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AP Photo/Cathleen Allison
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour answers media questions following an event with Republican supporters and party leaders in Carson City on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Barbour also met with Gov. Brian Sandoval following the event.
By Anjeanette Damon (contact) 
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 | 2 a.m.
Brian Sandoval
Sun coverage
Sun archives
- Rep. Joe Heck backs Mitt Romney for president (3-22-2011)
- A perfect GOP candidate is hard to find (3-22-2011)
- Mitt Romney leads in Nevada Republican presidential primary poll (1-11-2011)
The Republican presidential field, if it can even be called that yet, has begun an early flirtation with Nevada’s GOP power structure.
The latest example: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s quick swing through Northern Nevada on Tuesday where he met with Republican lawmakers, party leaders, potential donors and the king of all GOP prizes in the Silver State: Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Barbour, along with the rest of the GOP’s potential hopefuls, hasn’t formally declared his candidacy.
But his trip made aware Republican kingmakers in the state — with its third-in-the-nation presidential primary contest — that he’ll likely be on the dance card. And he wasn’t shy about declaring his intentions.
“I’m here because I’m thinking about running for president,” he said in a series of meetings in Reno and Carson City.
“If I run, I will compete to win Nevada,” he told reporters.
But with the state’s caucuses a little less than a year away, a vague malaise about the race appears to have settled on the Nevadans whose attention Barbour sought. And his visit Tuesday did little to stir their interest.
“What? I thought it was Halle Berry we were going to see,” joked Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, after leaving a lunch with Barbour. “I don’t know. He was charming and personable. But I don’t know if he’s in the top presidential tier here.”
Sandoval’s office issued this less-than-glowing statement afterward: “It was a courtesy meeting between two governors. The meeting lasted less than a half-hour.”
But part of the lack of enthusiasm likely reflects the party’s inability to produce a uniting figure so far despite a long list of potential candidates — Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty and Mike Huckabee, to name just a few.
One of the earliest steps toward building a presence in an early contest state is wrapping up establishment support. Such a dynamic was evident on the Democratic side in the run-up to the 2008 caucuses, when Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Bill Richardson raced to lock up key donors, lawmakers and consultants.
A parallel process hasn’t yet begun in earnest on the Republican side.
“I don’t hear any talk in this building about it at all,” state Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, said. “Even in my talks with my Republican friends there doesn’t seem to be a favorite out there.”
Still, the candidates must zero in on who would be most valuable in aiding their pursuit of a victory here.
But the person at the top of all the candidates’ lists may be unattainable. Sandoval, who reigns as the GOP’s top elected official and is popular with voters, is expected to remain neutral.
Indeed, that’s all Barbour wants Sandoval to do — at least at this point.
“If I were he, I wouldn’t even think about endorsing anybody for president for a long, long time,” Barbour said. “I assume he’s going to keep his powder dry until we get up to or even beyond the Nevada caucuses.”
Frank-- a new post today, on topic and to the point. Nothing recycled.
My congratulations. Keep up the good work.
Haley Barbour, a Republican insider, former lobbyist and beltway croney has no chance of being elected to the presidency! Early bets favor the Republicans shooting themselves in the foot again in the next presidential election. Will they ever learn?
This dude reminds old timers like me of the comedian W.C. Fields! Gotta love that nose! Looks like this guy pays plenty of taxes ... liquor taxes perhaps?
it really is amazing how pathetic the republican party is...
just look at the candidates...
it's a frickin joke!!!
Governor Sandoval is shaping the GOP in Nevada,
They even beat the Dems in basketball last night.
WINNING !!
If Nevadans learn the history of Barbour and his evaluation of human beings they would prohibit his entrance into the state, if they are serious in their search for leaders worthy of their attention, let alone their votes.
Haley "didn't see any racism in the Citizen's Councils" Barbour is a traditional "Southern Strategy" white racist. Sandoval assumes the role of a Latin American despot, people like Sousa of Bolivia, Stroessner or Paraguay, Somoza of Nicaragua, Pinochett of Chile...sorry Sandoval, like the other "Latins" your skin is too brown to be admitted to the Republican Country Club of Politics as a full fledged member.
You are a gimmick for the Barbour's of this world to use for a few vote along the way. You'll ultimately have to use the back door of the Country Club.
Does this mean Barbour for Amnesty for illegals?
Attached is a link to a story about Barbour and about the Citizen's Councils that appeared in the Weekly Standard this past December. The following is a quote from the article..
"Both Mr. Mott and Mr. Kelly had told me that Yazoo City was perhaps the only municipality in Mississippi that managed to integrate the schools without violence. I asked Haley Barbour why he thought that was so. "
"'Because the business community wouldn't stand for it," he said. "You heard of the Citizens Councils? Up north they think it was like the KKK. Where I come from it was an organization of town leaders. In Yazoo City they passed a resolution that said anybody who started a chapter of the Klan would get their ass run out of town. If you had a job, you'd lose it. If you had a store, they'd see nobody shopped there. We didn't have a problem with the Klan in Yazoo City.'"
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/b...
It is a fascinating recollection of a time and place, Yazoo City, Mississippi and about the Barbour, who was a teenager during the Civil Rights Movement.
No, it doesn't make him fit to be President, but it is the recollection of someone who was there at the time. Mississippi had a lousy record, but lest we forget, so did a lot of parts of the country both north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Good points. Yazoo City ..gee those Citizen's Councils, or should I say "White Citizens Councils" didn't do anything bad...and Sandoval's "My children don't look Latino" yup, these two are real twentieth century politicians...