(Chuck Muth) – The REGULAR session of the 2023 Legislature will mercifully end at midnight tomorrow night. And some GOP legislators are either so intent on going home or so worried about getting re-elected that they’re starting to vote…well, like Democrats. Case in point: AB525 – the “Christmas Tree Bill.” This bill is so bad for so many reasons, it’s hard to know where to start. First off, remember that Democrats continue to refuse to approve Gov. Joe Lombardo’s modest proposal to increase funding for school choice Opportunity Scholarships by just $25 million. On the other hand, AB525 appropriates over $55 million for all manner of third-party spending, much of which would certainly be considered “non-essential” by the taxpayers who are gonna have to cough up to pay for it. Like $5.5 million for an art museum in Las Vegas. Or far worse, giving $15 million to the freaking Culinary Union – which spends a ton of money and deploys an army of boots-on-the-ground to beat Republican candidates every election cycle – “for its capital improvement plan.” To be fair, many of the charitable organizations being funded are admirable and deserve support – such as Catholic Charities, the United Way, Goodwill, and the Special Olympics. But that’s not the point. As Davy Crockett famously put it back when he was serving in the U.S. House of Representatives… “We have the right as individuals to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress, we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money.” Ah, but the allure of spending OPM – Other People’s Money, rather than giving their own money – to feel good about themselves is just too titillating to resist for most politicians; like moths to flames. Including Republicans. Indeed – while the Democrats refuse to give low-income families, mostly minorities, a comparative pittance for Opportunity Scholarships – all but three Assembly Republicans just voted for this Christmas Tree Bill. Why should Democrats buy the cow when Republicans give them the milk for free? The three GOPers with the stones and backbone to vote against this OPM give-away were Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant, Assemblywoman Jill Dickman and Assemblyman Ken Gray. What the hell were the other supposedly conservative GOP assembly-critters thinking – other than their re-elections? But even that’s no excuse, since every one of them represents safe Republican districts. Sounds like some primaries might be in order. “The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do,” Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf once said. “The hard part is doing it.” Or as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair once said, “Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.” The “Three Thoroughbreds” who stood tall and voted their conservative principles will now be pilloried, mocked, and ridiculed – if not tarred and feathered – by the left and the media (redundancy alert) for being “heartless.” I wish I could clone them. 7 Worst Habits of Highly Unelectable People
- Picking the wrong race
- Picking the wrong district
- Picking the wrong issues
- Picking the wrong time
- Picking the wrong consultants
- Picking unnecessary fights with the media
- Picking door-knocking over fundraising
FAMOUS LAST WORDS “The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.” – H.L. Menken Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com. You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com. His views are his own.
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