that Citizen Outreach Conservative Of The Year, Janine Hansen, doesn’t even get an Honorable Mention. Curious. You know, as well as I, that Janine has proven herself as a Citizen Lobbyist for many years. Halseth as #1? She hasn’t done anything yet.
I am sooooo proud of you Elizabeth. I believe you will do wonderful things and the state is blessed to have you. Can’t wait to see what happens in 2011.
Leonard, why don’t you check with Janine and see if she has any qualms with our support of her.
I know she doesn’t. I just questioned why the person who received the Citizen Outreach Foundation’s “Conservative of the Year” award wouldn’t be somewhere in your list of 2010’s Top Ten Nevada Conservatives. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I just didn’t make sense to me.
“If there is a more experienced, better qualified, rock-solid conservative challenger candidate for the Nevada Legislature this year, I haven’t met them yet,” said Chuck Muth, president of Citizen Outreach Foundation. “If every member of the Legislature possessed the qualities, values and philosophical beliefs as Janine, our government wouldn’t be in anywhere near as bad a shape as it’s in today.”
Anaconda says Frank Ricotta is a GLARINGLY bad choice as President of the Clark County Republican Party. I’m a member of the CCRPCC and I say that he is an OUTSTANDING choice for the job.
He has been in the position about eight months and his achievements are impressive. During that time he has seen the party through a major election; brought current all paperwork; formed committees to monitor legislation in Carson City and Washington, DC; has people to look at future candidates; oversees fundraising; and performs numerous other functions.
It’s very easy to quit going to meetings because you are not happy with changes. However, that type of self-centered viewpoint does not help elect good candidates. Frank Ricotta needs people to work for the party and donate money. If you are marginalized, it is because of your own doing.
Barb M.
Please put down the Kool Aid.
“Seen the party through a major election.” What does that mean? It’ a nonsensical sentence, much like “endeavor to persevere.” You can’t stop time, honey. Even bad chairmen “see the party through a major election.” That isn’t an accomplishment. Are you suggesting that Ricotta had anything to do with the Republicans winning the US Senate election? Oh, wait, we LOST that one. That’s one we SHOULD HAVE WON, had we had a decent Republican, not some regenerated Paulturd masquerading under the new “tea party” banner. Fact is, Republicans didn’t win any races they shouldn’t have won already, and the ones who won owe NOTHING to Ricotta for their wins. Ask the candidates who lost their races how much Ricotta helped them in Clark County. Ask the winners how much Ricotta helped them in Clark County. Answer is the same, he was a non-entity. If any body gets any credit for bringing in new people it would be the tea party folks, and the candidates who were motivated enough to win, who did win (none of whom relied on the county party or Frank Ricotta).
“Brought paperwork current.” WOW! There’s a major accomplishment, meanwhile all of the rank and file Republicans that carried the water for the party have disappeared. But hey, the paperwork is current! Whoop-t-Doo!
“Formed committees . . . ” It’s the first thing every chairman does. No brainer, except that when your committee is to “look at future candidates” to make sure they are Paulturds, that’s not an accomplishment. Besides that, what does “look at future candidates” mean? Are you implying that Ricotta or any other committee is going to get a candidate to run who isn’t predisposed to do so? The bigger accomplishment would be to get GOOD candidates to run and to keep CRUMMY candidates out. Now, if Rocotta can keep GOOD candidates from running against each other, then he will accomplished something, and I will congratulate him. But lets see who the future candidates are before we start tooting the horn about what a great job he’s doing. And another thing, who is on the “looking-at-future-candidates” committee? If it is the same paulturds running the county party now, no chance!
“Oversee fundraising?” Not much to oversee when money isn’t coming in because the people with money aren’t supporting you because you drove them out. No accomplishment whatsoever.
“Perform numerous other functions.” That’s a good one. His accomplishments are so “numerous” that they can’t even be listed! Ha! You guys down there in Clark need to put down the Kook Aid.
Nuff Said.
Umm, Leonard, Citizen Outreach IS Chuck Muth, which IS Nevada News and Views. You should do a little research before you post stupid statements. Just sayin.
Anaconda, yes, I know that Citizens Outreach is Chuck Muth, which is Nevada News and Views. That’s why I asked the question here.
Since you seem to be so smart and I am “stupid”, maybe you can tell me why the Citizen Outreach Foundation’s 2010 “Conservative of the Year” award winner wouldn’t be somewhere in Muth’s list of 2010’s Top Ten Nevada Conservatives?
“If there is a more experienced, better qualified, rock-solid conservative challenger candidate for the Nevada Legislature this year, I haven’t met them yet,” said Chuck Muth, president of Citizen Outreach Foundation, speaking about Janine Hansen.
Just askin’. What part of my question do you find “stupid”? Unless it’s not OK to ask a question anymore without being called “stupid”.
Thanks for #3, I’m flattered and a little embarrassed.
When I was young, I used to ask myself two questions before I did anything.
1. What’s the worst thing that can happen?
2. Can I live with it?
Most of us working behind the scenes in Nevada as conservative grassroots organizers only have to ask ourselves one question:
1. What’s the worst thing that can happen if I don’t do anything?
We all know we’re in the same boat, it’s going to be a great day when we’re all rowing in the same direction.
Thanks again!
Leonard, I didn’t call you stupid and its always ok to ask questions, just not stupid ones.
In answer to your question, its called “spreadin’ the love.”
[...] be true for the CCRP, beginning on December 31 when Frank Ricotta, CCRP chairman, was named to the Top Ten Conservatives List by Citizen Outreach. Already working to ensure a strong county, state, and federal government are [...]
Ladies and Gentlemen, in this corner——- what the hell is going on. Even at an organized fight, the “TEAM” behind the fighter either makes or breaks them.
Why did Harry get re-elected??? Lack of teamwork! Read the list of “RINOS” that backed Harry Read from our rank and file and you should get the picture. These were only the ones that made it public. How about the rest of you RINOS, you know who you are, work with the party ,and those elected to their offices in the CCRCC and act like adults instead of kindergarten brats.