COMMENTARY:

Waiting for a serious candidate for governor

Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009 | 2 a.m.

I know it’s only September, 408 days before the election, but the question must be asked early: At what point will the candidates for the state’s most important office begin to take the governor’s race seriously and stop treating the electorate like dunces?

Or, perhaps, will they simply take a page from the incumbent’s book, treat the voters as if their IQs are cretin level, come up with a good slogan and hope a one-election stand is enough to gain their affection?

Voters were wooed by Jim Gibbons’ seductive “no new taxes” line and then had to watch as he showed all he had was the come-on. When it came to governing, he was lost, unable or unwilling to gain enough support to keep his campaign promise. He has been the anti-leader, so, not surprisingly, the field arraying against him is full of contenders who will argue for change and leadership in the economically distressed state.

So far, color me unimpressed. And even though the calendar has yet to turn to 2010, and I reserve the right to become impressed, the early signs fill me with dread, not hope. Consider:

• Ex-Judge Brian Sandoval rode back into Nevada politics on his white horse, ostensibly to save the state, or at least the Republican Party, from another Gibbons term. And in his media rollout he sounded eerily just like ... The Man Formerly Known as Governor.

He hates taxes as much as Gibbons. He would probably have vetoed that tax increase this year. (Where would he have cut?) “I think the government should do like all Nevada families are doing, which is to do more with less,” he told the Review-Journal in words that could have been lifted from a Gibbons speech and are just as empty when Sandoval says them.

Yes, government should operate more like a family — set priorities, have compassion, talk to one another. Maybe that’s what he meant.

Conservative shibboleths we can believe in? Give me an emetic now.

• Ex-North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon has done an excellent job distancing himself from Gibbons’ style of leadership — the definition of insularity. But beyond being opposed to taxes, especially a sales tax on services, his vision seems to be that Sandoval is a quitter and that we should reprocess nuclear waste or put a power plant at Yucca Mountain.

At least he has an idea, I suppose. Not a good idea, but at least it’s an idea.

• Ex-state Sen. Joe Heck, who actually has ideas on health care reform, genuflected last week to the Grover Norquist-Chuck Muth axis of simplicity by signing a tax pledge that epitomizes what’s wrong with politics.

It is superficial. It ties a politician’s hands so he can pander to voters. And it indicates no contemplative look at the state’s long-term problems.

No new taxes? We’ve heard that before.

• Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid, who has been talking about a new vision for the state in dozens of speeches for months, has yet to give any remote indication of what that vision might be. The likelihood that he will be pressed to do so now that Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley will not run is minuscule.

But he gave us the first indication of that vision this past week on a new, pretty Web site: “We need a new vision for Nevada to create jobs, promote green industry, and guarantee the education our kids deserve.”

Groundbreaking stuff.

Listen, folks, I didn’t just alight on Earth. I understand the politics of saying nothing while pretending to say something. I get the utility of offering mush and hoping not to get called on it. I know about sucking up to your constituency — who can get to the right the fastest on the GOP side?

That doesn’t mean I should accept it. And neither should anyone else, especially with a special session looming and Gibbons poised for another installment of “No New Taxes Theater” on the capital stage.

I wonder how many of these candidates actually will come up with a plan to deal with a $2 billion deficit in 2011, will arrive at original ideas on renewable energy or will be willing to detail cuts they would make if a special session occurs.

Is it really unreasonable to expect someone announcing for governor — or any office — to have ideas? I know: heresy.

And now for the most frightening question of all: Do we have to wait for the serially unserious mayor of Las Vegas to get into the race, thus making every other candidate look Churchillian, for people to start taking it seriously?

Discussion: 14 comments so far…

By ucsb1990

9/20/09 at 3:14 a.m.

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Ralston is right; Sandoval's platitude that we should "do more with less" seems a little inadequate in the face of the deficit that the next governor will have to contend with. Please, tell us how we'll do more with TWO BILLION DOLLARS less. It reminds me of the bromides that Ross Perot used to serve up, such as when he told an audience at Harvard that a majority of older Americans had said they'd be willing to sacrifice so that the American dream could be preserved for their grandkids. That's a nice homily; now ask those same retirees about stricter Social Security means-testing in order to lower the national debt. Once you start talking specifics, these nice slogans go out the window.

