I Sent Them My Explanation – Funny How They Didn’t Print It.
The Nevada Independent, a news blog run by left-wing publisher Jon Ralston, did a story on my Senate District 8 race this morning.
As reporter Kate Reynolds noted in the article, I “declined multiple requests to be interviewed.”
She got that part right.
What she neglected to include was my statement emailed to her explaining why I chose not to do the interview. So here it is:
“I will communicate directly with the voters of my district rather than have my message filtered through the biased lens of the Nevada Independent’s fake-news publisher who has a history of open hostility and contempt for conservatives.”
And sure enough, the article was a typically biased report.
Reynolds describes me as a “Republican agitator” – not a Republican “activist” or “leader” – while describing my Democrat opponent, State Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop, as a “veteran legislator.”
And in describing me, Reynolds also wrote that I have a “penchant for provocation.”
But when describing Dondero Loop, Reynolds quotes her as saying, “I always pick up the phone when someone calls.”
Nah, no media bias there, right?
To back up her “penchant for provocation” claim, Reynolds notes that I was “involved in a failed petition to repeal Legislature-approved tax increases.”
Fighting against tax hikes is “provocation”? If so, guilty as charged.
In fact, I’ve proudly signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge promising Nevadans that I will “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.”
Not surprisingly, Dondero Loop – who’s never met a tax she wouldn’t hike – has refused to sign the Tax Pledge.
The article goes on to note that “education is a top priority for Dondero Loop,” who said “she is working on how to boost the state’s per-pupil spending.”
Dondero Loop is a retired administrator who worked for the Clark County School District which remains – as it was when she worked there – one of the worst school districts in the country.
And that’s AFTER Gov. Joe Lobardo gave the district an historic amount of tax dollars in the 2023 session of the Legislature.
In other words, our schools aren’t failing because of money.
They’re failing because of legislators like Dondero Loop who are under the control of the teachers’ unions and refuse to support school choice – including public charter schools.
Reynolds reports that I’ve been endorsed by the Nevada Federation of Independent Business and the Retail Association of Nevada, but that Dondero Loop has been endorsed by the Vegas Chamber.
But let’s be honest about that Vegas Chamber endorsement.
Dondero Loop is a career government employee. I’m a career small business owner and entrepreneur.
So the Chamber didn’t endorse the most business-friendly and experienced businessman.
Instead, they endorsed a career government bureaucrat with no business background for purely political reasons – because she’s an incumbent.
That context, of course, was left out of Reynold’s report.
I’ll give credit, however, to Reynolds for including an important issue in this race, even though it was buried at the end of the article:
“Dondero Loop voted for the film tax credits bill that came forward during the special session. Her brother, Rob Dondero, works for R&R Partners, an influential Nevada advertising firm that lobbied for the bill.”
That bill is more commonly known as the “Hollywood Handout” – a proposal to give woke Hollywood studios $1.8 billion in transferable tax credits.
I loudly and publicly opposed the proposal.
Dondero Loop supported and voted for it – but claims there was no conflict of interest because, as Reynolds wrote, “her brother does marketing, not lobbying.”
As if that makes a difference. Gimme a break.
In any event, now you know why I “declined multiple requests to be interviewed” by this biased, fake news outlet. And now it’s back to the campaign trail!
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