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Stumblejon ralston:
We probably won’t see a race between Reid and Chachas
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.
Harry Reid is dead, one in an occasional series:
After taping a two-part debate Tuesday with five U.S. Senate candidates, after watching four politicians and one apolitician engage for an hour, I had one thought:
What might have been.
I speak of the prospect of John Chachas being the Republican nominee to take on the Senate majority leader, the chances of which are about equivalent to those of Rory Reid losing the Democratic nomination for governor. I mean no denigration to the other candidates vying for the opportunity to sit next to Reid on “Meet the Press,” but the difference between Chachas and the other four candidates was striking. Again.
It’s not simply that he is smarter than the rest of them — but he is. It’s not just that he is more knowledgeable than the rest of them — but he is. Nor is it that he is quicker on his feet than the rest of them — but he is.
Here’s the simplest way I can put it: When you ask a question of Sue Lowden or Danny Tarkanian or Sharron Angle or Chad Christensen, you sense you are listening to a script being regurgitated. Practiced talking points, some better than others, some more rigid than others, some more substantive than others. For lack of a more artful term: Political answers.
When you ask Chachas a question — on Social Security or the oil spill liability cap issue or Reid’s penchant for pork — you get a thoughtful and fluent discussion, with layers of expertise and knowledge none of the others possess. It doesn’t sound as if he has studied all night and can bat back the question with his campaign consultant’s inculcated rhetoric; it sounds as if he is having a spontaneous conversation with you and trying, through force of intellect and depth of comprehension, to bring you to his point of view.
Oh, you may disagree with that point of view — means-test Social Security, be careful how high you make the cap, shutter the shooting park. But he has reasoning behind his positions, not flash cards.
Chachas’ intellectual heft is impressive but even more so is his facility not just with financial issues — that’s his background as a Wall Street insider — but with anything that might come on a senator’s plate. He was equally at ease talking Tuesday about sanctions against Iran as he would have been had I asked about derivatives.
(Don’t take my word for it. Watch tonight and if you want to see the first part, it is available online — or soon will be — on my section of the Sun website.)
He was clearly the most senatorial of the GOP debaters Tuesday. And he has the least chance of any of them to win. (Yes, even less than Christensen.)
The fault does not lie with voters who don’t recognize his superiority or a media that have given him short shrift. The fault lies with Chachas himself, who through a remarkable combination of arrogance and naivete has run one of the worst campaigns it has been my horror to watch. For a guy I have described as being so smart, he sure has had a dumb strategy. If, that is, you can call moving back too late, going on TV too late and spending too little and being too nice — well, there is no other way to put it — any kind of strategy at all.
It’s as if Chachas returned to his native state after 30 years away — in a place as different from Ely as you can get — and decided he would show everyone how he still is in a New York state of mind: Better than everyone else and not willing to wallow in the campaign muck. Why should I have to contrast myself with anyone else? No negative ads for me. (No, not everywhere can be as highbrow and clean as Wall Street.)
But perhaps I am wrong. Maybe this was a trial run — I always love these theories. This was just practice for a future bid, maybe for John Ensign’s seat when the present office occupant is either forcibly or voluntarily retired.
If that’s so, I take back everything praiseworthy I said about him. Because that will not work. It rarely (if ever) does.
Granted, maybe the general election would have gone like this:
“Harry, how can you in good conscience keep lying to people about the sustainability of entitlements and your budget-busting health care reform law?”
“John, you’re just a Wall Street fat cat trying to fool Nevadans into thinking you’re one of us.”
Maybe. But it would have been something to watch.
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He is so smart he can't see he is wasting his money.
Yeah, well, Obama is smart, too. And though I can't regret voting for him, considering that Sarah Palin is out there (pun intended), I hope not to have to vote for him again, after what I've seen so far.
Yes, John Chachas is just a Wall Street fat cat who's smart enough to know he couldn't win in New York. What should depress us is that the Nevada Republican Party can't find someone in Nevada who's well qualified to run for a Senate seat. Whether Sharron Angle, Sue Lowden, or Danny Tarkanian wins the primary doesn't matter; the truth is, they're all dwarfs.
I'll bet that your crack research team didn't check out Chacha's bosses at Lazard Freres.They are the who's who of the NY Democratic party's serious donors.One has to wonder John, is there a place for you in a future Chacha election campaign? Chacha is RINO and John you know it.
This is one of the rare instances that I mostly agree with you Jon. This guy knows his way around the financial world, his recent TV ad demonstrating the national budget using pennies is spot on. I'm comfortable with this guy, Sue, Danny & Sharon" not so much.
I agree that after watching last nights debate, Chachas is definitely the most intelligent and the most well spoken.
He seems to know and understand the issues, and that is so refreshing.
The rest of them, not so much, thanks.
Why is it Nevada can't seem to elect more people like him and less like Angle and Lowden? They are all smoke and no substance.
I attended the forum at the Orleans a couple of weeks ago and it was obvious that Sharon, Sue and Danny were talking from scripted talking points. It was refreshing to hear John talk instead.
Since they all want to repeal Obamacare, would they also repeal Bush Medicare Part D? or they support state's rights, repeal No Child Left Behind?
