J. Patrick Coolican

Reporter/ GA/ Politics

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McCain’s absence vexes Nevada backers: Krolicki counters that campaign here is ‘growing’; Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008; Conservative activists, operatives and officeholders are anxious about John McCain’s Nevada campaign, fearing the Arizona senator lacks the ground operation and commitment to win Nevada.
Beers calls ‘backroom fix’ charge political: Amendment benefiting senator’s former employer won’t stick, Democrats vow; Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008; Nevada Democrats opened a new line of attack Wednesday on state Sen. Bob Beers, vowing to try to repeal legislation quietly approved in 2007 that benefited Beers’ former employer.
Are you ready for some (more) politics?: Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008; Ooh, the possibilities! Think this election cycle has been long? Really it’s just a prologue to the next legislative session, and, of course, 2010.
Titus fought for growth ring, lost — and learned: Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008; The phrase was classic Titus: quick and witty, chewable and salty fun.
Rushed law threatens regulation: Late-session fix for Beers’ former company could undo state oversight of health insurers; Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008; In the final days of the 2007 legislative session, an amendment was slipped into an insurance bill that greatly benefited a company that provides payroll services and administers health benefits for a variety of employers.
Analysis: Porter’s yes vote could pay political dividends: Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008; Rep. Jon Porter’s support of a plan to bail out Wall Street was a calculated risk, and it may pay off politically. His opponent, state Sen. Dina Titus, a Democrat, said she would have opposed it, and the race will likely be framed by the issue in the coming days.
Sometimes tough, sometimes nurturing: Long list of famous names have called Titus ‘teacher’; Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008; The voice mail message is now infamous in Nevada political history.
Among themselves, conservatives start asking: What went wrong?: Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008; In the spirit of last week, we’re suspending our usual weekly memo fodder — no talk of polls or ground games, negative ads or candidate gaffes.
Mailers put GOP in fight to save Senate majority: Expect reprisal as two key races tighten, operative says; Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008; Republican strategists acknowledged this week that incumbent state Sens. Joe Heck and Bob Beers are in danger of losing in the November election. If just one loses, Democrats would take control of the state Senate.
At last, the money trail leads somewhere: Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008; Finally, Nevada voters will be able to follow the money on unsuccessful political matters, even if they won’t get a chance to vote on any of the initiatives.
Mandate foe, not medicine’s: Joe Heck says his real objection is to the high cost of health insurance; Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008; State Sen. Joe Heck is one of the Legislature’s strongest voices on health care, which isn’t surprising given that he’s a physician.
Democratic challengers back Treasury plan, with provisions: Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008; Congressional candidates Dina Titus and Jill Derby provided statements Tuesday about Washington’s proposed Wall Street bailout that were more detailed than those of the House incumbents they are running against.
One voter at a time: Volunteers go door to door, salon to salon, for McCain, Obama; Monday, Sept. 22, 2008; What a day: Country clubs and nail salons, doors opened and doors slammed, new voters and old hacks.
Titus: Family instilled values into the former cheerleader from Georgia: Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008; When Dina Titus was in high school in Tifton, Ga., she had one black classmate. This was 1966, the end of the Jim Crow South, and the School Board had just begun the process of integration.
Palin fever brings out campaign volunteers: Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008; With the pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Republican nominee for vice president, Arizona Sen. John McCain has helped erase some of the Republican enthusiasm gap in Nevada.
Wall Street runs through Las Vegas, campaigns: On the stump: Obama moves to pin turmoil on McCain, Republicans; Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008; Sen. Barack Obama appeared at Cashman Field on Wednesday, but a more appropriate spot might have been four miles down the road on the lonely grounds of Echelon. That partially finished multibillion-dollar Strip resort, paralyzed because the money is gone, has become a symbol of Wall Street’s far-reaching impact on Las Vegas.
But what they meant to say was ...: Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008; You ever get so angry, so sputtering mad, that you say the opposite of what you meant to say?
Candidate untried but intrepid: Shirley Breeden responded to Democratic Party’s overtures to run against Joe Heck; Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008; Political candidates have often had an “ah-ha” moment — a moment of outrage or insight — that prompted them to run for election.
It’s not the issues that likely make up many minds: Experts say uninformed voters have power; Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008; The question is as maddening as it is quadrennial: How do the amoeba middle, the undecided, the independent, the low-information voters make up their minds?
