Mark Halperin's obsession with genitals -- our political discourse

In 2008 Mark Halperin had to apologize for claiming disgraced politician John Edwards called Barack Obama a “pussy” (he didn’t, it was Mark’s own character association) and today he’s apologizing for calling the President a “dick” live on MSNBC’s three hour brain drain, Morning Joe.



Halperin, political analyst for Time and Drudge-worshiping Morning Joe troglodyte, apologized on air only after Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski giggles died down and they all realized the hyperbolic comment would not be edited out.

Halperin also apologized on Twitter and MSNBC later suspended him indefinitely:





Why did Halperin call the President a dick? Because the President used his bully pulpit to call out Congressional republicans for their debt ceiling demagoguing.

Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent missies the point of the suspension. Halperin wasn’t suspended for calling the president a dick, he was suspended for saying dick on live TV which may very well result in an FCC fine. But Sargent does make some good points on our political discourse, what’s acceptable and who makes these unwritten rules:

I care less about Halperin’s use of the word “dick” than I do about the argument he and Joe Scarborough were making — that Obama somehow stepped over some kind of line in aggressively calling out the GOP for refusing to allow any revenues in a debt ceiling deal. This notion that Obama’s tone was somehow over the top — when politics is supposed to be a rough clash of visions — is rooted in a deeply ingrained set of unwritten rules about what does and doesn’t constitute acceptable political discourse that really deserve more scrutiny.

This set of rules has it that it should be treated as a matter of polite, legitimate disagreement when Michele Bachmann says deeply insane things about us not needing to raise the debt limit, but it should be seen as an enormously newsworthy gaffe when she commits a relatively minor error about regional trivia. This set of rules has it that it should be treated as a matter of polite, legitimate disagreement when Republicans continually claim that Dems cut $500 billion in Medicare in a way that will directly impact seniors, even though fact checkers have pronounced it misleading, but it should be seen as “demagoguery” when Dems argue that the Paul Ryan plan would end Medicare as we know it.

Halperin has certainly done his part to encourage these unwritten rules, and so maybe there’s a certain poetic justice in the fact that he’s now been suspended indefinitely for violating them, but still, this is over the top. I care that Halperin uncritically claims that Drudge rules the media world, and acts accordingly. I care that Halperin published a book that accused public officials of using explosive, racially charged quotes that were paraphrased, without guaranteeing their accuracy, in order to gin up media controvery. I care that Halperin does dumb things like parroting GOP predictions of a big victory when all available evidence is pointing the other way, as he famously did in the runup to the 2006 elections. I don’t care as much that he used the word “dick.” Suspending Halperin indefinitely for this only reinforces the bogus idea that a crass and dumb slip into foul language is worse than all this other stuff we see on a regular basis.

Has the pundit class fallen asleep?

I was going to post something about the photograph the Las Vegas Sun chose to accompany the article about former Assemblyman Morse Arberry's misuse of campaign contributions, but I was distracted by this in the comments section:

Have our journalists lost their way? Is a tip from a lobbyist more valuable than a gut feeling?

The June 24th Nevada Week In Review roundtable agreed that Morse Arberry's campaign finance reports (and paperwork in general) have always been fishy. Las Vegas Review Journal columnist Jane Ann Morrison even said:

"When I started looking in the late 80s at his campaign finance reports they were always just hand-scrawled, you could hardly read them. But there was something-you know, when you go through as many as we do, some jump out at you as...suspicious and his always jumped out at me as suspicious."

Always suspicious? Did she ever report her suspicions in the past 20+ years, or ask Arberry about them? Is it her role as a journalist to do so?

What is certain, thanks to Secretary of State Ross Miller, it will be a lot easier for all of us to look through these reports and speak up when something looks fishy.

Something shady is brewing in North Las Vegas

When North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck's dentist, Wade Wagner, won the Ward 4 City Council race by one vote over the Democrat incumbent, Richard Cherchio, North Las Vegas prepared itself for a recount.

During the Clark County election department's audit, it was discovered that someone voted in the wrong ward. The election might be invalid. Shit got real.

A city council meeting was called. The decision was made by the council to re-do the election in the precinct where the "mis-vote" was cast. Mayor Buck abstained from voting because not only is Wagner her dentist, her husband worked for his campaign. Cherchio also abstained from voting.

As expected, the Wagner campaign is suing over the decision. And for some reason, former North Las Vegas mayor (and failed gubernatorial candidate) Mike Montandan filed a restraining order. But to be quite honest, as a resident of unincorporated Clark County, I didn't care. I don't live in North Las Vegas and I never plan to.