Still, that's the way politics is played. There's a long way to go in this governor's race, and I can understand why no one wants to alienate potential donors or primary voters. At the moment, I think Sandoval is the best of the G.O.P. contenders, so I can live with him playing it safe for a while.

By the way: after reading that last line, I wonder why Mayor Goodman won't appear on Ralston's TV show...
By Galfromvegas

9/20/09 at 7:47 a.m.

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I enjoy reading your columns as soon as they come out. They are enlightening and entertaining. But your criticism and cynicism is wearing on me. What is your vision for Nevada? If you were running, what would your platform be? Can you answer that without using sarcasm?
By geezelouise

9/20/09 at 8:03 a.m.

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The citizens battle cry should be - SHOW US YOUR PLAN.

I am tired of pretty speaches and platitudes.

I want to hear THE PLAN
By marianevans

9/20/09 at 8:24 a.m.

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geezelouise,
When selecting a battle cry, Nevada citizens considered but rejected SHOW US YOUR PLAN and instead chose SHOW US YOUR BREASTS.
By lipton

9/20/09 at 8:37 a.m.

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no bias on this newspaper!!!!!!
By JohnF

9/20/09 at 9:22 a.m.

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The reason no politician is saying what his/her vision is is that they see what happens to those politicians who do.

Take President Obama, for instance. He ran on a platform of bringing us meaningful health care reform. He was elected by a fairly large margin.

Now that he's trying to follow through on that promise he's being blasted hard by conservatives in particular, and even by those on the left who don't find his policies liberal enough.

People in the center - who ostensibly voted for him because of what he said he'd do - have started to abandon him because he has the temerity to try and follow through on what he promised.

Politicians don't tell what they plan on doing and then try and follow through on it because they see what happens when they do. We voters tell them we want them to be honest with us and then we penalize them for doing so.

The politicians won't straighten up until we do.
By brst

9/20/09 at 9:28 a.m.

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It's a good thing Paul Revere wasn't running for governor the night the British were coming. If that event had taken place in Nevada, he would have been shot by his fellow residents for having the audacity to suggest a large problem was on the horizon.

These candidates know that. Why is it so shocking that they don't share concrete plans to solve the state's problems? Anything shared before the last possible minute will fall prey to the vicious ideologues on the left and right.

That said, how about we all commit to ignoring the candidates until they share some real strategy sometime in October 2010?
By Michelle_in_Vegas

9/20/09 at 1:44 p.m.

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I still don't understand what makes Sandoval different from Gibbons. He says he is against tax increases (good thing!) so he must think that he can show a differnce on the personal side. Yet, I see that Sandoval has his own personal baggage. He was motivated to run by good ole boy lobbyists and he has several ties to the disgraced Ensign (same campaign team tied to the Senator's affair). Then we see that Sandoval has an ethical cloud hangong over his head because he may have crossed the line when he was on the bench. I was going to give Sandoval a look, but I guess I am going to focus on Heck and Montandon.
By jsayler

9/20/09 at 3:53 p.m.

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Being against taxes is often a guise for placing more burden on the middle and lower classes. Generally speaking, the ones that are already suffering the most will suffer more because shifting the tax burden from the state to the local is just what happens--someone still has to pay or someone goes without or (worst case scenerio)someone dies.

Being against taxes is fine but you have to STILL be able to provide services (police, schools, fire, etc.) Who will bear the burden--the super rich or the middle class. Always the GOP shifts expenses onto the middle class because they (those in the middle working classes) don't see that is what is going to happen--they are blinded by the cry for "No more taxes!" A rather pathetic cry from a rather sanctimonious group of wealthy manipulators.

Someone always must make up the difference and when the proverbial belt can be tightened no further, then what?
By dwms

9/21/09 at 6 a.m.

