Nevada GOP is falling apart!

Well, maybe it's not DOA.

After a long absence I checked in with Inside Nevada Politics (the only serious politics blog in the state, imho) where I found that our own Ty Cobb, Republican Assemblyman from Incline Village, was acting up again.

Backstory: Last session, Cobb took it upon himself to cast the only 'no' vote against Speaker Barbara Buckley. Traditionally, leadership positions in the Nevada legislature (and a lot of legislation, too) are passed unanimously. At the time, Incline's special little rag, the Bonanza (where'd they get that name...?) called the legislative tradition "hypocritical hooey!"

Once upon a time, conservatism was about preserving longstanding traditions, not redefining them... Oh, nevermind.

During the last special session in December, Cobb was joined by a cadre of enablers in remaining silent during the vote for Buckley's speakership. Perhaps it was a step down from last year's defiant behavior, but I think it was just better co-ordination. A tag search of 'Cobb' on Chuck Muth's blog reveals an awareness that subtlety is effective.

Nevada's Republican establishment has been factionalizing. Reagan Democrats and Goldwater conservatives are kicking the bucket, leaving in the wake an unseemly mixture of passive, moderate business Republicans and right-wing fundamentalists. The two do not go together. The fundies have organized around a strategy of ideological cleansing: any Republican who isn't one of their sort of conservatives is a RINO.

By Muth's standards, Nixon was a RINO, fer goodness sakes.

Anyway, Cobb handily won re-election last November, netting himself a solid mandate to continue being a jerk.


In other news, because I was totally not paying attention, Joe Heck and Bob Beers both lost. Heck seemed harmless, but watching Beers bite the dust pleases me greatly. As mortals are wont, however, I did not foresee the consequences of my choices. Senator Beers has closed down his wonderful blog, leaving only this touching and humble mea culpa

Note: State Senator Bob Beers failed to promise enough free stuff from the government to enough people (he apparently missed the memo on 2008's winning campaign theme), and was defeated for re-election in fall of 2008 by someone who did.

:'(