I have nothing against Wagner because I have no idea who he is except that he's a republican. I had no opinion of Cherchio except he had a strike against him for hiring Bradley Mayer, a campaign manager to conservative candidates, including Carolyn Goodman. Mayer was running Carolyn's campaign for mayor of Las Vegas, and I knew not much attention would be given to Cherchio. Cherchio knew from the beginning his reelection was not going to be easy. He was going against the current mayor's personal friend and Cherchio needed a campaign manager who woke up in the morning and went to bed at night thinking about him.

After a conversation with a friend in North Las Vegas who is emotionally invested in this election and is "in the know" when it comes to North Las Vegas politics (disclaimer: said friend works for neither campaign or any political campaign or consulting firm), I suddenly became very interested.

You think the city of Las Vegas has problems? Let me tell you about what's going on in North Las Vegas:

Wade Wagner is Shari Buck's Dentist, and hand-picked candidate for her former City Council seat

The two PACs that sent direct mail pieces attacking Cherchio have never filed Campaign and Expense reports. They have been fined by the Secretary of State and the matter has now been referred to the Attorney General's office. [Delen Goldberg of the Las Vegas Sun with details LINK]

The Precinct with the illegal ballot happens to be that of both Mayor Buck's parents and former NLV Mayor Mike Montandon

An ethics complaint was filed against Cherchio in December by a Jay L. King. King lives on the same street as Mayor Buck, and shortly thereafter was appointed to two City Advisory Boards – the Citizens Advisory Board and the Utility Advisory Board.

On June 15th, when the City Council was slated to canvass the vote, the Mayor chose to abstain from the vote because she donated to the Wagner campaign and her husband worked on the campaign "and was paid". On both of Wagner's C&E reports, Keith Buck, the Mayor's husband, is not listed as a Campaign Expense.

On June 23rd, former Mayor Montandon and Jay King waited until after the filing deadline for Temporary Restraining Orders. As mentioned, Montandon lives in the contested precinct. Initially, Montandon was claiming that he would have been "disenfranchised" by the new election but in fact, he would be super-enfranchised.

Wade Wagner has 9 registered voters in his residence. Six are clearly family, but three have different last names. Does the El Dorado HOA allow that? Might be a zoning violation.

It should be no surprise to anyone that there is now talks of recalling Mayor Buck. How realistic are those threats? We'll see.

--

Laura

As #NVleg draws to a close, we finally have a budget

Governor Brian Sandoval, surrounded by beaming legislators, announced that a balanced budget exists, the session would end on time. Legislators congratulated each other for being able to work together for a common sense budget, despite not even a week ago it seemed bitter partisan divides would keep this day from happening, and Governor Sandoval threatened to shut the state government down rather than call a special session.

The #Mar21 and #Sandoville activists asked for it: a balanced approached to our state's budget and compromises on taxes and much needed reforms. Thanks to the Nevada Supreme Court, we got it. Legislators did their jobs, worked together and compromised. And I'm sure, everyone will do their best to take credit in some way.

Our friends on the right will try their best to explain that by Governor Sandoval (R-Jones Vargas) raising taxes he is in no way breaking his pledge not to raise taxes.


President Barack Obama takes a sip from a glass of cool, refreshing conservative tears.

"Non-partisan" Nevada Propaganda Rhetoric Institute will fudge numbers and whine about Florida.

Conservative purity police will have their say.

And some lefties will still be upset with some of the cuts and the damage done to unions.

But like the song says, you can't always get what you want.

In the end, it's Nevada who comes out the winner. Our budget is balanced, some of the cruelest reforms softened, much needed education reforms are agreed on and the sunset taxes passed in 2009, that Nevada's fragile economy has recovered under, have been extended to 2013.

Here's the numbers via the Las Vegas Sun (pdf)

I'll update this entry as more news about the budget comes out.

--

Laura

What actually happened at Sandoville

If a direct action you’ve planned doesn’t go accordingly, you should never admit it. At least not to the press. They will gleefully print your failures and ignore the accomplishments. And, you most likely take away the opportunity for that action to be accomplished in the future.

But as I’m going through the clips of the coverage from our three day camp out on the grounds of the Nevada legislature, I've seen a few mischaracterizations and assumptions (some are just plain "untruths") about what we were planning to do.

I want to take the time to clear a few things up.