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UNDER RORY REID'S AND OSCAR GOODMAN'S WATCH, THE WRONGFUL DEATHS OF CHILDREN DUE TO ABUSE AND NEGLECT ESCALATED. ALSO, UNDER THEIR WATCH, LVMPD BEGAN NOT ARRESTING CHILD ABUSERS WHO OWN GUNS. THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ARREST WOULD MEAN LOSS OF THEIR LICENSE TO CARRY A GUN. IS IT ANY WONDER WE ARE THE HIGHEST DOMESTICALLY VIOLENT CITY PER CAPITA IN THE UNITED STATES? IS IT ANY WONDER WE ARE IN THE TOP 10 WORST CITIES TO RAISE A FAMILY? IS IT ANY WONDER WE HAVE THE SECOND HIGHEST KIDNAPPING RATE IN THE US?
By darkhorse

9/21/09 at 9:11 a.m.

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Sandoval, has left jobs for better job offers. Just like any one else would. Rory has done nothing without Harrys help or permission and Gibbons narrow mind, accomplished very little in both of HIS sessions. Let Jim retire a chase skirts on his dime. A little compromise, might actually address Nevadans long term problems. To all the liberals and ultra conservatives, thank you for the mess were in.
By Harley

9/21/09 at 10 a.m.

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Ah, he wasn't born in a cabin,
He never fought in a war.
But he learned to smile and quote Abe Lincoln,
And get a foot in the door.

Ah, he knows all your problems,
Ah, he shares all your dreams.
Ah, when he laughs his wife laughs too,
As they ride in their limousine.

Chorus:
So wave the flag and take a stand,
Stand in line to shake his hand.
He says he's your friend,
A friend of the common man

Ah, he's got all the answers,
The good days will be back soon.
Just one more strike and a compromise,
And a hungry child in each classroom.

Chorus:
So wave the flag and take a stand,
Stand in line to shake his hand.
He says he's your friend,
A friend of the common man

Everybody works day to day to get by,
Ah, every mornin' searchin' for a reason to try.
Ain't he the friend?
The friend of the common man?

Ah, he wasn't born in a cabin,
He never fought in a war.
But he learned to smile and quote Abe Lincoln,
And get a foot in the door.

With one hand on the bible,
He swears he's only here to serve.
While everyone says "for better or worse,"
We get what we deserve.

Chorus:
So wave the flag and take a stand,
Stand in line to shake his hand.
He says he's your friend,
A friend of the common man

Chorus:
So wave the flag and take a stand,
Stand in line to shake his hand.
He says he's your friend,
A friend of the common man

Common Man --The Blasters (Dave Alvin)

: )
By NLV-Indep13

9/21/09 at 10:21 a.m.

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I'd like to see the Mayor run if he'd come out with specific proposals re. jobs, healthcare, education, immigration and taxes. (It'd be entertaining if nothing else!) The current crop of wannabe's & hasbeens just don't seem to be up to the challenge, with their dependence on simple minded slogans and the usual platitudes. Maybe one or more will rise to the occasion, but right now none of them seem worthy of holding ANY elective office, let alone Governor.
By hss46

9/21/09 at 2:44 p.m.

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Can we stop using the Grover Norquist/Chuck Muth mythological vocabulary. This past session we DID NOT HAVE a TAX INCREASE!!!! We replaced lower property taxes with with a federal subsidy and slighty higher rate of tax on hotel rooms and taxable sales but the total amount of taxes the state will collect will be some $500,000,000 lower in the current biennium than in the prior biennium. And can we stop allowing the right to treat taxation as a four letter word.

We need a leader, one who will have the fortitude to stand up and say, if we want our state to be a decent place to live, a worthwhile place to have a business, we have to ask all the stakeholders to contribute, especially those that are most able to. Yes it may mean an extra $10 or $20 per month in some form of taxation, but it also means asking the poeple to recognize that the anti tax hysteria is generated by the businesses that earn the most and pay the least. Our per capita tax burden in this state is only slightly over 2% of our per capita income, or tied for 50th with Michigan which is essentially insolvent.

We need a leader who will appeal to the angels of our bettern nature, who will ask of us, not pander to us. Ask not what Nevada can do you for you, ask what you can do for Nevada!