Anti-Heck ads mislead voters: Mailers accuse Republican of opposing cervical cancer screening coverage; Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008; Nevada Democrats have spent tens of thousands of dollars on a series of attack mail pieces aimed at state Sen. Joe Heck, intensifying a battle to control the upper chamber of the Legislature currently held by Republicans.
Attacks on media may fail: Staple GOP tactic fires up base now, may not sway others; Friday, Sept. 5, 2008; The image was arresting: Delegates to the Republican National Convention, fingers jabbing toward the crowd of assembled journalists as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hurled invective at the press corps:
“I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.”
Palin energizes skeptical base: Conservatives gush as McCain’s VP pick berates Obama, media; Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008; For months the presidential election has been all about Barack Obama. The causes: intense media and public interest in the freshman senator from Illinois, and a strategy by the campaign of his Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, to make the election a referendum on Obama rather than a choice between the two.
All the theatrics, and a ‘killer speech,’ too: Democrats built drama into their convention through set design, furious flag-waving and soaring speeches; Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008; It was a dramatic story with compelling characters who read great dialogue and snapped out their lines on gorgeous sets.
State's delegation ecstatic over Palin: If history is guide, base will see revelations as attacks, rally behind pick; Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008; The Sun interviewed nine Nevadans at the convention. They were enthusiastic about Sarah Palin, the surprise vice president pick of Sen. John McCain, and eager to recount details they find compelling in her public record and private life.
With creeping pessimism, partisans fight for party’s soul: Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008; The Republican National Convention here is as much about the far-off future as it is about the November election.
America's hopes, dreams, tensions flow through Denver's streets: On a monumental day for Obama, convention city crackles with a kaleidescope of emotions; Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008; Hours before Sen. Barack Obama would become the first black major party presidential nominee in American history, Romel Trusty is selling Obama T-shirts and hats at his street kiosk, adding to his usual business of imported clothing and handbags.
Far-left wing sees its best chance in decades but frets over pace of change: Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008; The most revealing moments at the Democratic National Convention aren’t happening in the hall or on the stage.
New media, new questions: Two years after bland Vegas powwow, liberal bloggers embraced in ‘Big Tent’; Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008; This is the headquarters of the vast left-wing conspiracy. They’re all here: MoveOn.org, Media Matters and Markos Moulitsas, and if a bomb went off, Bill O’Reilly wouldn’t be disappointed.
Nevada neighbors turn ideas into economies: In Colorado, universities cultivate research to grow companies; Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008; W. S. Sampath was at a loss. The Indian-born professor of engineering at Colorado State University had just been told that he had a great idea for manufacturing solar panels more cheaply but he needed a business plan to turn it into something that would sell.
Experiences similar, but views of war couldn’t be more different: Friday, Aug. 22, 2008; They are both warriors, and they fought in the same war. But as in some geopolitical “Rashomon,” the events in question look completely different through different eyes.
Rethinking the war: Issue that helped Democrats in 2006 now cuts several ways, Albuquerque voters say; Friday, Aug. 22, 2008; The Iraq war defined American politics for most of the decade, but now, with the endless campaign entering the climactic stretch, the war is losing its clarity and importance as an election issue. That is the message from voters in a tightly contested congressional race here that could well serve as a national bellwether.
As Democrats fret, Obama gets more direct: After friendly critics weigh in, Obama zings rival on tax plan Democrat says helps the rich; Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; Democrats are anxious these days. Sen. Barack Obama he has slipped slightly in the polls and his main opponent, Sen. John McCain, has driven the race onto ground friendlier to the Republican.
Minutemen claim softer side: Defenders of U.S. border say they’re compassionate, even save illegal immigrants’ lives; Monday, Aug. 18, 2008; The Minutemen want you to know they are humanitarians, and they can be quite persuasive. They understand the impulse to come to America, to feed a family. They might do it themselves if they were Mexican.
Signs of region’s emerging power found in Arizona: New residents from inside and outside U.S. borders bring different priorities for government — challenging long-standing Republican dominance; Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008; Beatriz Escalante, a hotel sales manager, paints a grim picture of life in Hispanic communities here, hunkered down and racked with fear.
Obama builds booming Nevada force: McCain camp dismisses the effort, saying it doesn’t guarantee victory; Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008; The campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama is building an organizational juggernaut here. With fewer than 90 days before the election, the upstarts are building on the impressive grass-roots operation they built for Nevada’s early presidential caucus, and it is paying dividends.
