Laxalt in a Nutshell

In an end-of-year interview, conservative Republican Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt answered a variety of questions about his gubernatorial campaign.  A Reader’s Digest summary…

He will sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge that his primary opponent – moderate Dan Schwartz – refuses to sign, he supports repeal of the “Commerce Tax,” he is pro-life, he supports the Education Savings Accounts that Gov. Brian Sandoval refused to fund in the 2017 session, he supports the Energy Choice initiative, he opposes the government picking winners and losers in the free market with special tax breaks, and opposes raising the government-mandated “minimum wage.”

Depends on Your Definition of “Trending Blue”

Politico lists Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt as one of the “10 must-watch candidates of 2018,” while describing Nevada as a state “increasingly trending blue.”  (Blue = Democrat)

Beg to differ.  Nevada’s current governor is a Republican (though in name only).  The lieutenant governor is a Republican.  The attorney general is a Republican.  The secretary of state is a Republican.   The treasurer is a Republican.  The controller is a Republican.

One of our two U.S. senators is (marginally) a Republican.  Had former GOP Rep. Joe Heck not thrown Donald Trump under the bus just weeks before the 2016 election, both senators would be Republicans.  Plus, CD2 and CD3 would be Republican, and maybe even CD4 – if former Rep. Cresent Hardyhadn’t similarly dumped Trump just before the election.

Because of gerrymandering, the state assembly has been safely in “blue” hands for decades, with the aberration of the 2014 “red wave.”  2016 was nothing more than a return to normal.  And the state senate has been going back-and-forth over the last ten years, and may do so again this year.

Oh, and in January 2017 Democrats led Republicans in active voter registrations by 97,316.  By November the Dems lead had shrunk to 76,629.  How does a drop in the registration advantage equate to “trending blue”?  No wonder Politico is considered “fake news” by so many conservatives.

Spank You Very Much

Singer and Trump supporter Joy Villa – who spoke at our 2017 Conservative Leadership Conference (CLC) in September – has accused former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski of slapping her on the butt twice at a White House Christmas party and has even gone so far as filing a police report.

And then a video clip of the private CLC “Speakers & Sponsors” dinner party emerged showing Villa playfully slapping Alien Tequila baron George Harrison his backside.  Charges of “hypocrisy” immediately rang out.  But the two incidents are apples and oranges.

I don’t know what happened between Joy and Lewandowsky.  But I do know she has said his alleged slap was unwelcome, especially the second alleged slap that occurred after she told him to knock it off.

In the Joy/George incident, Joy and George were clearly kidding around well before the slap.  While they had only met for the first time that day at the conference, it was clear their similar gregarious personalities hit it off immediately.

And when George responded to the slap by jokingly saying, “Take it easy, chica” – that was the end of it.

Now, since the good-natured slap was unexpected, Joy’s characterization of it as being “consensual” was technically inaccurate, as Harris has noted.  But that was just a poor choice of words on Joy’s part.

The fact is she and George were kidding around before the slap, Joy was kidding around with the slap, and the pair continued to kid around the rest of the evening and throughout the rest of the conference.

George was not offended.  He was not angry.  He was not insulted.  He was not demeaned.  He did not feel harassed.  And he certainly didn’t feel he’d been “assaulted.”  In fact, until the video emerged he’d completely forgotten the incident even took place.

I don’t know if Corey did what Corey is accused of doing.  I wasn’t there.  But other than the fact that one hand and one backside were involved in both incidents, the two have nothing in common.

A Starr Moron is Born

So there’s this reporterette at CNN named Barbara Starr who noticed a Marine Corps Times photo of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer visiting troops in Afghanistan for Christmas while wearing a sidearm strapped to his right thigh.

And this CNN Pentagon Correspondent actually re-tweeted the tweet and added this comment: “Can someone explain why the civilian head of the Navy is wearing a sidearm?”

In a war zone?  Duh.

This isn’t even “fake news.”  This is dumb-as-sh*t news.  At what point do we designate CNN as an enemy combatant?

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“A wave of optimism has swept over American business leaders, and it is beginning to translate into the sort of investment in new plants, equipment and factory upgrades that bolsters economic growth, spurs job creation – and may finally raise wages significantly.

“While business leaders are eager for the tax cuts that take effect this year, the newfound confidence was initially inspired by the Trump administration’s regulatory pullback, not so much because deregulation is saving companies money but because the administration has instilled a faith in business executives that new regulations are not coming.” – New York Times, 1/1/18 (Yes, THAT New York Times!)