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Have you heard about the defiant posse of disillusioned GOP-ers that held an unsanctioned state convention in Reno this past Saturday? Organizers claim it was a lawful reconvening of the GOP’s recessed April 26 state convention in Reno (which was shut down prior to final voting). However, the party’s executive committee has set (and stuck by) a July 26 date to resume activity.

Depending on who you ask, the late April shut down was either (1) a tragedy of epic proportions because it was shaping up to be a national delegation with more backers for Ron Paul than John McCain, or (2) a proper procedural response because there were too few delegates to call a quorum (because the promised Ron Paul reps did not actually materialize on the convention floor).

State rules say roughly 800 total delegates are needed in order to obtain a convention quorum. We didn’t have them in April, and we didn’t have them this weekend either because the Ron Paul reps barely numbered 300. (And just for extra fun, we’re not sure how many of those delegates were credentialed since Paul organizers didn’t have the official delegate List with which to cross-reference attendees.)

Depending on who you ask, the Ron Paul backers (1) asked the GOP for the List and were refused, or (2) did not follow the proper procedure for obtaining the List.

Any-hoo, this weekend’s gathering of 327 was a pretty poor showing considering the Paul camp claims that they had “over 1,000” delegates teed up. Their response? The April convention did not have a quorum and was invalid – but this one counts because this weekend’s first order of business was to change the rules of quorum and (you guessed it) decide that 327 delegates was enough.

Ron Paul devotees say they will take their fight to be recognized as The Legitimate Convention all the way to September’s Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul and that they will appeal their case to the RNC and/or national convention committee. Many Paul backers have also said they will cast a write-in vote for the Texas congressman in November because McCain is closer to being a Democrat than a conservative.

They have my sympathy, as far as that goes, but all this Brouhaha brings us round to a familiar electoral quandary. Do you cast a principled vote for an Independent candidate who is closer to your (and your party’s) values but could also be the “spoiler” that leads to the election of the opposition? Or do you compromise and go with the safer bet to ensure we maintain at least some semblance of sanity in the White House?

In a swing state where President Bush narrowly won in 2000 and 2004, your decision could play heavily in the national election.

Your comments are welcome, because I’m still undecided myself.

Each summer the ancient Greeks would sacrifice a brown dog to appease Sirius, the Dog Star, believing it to be the source of the hot, oppressive weather.  Known as caniculares dies or “days of the dogs,” high summer was thought to be a time of evil when the “seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies” (Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813). 

Though animal sacrifices to imaginary gods are no longer in vogue, it seems we are still prone to blaming far-away stars for our troubles.  The pains of the current energy shortage have been attributed to OPEC, international futures traders who conspired to drive up oil prices, and foreign forces driving down the U.S. dollar.

The true cause of our decline can be found much closer to home:  in the stagnating halls of Congress.  Our Legislators have failed to open domestic lands and seas to energy exploration, drilling, and new refineries and so billions of barrels of domestic oil are being kept off the market.  As a result, gas has now reached $5 a gallon in some parts of the country.

Arguments that it would take ten years to bring new supplies online sound hauntingly familiar.  Hm…  Oh yes:  it’s exactly what was said ten years ago when the nation last debated this issue.  The short-term thinkers won the last round; will they do so again now?

Critics also argue that we should be focusing on renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and bio-fuels.  Fine, yes, good.  But solar power and windmills can’t take the place of oil in the U.S. economy, and the ”encouragement” (mandates and massive subsides) of bio-fuels has driven up food prices so that we are now paying more at the grocery store as well as the gas station.

Increased domestic oil production is part of the answer.  Our technology enables us to drill with very little impact on the environment (and certainly in more ecologically friendly ways than many of the nations from whom we’re currently buying oil).  Let’s do it, then, while also developing techonologies that might one day enable us to power our nation without oil.

As for the cap-and-trade and windfall profits tax bills the Democrats tried to push through the Senate, we can thank our lucky stars they didn’t pass.  What worries me is what may happen when the dog days of summer are gone and the cool winds of November come a blowin’. 

If the GOP loses contested Senate seats and we elect a president who favors the artificial rationing of energy despite current shortages and high prices, we may well find ourselves wishing on a star for the good ol’ days of $5 a gallon gas.       

In the interest of letting Senator Ensign speak for himself on his energy-efficiency tax credit amendment, you can click here for the full text of his Senate Floor Speech (given Thursday).

For those of you who don’t have time to read all 1,216 words, here’s the sum-up:

Ensign refers to the high cost of energy and says we need smart policy for both our economic and national security.  He claims his amendment offers tax credits that will encourage more development of alternative, renewable energy (solar, wind, and geothermal).

In answer to those who say his bill has nothing to do with housing, Ensign claims his bill will help create between 100,000 and 200,00 jobs and encourage billions of dollars worth of investment, which will strengthen the economy including the housing market.

Ensign also says the tax credits will reward people who produce their own electricity by going solar, who build or buy an energy-efficient home, or who buy energy efficient appliances…and says these are all related to housing.

