Published Friday, Oct. 29, 2010 | 3:23 p.m.
Updated Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 | 11:28 a.m.
As U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Carson City, likes to say, he was one of the first Nevada Republicans to endorse Sharron Angle the night she won the GOP primary in the U.S. Senate race.
But the man who elected not to run against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid—much to the consternation of national Republican leaders—doesn’t necessarily think Reid’s defeat would be a good thing for Nevada.
During a taping of "To the Point" today, Heller acknowledged that Reid’s leadership post has protected Nevada in several important ways. It’s a reality that voters need to address, he added.
“Obviously, I side with Sharron on conservatism and her positions on taxes and size of government,” Heller said. “But also on the other side, you’ve got to look at what Sen. Reid has done for the state of Nevada in keeping Yucca Mountain (out).
“Believe me, I’ve been on the House floor, I’ve been yelling and screaming against Yucca Mountain. In fact, we had a vote recently, I think there were only 10 votes opposed to Yucca Mountain in the House of Representatives. The only reason it didn’t go forward was because of Sen. Reid and his leadership in the Senate.”
If Reid is defeated by Angle, Nevada’s clout in keeping the project out of the state could evaporate.
“It will be a change and I’m not sure what that change will be, but I don’t think it will be in Nevada’s best interest,” he said.
Heller added that Reid has been an important advocate for Nevada’s mining industry.
“If it weren’t for Harry Reid, we would’ve had mining reform today that might be substantially different than it is today,” he said. “We would have federal taxes, we’d have regulations that most miners couldn’t live with.”
Sounds like he’s making a case to keep Reid?
Nope. Heller said it’s up to voters to weigh the “negatives and positives on both sides.”
And he reiterated his support for Angle.







yes, lets build the yucca site and let the real estate values drop even more. that should make every property owner re-think his/her vote.
I will not vote or support Heller in 2006 in his run to be nominated for the US Senate race.
In fact, I will hard for another candidate of my choice.
Way to go heller! I can see that you are just another RINO.....Maybe you should change your party affiliation. I know that I will not vote for you....
"And he reiterated his support for Angle."
That is what you close with?
My money says you've blown his accolades for Reid out of proportion and that you didn't include any of his praise for Angle.
I think the Las Vegas Sun is trying to create division within the GOP, (I know, you're all shocked too) and I think people will see through it.
Dean Heller is fully for Sharron, he was the first to endorse her after the primary.
Forget about principle, its all about power and who makes the best Santa Claus.
Sounds like a democrat.
Heller better change his ways or he will be on his last term...
Another interesting example of a screwed up Republican; they want to dream of changes but their dreams will be a nightmare for most people in our country and even Heller realizes that. Two faced I've heard about but realizing the truth and not going through with it; even if it is against your own party is a crime that Heller will have to live with.
"Heller acknowledged that Reid's leadership post has protected Nevada in several important ways. It's a reality that voters need to address, he added."
Well, he might just as well have come out and said,
"I have CHANGED MY MIND. PLEASE, IF YOU CARE ABOUT NEVADA'S FUTURE, VOTE FOR HARRY REID."
Nevada voters, please...
Anyone with half a brain has finally admitted the obvious;
Angle is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG for the job of U.S. Senator from Nevada.
And, for several important reasons, INCLUDING YUCCA MTN....
WE NEED HARRY REID!!!
Chunky says:
As much as it makes him want to up-chunk and as much as he dislikes Reid and all he stands for Mr. Heller may very well be right.
Too bad there's not a "None Of The Above" option on the ballot.
Chunky will vote but frankly none of the candidates are worth voting for.
That's what Chunky thinks!
Nice article, Anjeannette.
Oh Chunky...correcto-mundo.
None of the Above would be my choice.
Something Wicked This Way Comes...for sure, for sure.
Anjeanette Damon one question good for who?
Not for the people
Not for Nevada
Not for the country.
Her record speaks for itself, a big ZERO, look into it yourselfA njeanette Damonbeing
An extreme John Birch Society nut is really not good for anything or Nevada.
Being repainted and destroyed by the propaganda machine even saint Peter would have trouble getting into heaven.
Really ---- try looking into Harry Reid accomplishments on your own instead of fox news and conservatives fabricated propaganda destroying reports.
But No you jerks will vote to hurt yourselves and me and the country, because you are a loyal republican.---
Remember careful what you wish for.
"Too bad there's not a "None Of The Above" option on the ballot."