McCain’s attacks on rival fall flat with vets group: Republican offers plan to let some get care outside VA; Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008; Sen. John McCain, speaking to disabled veterans Saturday in Las Vegas, attacked his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, for his foreign policy record, while also proposing a program that would allow veterans to acquire health care at private hospitals and not just through the Veterans Affairs Department.
In grim present, election is uncertain: Five hacks walk into a bar. They drink a few beers, have a few laughs. But their topic is no joke, and they agree on those two points; Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008; There was beer, there was betting, there was obscenity. To discuss the electoral landscape and to look forward to the November elections, the Sun met at a local pub with five esteemed political operatives — campaign consultants, former elected officials and so on.
Clinton: Buck up, back Barack: Some former supporters need more persuasion to work for her ex-rival; Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008; In a visit to a state that treated her well this year, Sen. Hillary Clinton allayed fears Friday about her commitment to working for the election of the Democratic presidential nominee, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
Clinton urges party unity in Henderson speech: Friday, Aug. 8, 2008; In a visit to a state that treated her well earlier this year, Sen. Hillary Clinton allayed fears Friday about her commitment to working for the election of the presumptive Democratic nominee, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
Even Elko sours on governor: Jim Gibbons led his opponent by 40 percentage points in this rural area, whose pro-business, anti-tax sentiments he shares, but now ...; Sunday, July 27, 2008; When Gov. Jim Gibbons hunted for land here to build a retirement home last year, he chose wisely.
‘Back to basics’ isn’t likely to work well for the right: Sunday, July 20, 2008; Rep. Dean Heller, the Republican representing Nevada’s Second Congressional District, caused a Beltway kerfuffle last week when he said the Republican class of 1994, the revolutionaries swept into power with Newt Gingrich, had betrayed their principles.
Public tax break, private leak?: Governor’s ally suggests Dawn Gibbons revealed details of Elko land decision; Wednesday, July 16, 2008; Gov. Jim Gibbons had hoped for a fresh start, but another damaging story has emerged, this one about a questionable tax break the governor received after putting pressure on a county tax assessor.
Could speaker be the next governor?: Buckley’s rare resume an asset, but she’d have to widen appeal; Tuesday, July 8, 2008; Barbara Buckley was a freshman assemblywoman in 1995 when legislators and lobbyists were trying to hammer out a law related to the Navy “Tailhook” sexual assault scandal in Las Vegas.
A compromise reached in the state Senate nearly collapsed in the Assembly
How much does poll position matter?: Experts in polls lend advice on how much to read into their findings; Sunday, July 6, 2008; Given the dramatic Democratic primary campaign between two strong, equally matched candidates, the population of politics junkies has soared, likely comparable to what happened to the population of actual heroin junkies after the release of the film “Trainspotting.”
Lots of answers, all of them wrong: Despite the candidates’ wide-ranging solutions, gas prices are beyond our control; Sunday, June 29, 2008; A few weeks ago, state Sen. Dina Titus stood at a gas station and blamed high gas prices on Rep. Jon Porter, whom she’s challenging in the Third Congressional District.
Gibbons had chance to silence his critics: But his actions in days leading up to Friday’s session left some furious; Sunday, June 29, 2008; Gov. Jim Gibbons came close, tantalizingly close, to getting the fresh start he so badly needed.
Our change politician?: Connected Democrat has ambitious state vision; Saturday, June 21, 2008; When he was just 18 years old and finishing his first semester of college in Reno, Steven Horsford returned to Las Vegas, took his three siblings from his mother, who was a drug addict, and got a job.
As troubles mount, Gibbons disengages: Observers, including current and former officials, say the governor has become more isolated and his administration more dysfunctional as he faces state and personal crises; Sunday, June 15, 2008; Gov. Jim Gibbons called an emergency budget meeting with elected officials last week, but he and his staff failed to notify key legislators, who learned of it from media reports.
Solutions elude state Senate candidate: Democrat knows what’s important, but can’t; Sunday, June 15, 2008; I ran into Shirley Breeden recently at a Democratic picnic in Henderson.
Opposition to room tax hike building: MGM Mirage, Sands want county to keep issue off the fall ballot; Thursday, June 12, 2008; MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, two of the state’s biggest private employers, are lobbying the Clark County Commission to keep an advisory measure about raising hotel room taxes for education spending off the November ballot, a county official said.