In re: to the “not paid for” objection, he claims there are “$2.4 billion in tax-related items that are not paid for in [the housing] bill” and that he therefore challenges the Democratic leadership’s claim that his energy amendment won’t pass in the House. 

Ensign asks how the Democrats expect their “not paid for” housing bill to pass if the House is truly not accepting bills that aren’t paid for.  (Indeed!) 

Finally, Ensign says he is pushing for this now because (1) the private financing of solar, geothermal, and wind power projects is critical to their development, (2) his proposed tax credits will allow private businesses to predict and rely on their return on investment, and therefore (c) investor confidence will immediately rise and more clean/renewable energy projects will happen sooner.

In an unexpected move this week, Nevada Republican Senator John Ensign single-handedly delayed a vote on the Housing Stimulus Bill.  His motive?  Many are saying Ensign’s demand that a renewable-energy tax credit amendment be piggybacked onto the housing bill is sheer stubbornness over a pet project. But at least one housing industry insider has a different take, and his answer may surprise you.

As reported by Reuters, Democratic Illinois Senator Richard Durbin said the Housing bill was being hindered because of Senator Ensign’s “insistence on an unrelated amendment.”  The bill’s chief architect, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of the recent Doddy-wide VIP Mortgage Scandal, said, “one United States senator has decided we shouldn’t do anything but HIS bill.”  Senate Majority Leader Reid was displeased with the delay and applied pressure by threatening to extend the Senate session into the weekend. 

Lobbyists for the Housing Bill chimed in as well.  Yesterday afternoon, I spoke to Ken Gear, Vice President of Government Affairs for Pulte Homes, Inc., one of the nation’s largest home builders.  Mr. Gear said, “This bill is too important for the country to be playing politics with.  The market continues to deteriorate and the Senate needs to work in a bipartisan fashion to get it done immediately.”

When asked whether he was accusing Senator Ensign of delaying the housing bill for political reasons and what those reasons might be, Mr. Gear declined to elaborate.  I spoke to another high-level industry insider who was willing to say more if I would agree to withhold his name:

“This isn’t about housing.  Ensign’s play to attach an energy efficiency tax credit amendment to the bill is purely political because the tax credit is going to cost $8 billion to implement but is not “paid for.”  The House has said it won’t pass any bill that doesn’t specify where the money will come from, and Ensign’s amendment doesn’t include this, so the Democratic leadership knows the bill won’t pass.  

Ensign knows this, too, but he’s trying to score political points by forcing the Democrats to vote against an energy efficiency bill in an election year in which energy policy is going to be a huge issue.”

Stand by for Part Two of Our Series: “Method or Madness: John Ensign Stalls Housing Bill Over Energy Amendment”

I’m working on what is shaping up to be the Very interesting scoop on the stalled Housing Stimulus Bill, the real reason Senator John Ensign is blocking it, what Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to do about it, and what a high-level and in-the-know executive at one of America’s largest homebuilders had to say about it all. 

It’s going to be good stuff, folks, so tune in later tonight! 

Update (12:07 p.m. here in Vegas):  Well, it looks like this story is going to wait until tomorrow to see the light of day.  Came across new info and since I refuse to do like the Drive-By Media and post what’s easy, obvious and/or incomplete, I’ve got some more fact-checking and investigating to do before I’m ready to post. 

You read the header right, folks.  A few Nevada Republicans are saying the call to choose between signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge or facing the impending phone blitz by Citizen Outreach is “extortion.” 

If Chuck Muth were a Mob Boss threatening them with life and limb, I might sympathize – but this ain’t the Sopranos…so as the kids are saying these days, “Save the Drama for Your Mama.”

The only body parts at risk for these Reps are the butts that grace their legislative seats, and that is exactly as it should be.  It is the proper role of citizen-activists to help keep the public informed and make sure elected officials are held accountable at the polls.  This is not extortion; it’s our electoral process at work.

Assemblypersons and hopeful candidates who have not yet signed the Pledge should seriously consider doing so.  You can then fax the signed copy to Citizen Outreach at (775) 522-3925.

The venerable and incorrigible Grand Imperial Tax-Hating Pooh-Bah of Nevada – a.k.a. my favorite Libertarian, Chuck Muth – is busy mobilizing resources over at Citizen Outreach as they gear up for what I’m affectionately calling Operation Saturation. 

Muth says the voter districts of Republicans who refuse to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge by this weekend will be flooded with automated phone messages.  The 30-second missives will notify constituents that their candidate won’t promise not to raise taxes and will advise them to demand explanations when he/she comes a-knockin’ for their votes in November.

For those of you not tracking issues in the Battle Born state, we are facing a financial crisis.  A bi-partisan panel recently projected a 2009 budget shortfall of $248 million.  Some are disputing that number, but it can’t be denied that revenues are going to fall far short of expenditures.  In search of solutions, Governor Jim Gibbons has scheduled a special congressional session to convene this Friday.  The usual suspects are calling for the usual tax increases; the conservatives are crusading for spending cuts; and the war wages on. 