Chunky....there is a "None of the Above" voting option in Nevada on every race.
A "None of the Above" vote is the same as a vote for Harry Reid.
Vote Harry Reid out of office, and if Sharron Angle does not perform the duties of Senator to you liking, then vote her out of office...
The only reason all those weak chinned Republicans are endorsing Reid is that they think they will lose their power as a political party. They see a win by the TEA party candidate as a rebuke of the Republican Party. I see a victory by Angle over Reid as a return to independent thinking. We don't have to return Angle to the seat in '16. We can alway kick her out too. That's the beauty of this thing.
"yes, lets build the yucca site and let the real estate values drop even more. "
You do realize that there are nukes at Nellis AFB, right? It's only 15 miles from downtown vegas. See http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/f...
I think nuclear bombs can do a lot more damage than nuclear waste. Just a hunch.
Can you imagine the size of the meltdown when Harry Reid gets defeated...
If you take away the irrational fear of Yucca Mountain and nuclear power (you're more likely to die of the flesh eating virus or shark attack than a nuclear accident), Harry Reid loses in a land slide.
Ugh..who wants to deal with that bozo Chucky Schumer as any kind of leader. Harry is bad but Chucky would be much worse.
"If Reid is defeated by Angle, Nevada's clout in keeping the project out of the state could evaporate."
Haven't I been saying this since the beginning? Washington power is based on clout. No power = Nevada loses.
Big deal, Nevada loses. What the hell do you think we've been doing with that sphincter Reid in charge of the Senate?
Sharron Angle, Sharron Angle...you are going to win! You will be the first Tea Party Republican senator from Nevada. All of your most devoted followers and acolytes say it's a slam dunk, and they are surely a flock of truth tellers and straight shooters. If you lose it will be because the election is rigged and you are cheated. As a first-term senator you will certainly be chosen by your pal Sarah Palin as her running mate in the 2012 presidential election. Now that will be an unbeatable ticket! Then Palin can make major appointments and choose the brightest lights from your wing of the Republican Party. Michele Bachman will be secretary of state, Joe the Plumber will be secretary of defense, and Christine O'Donnell can be in charge of Halloween. Then there's the latest Tea Party Republican to surface in a big way--and we're not even mentioning Joe Miller for his efforts in computer security, Carl Paladino for his bravery in offering to punch out a reporter, or Rand Paul for expertise in crowd control. No, of course it's Rich Iott from Ohio--the candidate whose group likes to dress up as Nazi SS officers, photograph each other and call themselves reenactors. Although they reenact nothing specific, there is nobody reenacting the other side, there is no audience and no other cameras. Iott would be your obvious choice for Head of Security. What a group of appointees! Fantastic! Who will be a world laughing stock then? Now Sarah Palin will finally be able to deal with her old nemesis, Vladimir Putin, "if he rears his head," as she puts it. Palin will take care of those pesky Russkies once and for all. You two can launch an offensive that will succeed where those pikers Napoleon and Hitler failed. You might have to go in through Poland, but Sarah is probably good at geography as she is in most subjects. Soon Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle will be riding matched white steeds in a victory parade on Red Square. Joe the Plumber can trail in a captured Russian tank, and Rich Iott can start rounding up Jews and expropriating artwork. Christine O'Donnell can do a flyover on her broom, and of course Michele Bachmann will set up in the Kremlin and serve tea. When they finally come with a big butterfly net for the lot of ya... .
"Former President Bill Clinton compared Republicans to a football coach fired after several losing seasons who demands his job back after the new coach posts a winning record but still hasn't won a championship.
"
Why would anybody listen to a person who lied in a court of law ?
There is "None of these candidates."
We now turn to the kitchen of a suburban Chicago area family, the year 2013:
Wife: "Did you here on the news? a truck with nuclear waste tipped over near Las Vegas!"
Husband: "Oh know, well let's cancel our Vegas vacation and go to Southern California instead."
Wife: "That's a good idea. We can go to Hollywood, check out the beach, and if we want to gamble we can go to Palm Springs to one of those casinos there."
Husband: "Good idea. And since we are of Italian Heritage, that Sharon Angle might think we are "Mexicans" and have us deported."
Wife: "That's true, remember those racist ads she ran during her hate-filed campaign?, I saw them on the "View."
Husband: "You are right, let's skip Nevada and the nuclear contaminated racists."
larryvegas; warm up the bus, its time to take the trash out back to reno. drop angle off on the way to area 51; she'll fit in nicely!
