Step one: Nominate Flippo. Step two: Alienate longtime Republicans. Step three: Kick Mark Amodei out of the club. What could possibly go wrong?
If Forest Gump and the Three Stooges tried to put together a Republican political campaign plan for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District, they couldn’t possibly have come up with a fuster-cluck worse than that of candidate David Flippo, general consultant Rory McShane, campaign manager Woody Johnston, and Washoe County GOP Chairman Bruce Parks,
And yet the odds are – thanks to overwhelming Republican registration advantage in the district of over 70,000 – Flippo will come out on top.
Still… not a lock. Here’s why.
I spent the weekend in Carson City and Reno. Drove up from Las Vegas and, unlike Flippo, didn’t need GPS to get there.
And I spent a lot of time talking with a lot of longtime GOP leaders and activists.
At best, some said they would be holding their noses to block out the collective stank of the Flippo campaign and are pulling his lever for no reason other than to keep the seat from falling into the Democrats’ hands.
Nothing wrong with that. I get it. They were dealt a crap sandwich and are smothering it with ketchup (or catsup) to make it somewhat palatable to swallow.
The majority I spoke with, however – acknowledging this is strictly anecdotal – said they’re voting for the actual conservative in the race, Lynn Chapman of the Independent American Party (IAP), knowing full well that would take a vote from Flippo and possibly put the race in play for the D’s.
But here’s the truly frightening thing, and I really didn’t see this coming.
A good number told me they are publicly saying they’re voting for Chapman, but in the privacy of the voting booth they’re actually pulling the lever for Democrat Teresa Benitez Thompson (TBT).
Why?
Because they believe Flippo would be an embarrassing disaster for both Nevada and the Republican Party and they want no part of it.
So they’re not just taking a vote away from Flippo – like they would by voting for Chapman – but are directly giving their vote to TBT.
That’s how palpable the disgust is with Flippo-Gump and The Three Stooges, whose ham-handed antics have brought this northern Nevada GOP civil war to their doorsteps.
Still, with that 70,000+ GOP registration advantage, even Flippo should hold the seat tomorrow.
And the campaign to oust him in the 2028 GOP primary will begin on Wednesday.
As will the campaign to oust Parks as ringmaster of the clown show the Washoe County Republican Party has become.
Stupid Is as Stupid Does
I took our senior political writer, “Brutal” Brittany Sheehan, and her 2-year-old daughter, Desi, up to Carson City with me this weekend.
Brit had never been to a Nevada Day Parade and Desi had never been trick-or-treating.
The first doorbell we rang was that of Rep. Mark Amodei, who Parks and fewer than 90 Washoe County GOP clowns foolishly voted to excommunicate last week in an “emergency” meeting.
Mark invited us in for a couple beers around his kitchen table and a raucous discussion of the CD2 fuster-cluck while Desi excitedly raced to the door to hand out full-sized chocolate bars every time the bell rang.
Side Note: Here’s a great shot of Desi with Gov. Joe Lombardo and First Lady Donna Lombardo in front of the Governor’s Mansion later in the evening.
But back to the circus…
I certainly understand why the Flippoites are angry at Amodei for answering a reporter’s question honestly and saying he voted for Chapman.
But how stupid do you have to be to tell 219,919 voters in CD2 that you were kicking out the candidate they voted for in 2024 on the eve of the 2026 election?
A man who was actually born in northern Nevada almost 70 years ago – as opposed to a guy who carpetbagged his way into the district just eight months ago.
A man who won his first race as a Republican candidate for the Nevada State Assembly in 1996.
A Republican who won a seat in the Nevada State Senate in 1998 and served there until 2010.
A Republican who served as president of the Nevada Mining Association, perhaps the most important industry in all of northern Nevada.
A Republican who served as Chairman of the Nevada Republican Party.
A Republican who has served northern Nevada as its representative in Congress since 2011.
A Republican who not only served in Congress, but rose through the ranks to become one of the GOP’s top leaders as a “cardinal” on the House Appropriations Committee.
A Republican congressman who served as chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee.
A Republican congressman who voted against President Trump’s impeachment and opposed the creation of the January 6 Commission dog-and-pony show.
A Republican who can drive through CD2 blindfolded and has keynoted who knows how many Republican Lincoln Day dinners and other events over the years in support of local GOP county parties.
Yes, that’s the Republican who Chairman Krusty the Clown and fewer than 90 fellow bozos at the Washoe County GOP told the voters of CD2 was no longer a “Republican.”
Which they can’t even do anyway. That’s how monumentally stupid that “emergency” censure resolution was.
No, no, no.
In their warped minds, the “real” Republican is a guy who can’t even find Gabbs without a map.
A guy who thinks Picon Punch is Joey Gilbert’s signature move in the boxing ring.
A guy whose idea of “ranching” is putting that white dressing dip on his salad.
A guy with more dead donors on his campaign finance report than are buried in the Tonopah cemetery.
A guy who actually blamed his grandchildren for his “stolen valor” baseball caps.
A guy whose financial disclosure report was hand-written on a cocktail napkin.
A guy who slimed, not one, not two, but three fellow Republicans – honorable men all – in mud-slinging primary races over the last two years.
The only good news in all of this is that whether Flippo or TBT wins tomorrow, we’ll survive it. And we’ll get a real northern Nevada Republican elected to that seat in 2028.
But first, Washoe County Republicans need to tar-and-feather Bruce Parks and run him out of town on a rail. That’s where the road of redemption begins.
And I’ll close with this age-old wisdom: Republicans never blow an opportunity to blow an opportunity.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“Bruce Parks is an idiot.” – Brittany Sheehan
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