Gibbons is honoring his 2006 promise to voters and refusing to support any tax hike, but the Legislature could override his veto and pass an increase – IF Democrats can rally enough Republicans and collect the 2/3 vote needed.  None of us can be sure of the outcome as long as so many Republican officials remain undeclared. 

Happily, Citizen Outreach has provided a list of incumbent Assembly Republicans and GOP Candidates who have not yet signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.  I’ve taken the liberty of adding links to contact info for each person.  I strongly encourage Nevadans to take action by contacting these folks and letting them know your vote depends on their promise to oppose new or increased taxes. 

If Speaker Barbara Buckley and the Democrats want to pass a tax hike, let them do it with NO Republican votes – and then just try to hold on to their Seats in the next election.

Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert
Assemblywoman Francis Allen
Assemblyman Joe Hardy
Assemblyman Tom Grady
Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea

Assembly candidate Sean Fellows
Assembly candidate Cheryl Lau (pending further search!)
Assembly candidate Donna Toussaint
Assembly candidate John Gwaltney (scroll down to #8) 
Assembly candidate Melissa Woodbury

As I was cheerfully wading through reams of Collective Bargaining Agreements and Superintendent Contracts, Exhibits, and Addendums from Nevada’s seventeen school districts this weekend, I happened upon a rarity:  a simple, one-year superintendent contract paying under six-figures and lacking the gross excess of perks, bonuses, bells and whistles I’ve seen in some other districts. 

The agreement, between Lincoln County School District and Clark “Rick” Hardy, grants Hardy a salary of $98,923.84 plus a 4% retirement incentive of $3,923.84.  His duties are simply and clearly stipulated; he gets 20 vacation days and 18 sick days a year; he receives the usual retirement benefit for Nevada’s public employees plus medical and life insurance; and he is provided transportation for use in the performance of his duties.

Compared to, say, Superintendent “Rob” Roberts’ gig in Nye County, Hardy’s is a fairly modest package.  As noted by Chuck Muth a couple of weeks ago, Roberts’ salary is $145,335 not including his $1,200 annual expense account and $2,750 doctorate-degree bonus. (Don’t we expect a Superintenent of schools to hold a graduate degree?  And doesn’t his nice six-figure salary already cover that?)

Roberts also gets nearly nine weeks off each year, enjoys some nice travel and professional benefits, and receives subsidies to his disability insurance program.  Addtionally, he gets the use of a spare house in Tonopah (yes, really) plus a fully insured four-wheel drive vehicle and all the gas it can guzzle.  This so he can thunder back and forth between the district’s Northern and Southern offices – which, for those not familiar with the highways and byways of Nye County, are 160 miles apart. 

Roberts’ office says he usually makes the drive to Tonapah once a month for two to three days.  I’m sure glad it’s not a weekly thing – but assuming the district-owned SUV gets around 15 mpg, we’re still talking about roughly 44 gallons of gas which at today’s prices is around $190.00 per trip or $2,280 per year.  Not to mention the cost of property taxes, insurance, and utilities for the district-owned Tonapah house, plus (no doubt) some cleaning fees and maintenance costs.

Roberts’ secretary told me he is the only one who uses the house but, sensing my skepticism about the set-up, added that it is “very old.”  Old or not, one wonders about the cost of accommodations for these little three-day junkets to Tonapah.  If Roberts must make the trip, wouldn’t it be cheaper for the District to sell a house that’s used only three days a month and just put him up at the Ramada for $59 a night?

While I’ve got Harry Reid on the brain, I saw a funny note by Henry Payne on NRO’s Planet Gore blog the other day.  He referred to an early June debate over the Lieberman-Warner climate bill and quoted Senator Reid as saying that global warming is “the most important issue facing the world today.” The funny part is that Reid drives to work every day in a large, armor-plated, 13 mpg Chevrolet Suburban SUV provided to him by Capitol security police.  With respect for Senator Reid’s concern (awareness?) that more than one citizen might wish to do him harm, is this really necessary?  Payne said one of his Detroit News colleagues recently quipped, “I’ll believe climate change is a crisis when the people who say it’s a crisis start acting like it’s a crisis.”  Amen! 

“The United States Department of Energy submitted its license application for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission on June 3,” wrote Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez-Masto on June 8th in an op/ed in the Nevada Appeal.  She went on to say, “Nevada’s experts reviewed the application and quickly concluded that it is neither viable nor complete.”

I’m wondering who these “experts” were.  I’m also wondering how they managed to sift through the 8,600 page application in less than a week in order to render their verdict.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to take the entire summer to evaluate the application’s information before deciding whether to move forward with the licensing process, so who were these speed-reading geniuses that managed to do it in just 5 days?

For the record:  I am neither for, nor against, the nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain.  I’d sure like to see more facts and more reasoned, intelligent debates of the pros and cons.  That doesn’t seem too likely, though, with Harry Reid calling arguments in favor of it “voodoo science” and the Nevada AG writing vague and contentious op-eds.

It seems appropriate to begin this blog with one of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotations:

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber-barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences.”