The media apparently wants to choose our elected officials by publishing sound bites that are completely out of context. I, for one, have never been a fan of Harry Reid. I also believe that change is good--after one term, you can always institute term limits. I have advocated that for years. We are not sheep, people. Go talk to the candidates in person. Ask THEM about what they said/did. Don't believe what you read and only half of what you see (remember that adage???).
There is "None of these candidates."
We now turn to the kitchen of a suburban Chicago area family, the year 2013:
Wife: "Did you here on the news? a truck with nuclear fuel tipped over near Las Vegas! What-you-know....that is how they get nuclear fuel to power plants....they ship it...who would have thought???? Also, you probably did not know this, too. Right next to Yucca, is the nuclear test site where they set-off nuclear devices above and below ground for years. Guess what......that did not affect the growth of Las Vegas one bit. Hmmmm....that is something."
Husband: "And since we are of African Heritage, that Reid might think we are not qualified to be president or any meaningful job because we speak in that negro dialect that he hates."
Wife: "That's true, remember Reid once push a bill to ban babies born from illegals from getting citizenship. He also brags about building that fence and hiring all those Federal agents to hunt down illegals. He even supported Nevada's ban on gay marriage and voted for DOMA so that Nevada could ignore gay marriage from other states!!!!!!!"
Husband: "Wow!!!! According to our kooliad lib Democrat group-think book, Reid is bigot and racist. Koolaid libs are never hypocrites. They apply the same logic reason to Democrats and to Republicans. You are right, let's skip Nevada that Reid is a racist bigoted idiot."
Being unhappy with some things is one thing. Going backwards is another. The righties can offer no progress but only want to go back. Go back to what? The recession, the stock market crash, the deregulating of the banks, the housing crash? Going back to them is when there was no social security, no veterans benefits, no Board of Education and toss out the Supreme Courts decision of 37 years ago. Only one Republican voted for the $250 stimulus for seniors, vets and the disabled......Snowe R-ME. They want to get rid of unemployment benefits and the mininium wage so once again we can work for next to nothing.
And no one wants to mention the biggest job loss of 2.6 million was in 2008......On Bush's watch. And they want to go back to this?
Next they will be having us riding horses and wearing feathers. People have been working for years and years to implement these things because they were needed. To go back in time and simply toss them all out is ridiculous with no clear thinking going on.
Wishy-washy politicians like Heller are one of the reasons for the rapid advancement of the Tea Party Movement. We need people in DC who can't be bought, conned or pressured to go against their conservative principles,---people like Sharron Angle!
mred: Your post would be funny if not so absurd. Properly constructed nuclear waste containers would be crash-proof and transported according to strict guidelines. They don't pack it in zip-lock bags and haul it on potato trucks, you know. But, it's nice to see you presume Sharron Angle will be a Senator in 2013, so, nevermind. Your post is cool.
Dean Heller might not be good for Nevada...
Chunky, either you don't live in Nevada or you don't vote. BECAUSE there IS an option for "none of the above" on the ballot Gheez!
alex2; you may have to re-write your post to chunky in the 3rd person otherwise he may not understand what you trying to say.
"Well, he might just as well have come out and said,
"I have CHANGED MY MIND. PLEASE, IF YOU CARE ABOUT NEVADA'S FUTURE, VOTE FOR HARRY REID."
Nevada voters, please...
Anyone with half a brain has finally admitted the obvious"
Harry Reid being the pimp of all these political whores?
Heller's defeat might not be a bad thing for Nevada.
Look at REID cozying-up to Pac Man on the front page.
It's one big CHUCKLE-FEST with the illegals who count on REID for MEGA-MILLIONS of NEVADA Taxpayer DOLLARS!
The LEGALS WORK for their legit money but most of THEM, like Black People, avoid criticizing THEIR OWN for FEAR of retribution as a snitch or a 'tom'.
I WANT THE ILLEGALS OUT! OUT! OUT!
(And, I want MORE LEGALS IN! IN! IN!)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sagehopper, so apparently you think Three Mile Island and four or five other dangerous nuclear accidents never happened, and of course we all know that major oil spills in the Gulf can't happen because bill oil companies say so...just like the Atomic Engergy Commission total thousands of people working at the Test Site here in Nevada or "down wind" in Utah that above ground atomic blasts couldn't hurt people if they are a mile or so away...would love to know your level of expertise in the transport of nuclear waste -- actually, given your political views, you may have first hand knowledge from exposure that has caused real damage.
