Joecks’ Crusade: Style Over Substance
Victor Joecks, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s self-styled conservative conscience, has been hammering Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo ever since he took office in 2023.
In his latest salvo, “Lombardo copies Harris on housing,” he trashes Lombardo’s Assembly Bill 540, sneering, “It reads like a copy-and-paste of Harris’ housing plan”—a callback to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential bid.
But I’m calling it: Lombardo’s plan mirrors Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ Hometown Heroes program.
Just 11 days earlier, Joecks tweeted:
“.@JosephMLombardo should reach out to @GovRonDeSantis. There’s no shame in taking advice. Nevada conservatives are eager to support Lombardo. He just needs to lead like DeSantis and @GlennYoungkin have done.”
This isn’t about Joecks praising DeSantis’ housing program; there’s no evidence he’s ever written about Hometown Heroes, positively or negatively. The issue is one of selective framing: when analyzing Lombardo’s housing plan, Joecks immediately tied it to an unpopular Democratic politician rather than acknowledging that it follows a model successfully implemented by a Republican governor.
The pattern points to a deeper tendency in Joecks’ commentary: an apparent preference for ideological flair and strong personalities over practical, results-driven governance. His focus often leans toward culture war champions rather than pragmatic executives who solve problems within the political constraints they face.
From Realistic to Relentless: Joecks’ Evolving Criticism of Lombardo
It’s fascinating to look at Joecks’ history of criticizing Lombardo, which reveals an increasing hostility despite his own early admissions about what a Republican governor could realistically accomplish in Nevada:
November 2022 (Before Inauguration): In “What Lombardo realistically can and can’t accomplish,” Joecks initially seemed reasonable, acknowledging that “being elected and being able to enact your agenda are two different things” and warning that “there aren’t Republican majorities in the Legislature to pass Lombardo’s plans.”
He advised conservatives to be pleased if Lombardo simply:
“stops bad legislation while drawing clear contrasts on public safety, school choice and gas prices.”
March 2023: Just a few months into Lombardo’s term, in “Nevada GOP leaders need DeSantis’ courage,” Joecks was already implying Lombardo lacked courage, writing that:
“Perhaps Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ upcoming visit to Nevada will help Republicans find the courage to stand up for their proclaimed beliefs.”
May 2023: By spring, Joecks had escalated to direct attacks in “Lombardo signals willingness to surrender on school choice,” claiming “capitulation isn’t a great negotiation strategy” and suggesting conservatives should “pressure Lombardo, not Democrats” and “demand that he use his veto pen on every Democrat priority.”
June 2023: The criticism intensified in “Legislative Democrats trounced listless Lombardo,” where Joecks declared that:
“When people sell out their beliefs and allies, they usually get something substantial in return. Gov. Joe Lombardo didn’t bother with that part.”
He criticized Lombardo for proposing “a massive $2 billion increase in education spending” while only asking for “$50 million for Opportunity Scholarships.”
January 2025: In “What Lombardo needs to learn from Trump,” Joecks wrote that:
“Strong leaders don’t just push popular policies. They push policies that become popular. That’s a major difference between Gov. Joe Lombardo and President Donald Trump,”
He adds:
“Trump and others, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have shown a better way.”
Perhaps Joecks should go back and read his own November 2022 column and apply that more realistic lens to Lombardo now. Joecks’ early realism morphed into a demand for bold, DeSantis-like bravado—practicality be damned.
Lombardo’s Plan: Republican Roots, Nevada Realities
What Joecks conveniently ignores is that Lombardo’s housing strategy is actually a hybrid of DeSantis’ successful funding model and Trump’s regulatory reform approach – not a Harris knockoff at all.
Lombardo’s plan provides $200 million for down payment and rent aid, echoing DeSantis’ Hometown Heroes, which grew from $100 million in 2022 to $200 million by 2023, aiding over 6,700 buyers.
DeSantis expanded it beyond “heroes” to anyone with a 640 credit score and income below 150% of the county median, saying:
“Now that the program is expanded, I look forward to serving even more Floridians.”
Florida and Nevada face almost identical housing challenges. While both plans target workers priced out of the markets, but Lombardo adds a Trump twist: slashing red tape.
He’s ordering agencies to “eliminate bottlenecks in the licensing and building process,” exempting housing projects from prevailing wage rules, and tackling Nevada’s 85% federal land chokehold.
This coordinates with Donald Trump’s campaign vow to Nevadans:
“I will work with your governor to open up new tracts of federal land for large-scale housing construction and you’ll get it for a much lower price.”
Harris’ plan? Rent caps, investor taxes, a $500 billion sprawl. It’s nothing like Lombardo’s capped, reform-driven approach.
If Joecks were applying consistent standards in his analysis, he could have framed Lombardo’s plan as building upon successful Republican models rather than suggesting it was borrowed from Harris. The choice to link Lombardo to Harris rather than DeSantis reveals more about Joecks’ biases than about the housing plan itself.
Conservatives Deserve Better
If Joecks applied consistent standards, he might have recognized Lombardo’s housing plan as drawing from successful Republican models—particularly DeSantis’ Hometown Heroes program, which predates both Lombardo’s proposal and Harris’ initiative—rather than portraying it as a recycled Harris scheme.
His choice to spotlight Harris over DeSantis says more about his bias than the plan itself. Conservatives deserve better: straight talk, not selective spin.
If housing aid works for DeSantis, it’s not heresy for Lombardo. Nevada conservatives should press Joecks to explain why he tags Lombardo’s approach “Harris” instead of “DeSantis.”
Consistency matters. Lombardo isn’t the problem here; Joecks’ glaring double standard is.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
