A few months ago, an illegal alien slammed into the back of my daughter’s SUV on the Spaghetti Bowl in Las Vegas.
He totaled the vehicle. And my son – who was driving at the time – was injured.
Now here’s the thing…
The illegal alien had a driver authorization card (not a driver’s license).
As such, he had insurance. If not, we’d have been up sh*t’s creek without a paddle.
No coverage to replace the vehicle.
No coverage for my son’s injuries.
Which brings us to the bill in 2013 to create the driver authorization cards in Nevada – which was based on a similar law already passed and implemented in Utah.
The Driver Authorization Card Debate Wasn't Black and White
I opposed the bill as rewarding illegal immigration – a serious problem – rather than cracking down on it.
But the reality at the time was that President Obama and Congress weren’t doing anything to remove illegal aliens.
They were here. They were driving. Without insurance.
So yes, then-State Sen. James Settelmeyer voted for the bill to create the driver authorization cards (not a driver’s license).
He looked pragmatically at the reality of an existing problem and voted to make a bad situation a little less bad for people, like my son, who were involved in traffic accidents with illegals who didn’t have insurance.
Personally, I still opposed the bill – just as I oppose the idea of giving drug addicts clean needles. But I understood the legitimate concern at the time.
And in fact, all but one Republican senator voted for that bill.
That means Settelmeyer and I disagreed on a tough-call issue. But that does NOT make him a RINO (Republican in Name Only).
The Commerce Tax Fight: What Really Happened in 2015
Now let’s talk about the “largest tax hike in Nevada history.”
It was 2015.
Voters in Nevada had just rejected a new “commerce tax” ballot initiative in the 2014 general election.
But Democrats and then-Gov. Sandoval – A TRUE RINO – brought it back in the subsequent legislative session.
For those who were here, you’ll remember that Sandoval, Democrats, and then-Senate Majority Leader “Tax Hike Mike” Roberson wanted to extend a series of “temporary” tax hikes that were passed during the Great Recession which were scheduled to “sunset.”
Conservatives were absolutely opposed to passing Sandoval’s new-but-not-improved commerce tax. It was hideous and already rejected by Nevada voters.
So in an effort to make the situation “less bad,” the Senate passed an extension of the “sunsets” in an effort to kill the commerce tax.
Yes, Settelmeyer voted for the extension. No, I didn’t agree. But I understood the legitimate concern about creating the hated commerce tax.
This was another example of making something “less bad.”
Now, to be clear – because there’s a lot of confusion about what exactly transpired after that Senate vote – the bill then moved over to the Assembly.
Two weeks later, the Assembly passed the bill – HOWEVER – it added the commerce tax back in.
And since the bill was amended, it had to go back over to the Senate for concurrence.
And Settelmeyer VOTED AGAINST the amended bill.
So while conservatives can disagree with the “less bad” strategy, that does not make Settelmeyer a RINO for trying to stop the dreaded commerce tax.
Settelmeyer's Lawsuit Against Sisolak's Tax Hikes
Sen. Settelmeyer in 1st District Court for tax hike lawsuit (Photo credit: Samantha Stone)
On the other hand, as I noted in my last Muth’s Truths column, Settelmeyer mortgaged his ranch in order to fund a lawsuit to successfully kill a pair of tax hikes passed by Democrats and signed by then-Gov. Sisolak (D) in 2019.
Would a “RINO” do that?
No.
Did Dave Flippo – Settelmeyer’s carpet-bagging opponent in the current Congressional District 2 race – do that?
No.
Heck, Flippo didn’t even live in Nevada when the driver authorization card and commerce tax bills came up, and didn’t live in CD2 when the lawsuit was filed.
He’s an opportunist trying to buy a congressional seat and relying on “bumper sticker” attacks against Settelmeyer without even knowing the history and circumstances behind the votes.
The Man in the Arena
Look, it doesn’t matter what Flippo now SAYS about those controversial votes. He’s never actually been in the arena and cast tough votes.
We’ve all seen fire-breathing politicians on the campaign trail who, once elected, roll over and ask to have their tummies rubbed.
The fact is, you don’t know how Flippo would have voted on those or any other issues because he’s never been elected to ANYTHING.
Indeed, Flippo couldn’t even win a Republican primary for the State Assembly in 2022, coming in THIRD in the GOP primary.
And LOST the GOP primary for his CD4 congressional run in 2024 to a former Democrat who only switched his registration a few months before the election.
Yet some are touting this guy as the second coming of Ronald Reagan.
Gimme a break.
Which brings me to the president’s thumbs-up of Flippo a couple days ago.
What's Really Behind Trump's Last-Minute Endorsement?
From everything I’ve heard from informed sources, it had nothing to do with Flippo himself.
The scuttlebutt is that Trump endorsed Flippo because he’s mad at Congressman Mark Amodei over Amodei’s recent criticism of Trump’s handling of the Iran situation.
And since Amodei endorsed Settelmeyer, this Flippo endorsement was simply “pay back.”
Fine. Politics ain’t beanbags. Sh*t happens.
But the reality is it has nothing to do with Settelmeyer himself or Settelmeyer’s support for Trump and his “America First” agenda.
In fact, Settelmeyer was Trump’s Nevada CO-CHAIR in his 2020 re-election campaign.
So Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Flippo is NOT a reason to elect a Las Vegas carpet-bagger – who only technically “moved” to a Reno address a couple weeks before filing in March – to represent northern/rural Nevada.
And I’ll close with this…
The Pizza, Mushroom, and Mozzarella Test
The Flippo camp is trying to make Trump’s endorsement a “MAGA” litmus test on loyalty to Trump.
Total BS.
Just because you might not like mushrooms on your pizza doesn’t mean you don’t like pizza.
Dave Flippo is a mushroom. Settelmeyer is mozzarella cheese.
If you like mushrooms, go ahead and vote for the Las Vegas carpet-bagger.
But if you want to have your pizza and eat it too, vote for the guy who actually lives in CD2 and has actually served in office.
At least you’ll know what you’re buying – not a pig in a poke.
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