Too late Deano. You ran with the dark side...so now you get the dark side.
The sales of frozen spinach dropped 35% since fresh spinach was contaminated. The only thing, frozen spinach was never affected by e coli contamination, just fresh spinach. In other words, the "crash proof canisters" (is that like a leak proof oil rig?) don't have to spill anything. You don't understand marketing for a "capitalist." Product perception is more important than reality. Edsel cars for example.
What is Angle's position on the War in Iraq and Afghanistan? Does she care that the Iraqi Prime Minister is cozy with Iran now? If she is so smart, what is her position? Keep the troops in, pull them out? How long does she want them there? Why is she such a coward with the media? Other than the boot-lick-er talk radio hosts that is?
She sure gave a flip answer to CH8, guess she doesn't care about the troops. Of course she wants to do away with the VA.
We can't afford either of the Reids any longer! And we can make other changes as needed!
Mr ed must have been chewing on more of that local weed that makes him think so clearly...
I've worked for unemployment insurance for 17 years in another state and talked to hundreds of employers and claimants this year and I've never heard of an employer getting a call from a senator or a president telling him to lay off people - or to hire them back. Employment is a result of demand for the services or goods that a business offers.
Face it - housing crashed -- as it has done before in this country. It was a market correction - and a banking crisis. You know there was overbuilding and inflated prices in the housing market -- and neither Harry Reid, George Bush, or Barack Obama had anything to do with creating it. We in the private sector need to take a little responsibility.
That said, your state has had a safety net that Sharron Angle would have never voted for - and unless those Democrats some of you love to hate - vote to extend benefits again for the 99'ers - there are going to a lot of landlords who won't be getting rent checks and who will be issuing evictions. Millions of dollars have circulated in your state's economy as a result of the extended unemployment insurance benefits - and though paychecks are better than UI checks, both of them beat being homeless and eating every other day.
As for moving out of this - it is up to the private sector to adjust in a free market to changes in demand. Government can do only so much - the stimulus provided $8000 tax credits for homebuyers and several significant infrastructure projects, money for schools and roads and dams. Harry Reid is a sponsor of the Natural Gas Act (Boone Pickens' plan to get us to use more natural gas instead of foreign oil). If it could get passed, there will be more demand for natural gas here at home -- there will be pipelines and exploration and jobs. When I contacted my Republican Congressman and asked him to support the Natural Gas Act, I was told there would be no bi-partisan support -- not even for an ENERGY bill. Appalling!
As for this recession - what has been the GOP response? They voted against the $374 billion in tax cuts which were part of the stimulus as well as the spending on America's infrastructure. (Never mind that they never blinked at all the infrastructure we paid for at inflated prices in Iraq). They voted against the small business act which has tax incentives and loans for small business. They voted against the HIRE Act - with the exception of Scott Brown - which gives employers a huge tax break - no social security on wages when they employ people who were unemployed.
The Republican's goal was to prevent recovery and to frustrate voters and keep the economy stalled until this November. And they succeeded. Mitch McConnell and Boehner have already made it clear that there will be no cooperation from now until 2012 - because the worse off the country is, the better their chances.
You have a decent, hardworking, and intelligent man as your Senator -- don't throw him out because times are tough.
Interesting, now I have to check a real news source to see if this is what Heller really said.
There is a "NONE of these candidates " on the ballot ..
Yah think that sharon mangle angle is bad for nevada what gave you the first clue.
Dean Heller should be "very careful" what he speaks...
HELLER is so twisted he doesn't know which way is up or where to go to find it, but he believes he is a leader - that's what is scary.
HELLER has to grab his head with both hands and pull straight down just to see daylight.
HELLER is more than scary, he is a non-directional nut-case.
Vegas is a pretty scary place as it is. Hope you guys don't make if off limits for us tourists by electing a crazy lady to mthe Senate.
Heller is out next time. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION is destroying our ECONOMY. Bar illegals from public libraries--like Fresno does. Let them pay to "call home." Bar illegals from unemployment compensation--difficult when they use American SSN's. Bar illegals from legal aid--let the feds pay in capital cases when they are "entitled" to a lawyer. Bar illegals from food stamps--as caretakers of the children born here without our permission. Deport the children and the caretakers. The 14th Amendment does not say you are a citizen when born here without our permission.