If I have to hear Sue Lowden finish all her rote comments again with "...then I'm your gal," I'm going to throw-up! What is it with these corny and lame colloquialisms from conservatives?
I would love to be able to support ChaChas - but it bothers me that he hasn't moved his family to Nevada.
It just wouldn't be Nevada if we didn't put the biggest numb skull in the office.
Clearly, Chacha is an intelligent man. However, there's more to representing someone or group than IQ. The representative must first be able to relate to his/her constituents. The representative must have first hand knowledge or experience with the problems and resources of those he/she represents too. This is where Chacha comes up way short of Angle in particular. Chacha and his wife and kids live in New York. He donated $2300.00 to Obama in the last election cycle. He told a Las Vegas reporter a month ago that he wouldn't want his kids going to Las Vegas schools. Chacha walks around campaign events with his nose so high in the air that if I were his dad, I'd worry that he might drown if it rained. Chacha took hundreds of thousands from Wall Street cronies to fund his campaign. FEC records show that about 75% of Angle's contributors gave less than $200.00 per person. If you look at Chacha's report, about 75% (all Wall St. types) gave the maximum donation of $2400.00. In case Jon Ralston hasn't figured it out, Wall Streeters expect a generous return on their investments in politicians. So, street-smart Nevadans will not vote for the intelligent man from NY but they will vote for the smart and humble woman from Nevada, Sharron Angle
While I certainly agree with John's viewpoint of the debate I also cannot ignore the bare facts that hangtown1 points out. If what he says is true then Chachas is a Johnny Come Lately Conservative and we know from experience that means when the going gets tough the taxes will go up.
I think he needs to put down some roots here and become a little more known in the public eye and he will be in the Catbird seat to replace the falling star of John Ensign.
John you are a wonderful mix of the best of guys like Glenn Beck, Tim Russert and Bill O'Reilly. I am glued to the TV every evening thanking you for bringing some clarity to Nevada politics.
I came to this race with the intention of trying to elevate the dialogue about issues of grave importance to the nation. I left a career behind (and not a bad one). I left my wife and three children as they finished the school year. I missed every hockey final, piano recital and graduation to invest in the political discourse in Nevada. And it appears I didn't do the campaign all that well so far! But I'm not leaving the field until I'm told I have to.
I don't have a lot of interest in hearing any more about Chickens, Campaign RVs registered the wrong way and paid for by others, etc. It's a waste of energy. I think the spat has grown tiresome. Sue asserting she's a businesswoman is fine if you call sitting on the board of a quasi-public company (controlled by your husband)that has flirted with bankruptcy a great experience base.
Mrs. Angle is an ernest politician...that's with a capitol "P"...who has spent her entire adult life running for an office. Note to Sharron: reciting the Constitution won't fix things, even if the Club for Growth likes it.
I would have any of them for a barbeque. They are all very nice people and I applaud their interest in serving. I want to focus only on my commitment and qualifications:
1. I am a businessman with national standing, and I'm the only one in this race who is.
2. I am a fiscal hawk. I will not tolerate a government running $1.6 trillion in borrowed money every year so the party in power can "buy favor" with all sorts of people whose vote they seek.
3. I am pro-business. Only a pro-growth economy will find 9 million new jobs to replace those that were lost. And I do not accept that 99 weeks of unemployment benefits is good for America: indeed, I would assert it is bad for America.
4. I will reverse ObamaCare -- I have a feeling all of us know we could find $250 billion out of the $2.5 trillion America spends on healthcare if we had the courage to talk about simple matters, like obesity (now afflicting 20%! of the American population) costing us all at least that much in diabetes, heart disease, stroke and other afflictions. If we saved that $250 billion we could afford to help people who don't have insurance!
5. I am apolitical -- I will address matters everyone else wishes to hide from that must be talked about. I will talk about Social Security and how it has to be fixed, even if some elderly people (including my mother) don't like the news. Is spending $500 billion on the last 180 days of life smart? We should at least talk about.
So I'm staying on the field. One writer said "I'm wasting my money." Maybe so. But I'm going to waste it talking about what matters in this country and not wallowing in the muck of politics as usual.
Just watched the debate again - and I've got to go with Chachas - I just can't vote for any more smarmy, 'scripted response', polititians who can't answer a question without calling their staffers to get the latest polling data.
I hope others will join me.
...oh, and thanks for the response above, John, you have my vote.
John, you don't understand Nevada politics. There are way too many voters who trust the National Enquirer for their news, who wouldn't know due diligence if it bit them on the behind. My mother and her husband are retired culinary; they and the circle exist on $1000 a month per person from Social Security and culinary pension. They watch the t.v. commercials, they throw away the mailers, they trade gossip about the candidates, and your point about Sue being a businesswoman goes so far over their heads that it can't be seen. It explains why Harry & Junior get elected over and over --- can thinking people really support either of them, or support 99% of the politicians now in office? You are dealing with a high number of the lowest end of the spectrum, who want to see attack ads, who turn off immediately once you start talking logic. They vote for the ones they like, the ones who have scored the zinger; wait for the Monday mail before the election --- the lies, the attacks that can't be answered in time, and are believed.