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By Anjeanette Damon (contact) 
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 | 9:19 a.m.
Dean Heller
Sun Coverage
While Gov. Brian Sandoval deliberates over his expected decision to appoint U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., to the Senate following John Ensign’s resignation on Tuesday, Democrats are taking advantage of the delay to push an argument against the appointment.
U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas, the presumptive frontrunner for Democrats, clearly doesn’t want to go up against an incumbent Republican in 2012. That has the party working on multiple fronts to prevent Heller from getting the appointment.
First, Democrats are working to create as much legal confusion as they can over the special election process for Heller’s replacement in the 2nd Congressional District, pointing to redistricting lawsuits that seek to enjoin the secretary of state from holding any congressional elections until the maps are redrawn.
Second, Democrats are circulating a backgrounder on governors in three other states—Delaware, West Virginia and Massachusetts—who recently appointed placeholder candidates, arguing the voters should decide who the permanent senator should be.
Now, they are stressing the cost to cash-strapped counties that a special election would generate. Some estimates for Washoe County, the most populous in the 2nd Congressional District, reach as high as $500,000.
“I don’t know how we do it, to be honest with you,” said Washoe County Registrar Dan Burk. “That’s why we are looking at all these drastic cut downs on the number of polling places and staff.”
The 2010 primary cost the county $650,000, he said. But instead of opening 95 polling places, Burk is looking at opening only 30 to 35 spots for a special election that could be as late as October or November. The ballot will also be cheaper to produce because it is only one race, as will the sample ballot.
But it will still be a financial burden.
“We just don’t have the money,” he said.
Democrats in the Legislature also passed a mostly symbolic resolution urging Sandoval to accept applications for the position and then make those applications public before announcing an appointee.
Sandoval, through his adviser Dale Erquiaga, has said the resolution is irrelevant to his process on making a selection. Erquiaga also expressed little sympathy about the cost of a special election, but stressed it is only a potential cost at this point.
Erquiaga said Sandoval will select someone who will be prepared to start work on May 3 and who closely reflects Ensign’s conservative political ideology.
A highly partisan and unpopular governor has no place appointing a person to represent an entire state.
While I'm happy to see Ensign go, it is clear that his "decision" to leave was orchestrated by the republican party as a ploy to get Heller appointed to the seat sans competition. This completely disenfranchises the entire population of the state who have had absolutely no say in their representation.
The fact that replacing Heller will cost municipalities in the 2nd district substantial sums of money, and that will apparently result in massive reductions in polling places further disenfranchises the voters for the special election that would be necessary to replace Heller in the house.
This entire situation will result in very few Nevadans anointing hand picked individuals to "represent" the whole state. That my friends is a very dangerous path to tread.
The country needs another out of touch Republican. Corporate America is starving. LOL
It is unconstitutional for Heller to be appointed by Sandoval.
As Obama said elections have consequences.
Sandoval won. He get's to name the unfilled term of Ensign.
Get used to it liberals.
Red: you Lefties only care about the U.S. Consitution when it can be used to achieve your nefarious objectives. Lotsa luck in stopping the Heller Express!
Very true that elections do have consequences. Heller's in. Only problem we have now is getting rid of Reid and Obama.
If Reid was Gov. you Dems would be laughing at the Repubs for tying to stop this appointment.
The shoe is on the other foot. Elections have consequences. You lost. Sandoval has every constitutional right to appoint Heller.
In 2012, Repubs will take the US Senate and keep control of the House. Get used to the idea!
Why can't the Democrats just get busy doing the work of the people, instead of playing their silly games all the time.
Sandoval has never produced his birth certificate and was actually born in Terra del Fuego.
I commend the Democratic Party in Nevada for their stance on this issue. In my opinion, the Republicans in power here really, really need to face the heat that snowballed from Ensign's disgraceful service to us, the voters he used and took advantage of.
I believe it won't make a difference who Governor Sandoval appoints to this Senate Seat. There is actually no validity to the fact that a recently appointed government official gets a leg up as an incumbent in the next election. There is no evidence this helps in the vote. It won't help. Because it doesn't take into consideration other extraneous factors.
If Heller gets to replace Ensign, it's DEFINITELY a one-for-one, in more ways than thought of.
Heller won't last.
For two reasons:
(1) Heller's voting record in Congress is virtually the same as Ensign's in the Senate. They are both hardcore useless politicians only interested in party politics. Nevada voters will not stand for this in 2012.
and
(2) There is a really, really strong belief the voters cannot stomach another Republican to hold this Senate Seat. The feeling is the Republicans had their chance with Ensign. And they blew it all to hell. Ensign, at the time, was supposedly a strong politician who ran on family values, someone who was actually groomed to run for President by the Republicans and even picked to run fund raising for them. Ensign's legacy now is a black mark. We can't take a chance with another numbskull. In 2012, this Senate Seat is going to turn over to the Democrats. No more nonsense. They had their chance. They blew it. Time for a change.
I predict that for the next six months, the Nevada Republican Party will be in so much disarray from political infighting that they will be totally useless to anyone. Which, by the way, is pretty much what they are now due to their hairbrained policies of destroying education, not doing anything to fix the economy, nor work on jobs, as well as other stupidity.
Elections have consequences. Stomach that.
Heller will make a far better representative in the U.S. Senate than Harry (the spender) Reid.
The only birther question that exists is that of our president. Typical Lib still don't have a clue.
"We know Keating Five Guy McCain was NOT born in the USA"
-----------------------
McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone -- at the time, a US territory -- and is a natural-born citizen of this country under the eyes of a law passed by Congress during the 1930s.
Whether that is really relevant to any of this, though, is extremely questionable.
mred: Why do you say that it is unconstitutional for Sandoval to appoint Heller?
ShannonK, you have to bear in mind that mred thinks that right-wing radio shows should either be banned entirely or be taxed heavily. It is his position that the Republican Party should be outlawed. Anything a Republican does is unconstitutional by definition for him since he feels they have no right to exist as a political party.
Too bad dummycrats, Sandoval will appoint whoever he wants.
I know you dummycrats don't like it, but you'll get over it...in time.
Brian Sandoval can nominate Heller for all I care. Nate Silver found that appointed incumbents lose 50% of the time, so there's no real incumbency advantage.
The advantage comes in CD2. If the GOP picks Krolicki as their candidate to fill Heller's shoes, they risk angering Sharron Angle, who has already declared for that race.
Angle can/should retaliate by running as a 3rd party. Split the teabaggers away from the GOP and the Dem wins the seat.
Some people will never be happy! Some people try to make simple things complicated. Its easy. The Governor picks! Get over it!
It's not often that ksand99 and I agree, but this is one of those times. If Angle were to run as a third-party candidate in the general election it would guarantee a Democrat win.
But as Kevin implicitly brings up, the question is would Angle run against a sitting Republican in the primary if she was not selected for and won a special election to fill Heller's seat if that becomes the case?
http://www.lvrj.com/news/krolicki-is-gop...
Won't dare Righthaven/the R-J by copying a single sentence from that story, but pay close attention to the last sentence, Jim.
Kevin,
I'm not sure if the story had been updated or not since the time you posted and when I saw it.
One thing that jumps out at me is that Angle was polling at only 11%. What that tells me is if she does challenge a sitting Republican in the primary next year she will be persona non grata for the rest of her life, even after she loses.
Very few men and women are starting political career nowadays. Exactly why bother. Not many see any challenge or mountain to climb for. All this there is being lost. Your everyday life, your personal privacy, your career, your money, your house.
When is this new generation seeing the difference?
Who wants to try.