* * * The Republican National Committee (RNC) has launched a post-election “autopsy” review to see what went wrong. This is like letting students grade their own term paper.
* * * Speaking of post-election autopsies, I’d like Inner Circle members’ opinions on something: Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald has been in office for a dozen years now. Is it time for a new leader to take us into the 2024 election cycle? Send your thoughts either way, along with your reasons, to chuck@chuckmuth.com.
* * * The biggest problem with Nevada’s current voting system is the new practice of automatically mailing a ballot to every voter even if they (a) didn’t request one or (b) moved or died without notifying the election department. Simple fix: Make mail-in balloting opt-in instead of opt-out. Only Democrats could oppose such a common-sense fix to election security. And Democrats control the Legislature.
* * * Donald Trump will not get a free pass in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Strong, legitimate cases can be made both for his nomination and against it. And like it or not, many past Trump supporters have decided it’s time to move on. I’m not taking a position one way or the other at this time, but die-hard Trumpers pretending this softening on Trump doesn’t exist aren’t acknowledging reality.
* * * Always looking for a silver lining when it comes to the Republican Assembly Caucus. And while they picked who I would consider the worst possible Minority Leader in P.K. O’Neill, the Northern Assistant Leader will be Jill Dickman, a solid conservative, and the Southern Assistant Leader will be freshman Danielle Gallant, who certainly talks like a solid conservative. Plus, the Whip will be Rich Delong, another freshman and solid conservative who is also a Tax Pledge signer. Things could be worse. Much worse.
* * * The taxpayers of the City of Las Vegas took another one in the shorts yesterday when yet another judge awarded yet another $48 million to the owner of the old Badlands Golf Course who the city blocked from developing his land. The city had an opportunity to settle this fuster-cluck last summer but blew it. Hopefully the new members of the council will finally resolve the matter after they’re sworn in in January.
* * * Las Vegas City Councilman Cedric Crear has already announced his campaign for mayor in 2024. He’s now being joined by former Congresswoman Shelly Berkley. And word on the street is that Latin Chamber of Commerce chief Peter Guzman is also mulling the race.
* * * Whether you support marijuana consumption lounges or not, I hope we all can agree that licensing 20 such operations by the government should not be done by a “lottery” or “affirmative action.” But that’s exactly what the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board is doing. Government can screw up a two-car funeral.
* * * A convicted cop-killer, Kevin Johnson, was executed in Missouri this week. Good. For death penalty opponents who say capital punishments isn’t a deterrent, I’ll point out that Mr. Johnson no longer has the possibility of escape or parole and now will never hurt, harm or kill a fellow prisoner or prison guard. Oh, and as an added bonus: Taxpayers will no longer have to provide him room and board.
* * * When confronted while trying to steal a cartload of goodies from a Las Vegas Walmart, Makenna Findley pointed her gun at the store clerk before firing off a shot into the ceiling and fleeing. She was arrested over the weekend. Turns out, she’d been caught committing another similar robbery, including firing her gun, back in July 2021 and cut a plea deal. Catch-and-release. Revolving door justice. No wonder we have an ongoing crime wave.
* * * The Republican Women of Reno will be hosting its annual Christmas luncheon at the Atlantis Casino on Thursday, December 8, at 11:00 am. Featured guest speaker will be newly-elected school board trustee Colleen Westlake. For more information, call (707) 621-2009.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“Our rule of thumb about public policy is that conservatives have mastered POLICY and the lefties have mastered POLITICS. Nowhere is that more nakedly obvious than when it comes to elections. Liberals’ successful strategy has been if they can’t win elections, then just change the rules. That helps explain the Left’s successful push to expand mail-in voting, partisan ballot harvesting, and allowing people to register and vote on Election Day.” – Steven Moore, Committee to Unleash Prosperity
Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views and blogs at MuthsTruths.com. His views are his own.