A few weeks after the now infamous March 21st student rally in Carson City one of the organizers told me that next time we go to Carson, we’re sleeping outside on the lawn.

But Sandoville wasn’t just a bunch of students. And we didn't go to Carson City demanding Governor Brian Sandoval raise taxes to save education, as many reported. We wanted our legislators to break the gridlock, work together, compromise and come up with a balanced solution to Nevada’s economic crisis.

We know that cuts have to be made. We know that there are needed reforms. We are willing to share the sacrifice. But it’s the wrong approach to only look for cuts while ignoring opportunities to raise revenue. And some cuts are simply too drastic and possibly unnecessary. What does it say about Nevada’s values if we’re willing to take away breakfast from poor children yet maintain extravagant subsidies for foreign mining companies who makes billions every year?

And its also very suspect that the groups bearing the brunt of the cuts (public employees, teachers and Clark County) happen to be the same groups who voted overwhelmingly against Brian Sandoval in the 2010 election.

But I digress.

Here is what Sandoville planned to do:

Originally we planned to stay a full week, but compromised with various agencies involved with the legislature to set up camp Monday and take it down Wednesday.

We identified legislators--Republicans and Democrats---to target with lobbying teams or for individuals to target their own legislators who needed some prodding.

Everyone was asked to give testimony during committee hearings that had to do with revenue and education. Some campers had prepared remarks, others read from statements they typed up on their smart phones and some just spoke from the heart. After committee hearings we stopped legislators in the hall, asking them to come to Sandoville or at least make a one on one appointment.



As for direct actions, we played with several options.

Having been involved in an action that successfully shut down the Las Vegas Strip and resulted in about a dozen arrests last summer, I made the suggestion of shutting down Carson Street.

I saw a report that we were going to block the highway. That’s not only wrong, but would be recklessly dangerous on our part.

The symbolism of shutting down a street was: if legislators are willing to bicker and fight and block progress, we were going to block them from getting to work. We decided not to do that because of the collateral damage (Carson City residents).

We also planned a sit-in at the Governor’s capitol office. It was scheduled for 3pm on Tuesday, but the Governor decided to take a quick trip to Vegas. So we set our sights on Senate Minority Leader Mike McGinness instead.

We asked McGinness’ secretary when he’d be in the office (she didn’t know) and then asked for an appointment, which she refused because (she claimed) he has already met with students once this session. I’m sure he meets with lobbyists multiple times a day, I guess students only get one shot. 40 people crammed themselves into the Minority Leader’s office and sat silently on the floor. His secretary, shaking with anger, was taping out emails and calling security. Capitol guards swooped to the office and you could tell by the looks on their faces, they had no clue what to do.



McGinness’ secretary announced that he was in committee and wouldn’t be back in the office for at least an hour. Some people seated on the floor pulled out their laptops and logged onto NELIS to see if he was in committee, a few others went to the committee room. All came to the same conclusion, McGinness was not there. So everyone continued to sit in silence.

A guard pleaded with us to leave. Some people moved into the hallway to allow more room for McGinness’ staff to go in and out of their offices. Eventually, McGinness appeared in committee and the sit-in moved to the committee room.

I saw a report that one of our direct actions was cancelled because we didn’t want to get arrested. That is also wrong. People who were willing to be arrested signed up to do so. Several news crews filmed our “Sandoville Schedule” white board and some reporters even tweeted pictures of it. On the schedule was a “peace training” I was going to help lead to explain what would happen when folks got arrested, how to prepare and what to do. We had lawyers on stand-by. We were ready to be arrested in McGinness’ office.



The pressure we put on McGinness resulted in a meeting with him and Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford post-committee. We were able to talk about a balanced approach to the budget, asked the two men to work together, communicate and compromise.

After the committee room we headed to other Senator’s offices. Much to his surprise and displeasure, we ran into Senator Gustavson in the hallway. He curtly answered our questions but after about five minutes he’d had enough and briskly walked away.

We walked down the long hallway of senate offices, stopping at each to make an appointment. We eventually sat outside of Senator Barbara Cegavske’s office, waiting for everyone to come back committee, lunch, the bathroom or whatever excuse their secretaries gave us.

What happened next was another first for the Legislature. Senator Michael Roberson brought us Girl Scout cookies then sat on the floor for a debate. He was soon joined by Senator Cegavske and Senator Ben Keickhefer. Senator Elizabeth Halselth and Senator Greg Brower stood and watched but did not participate.



There was a lot of back and forth. Mostly mutual understandings with a few heated moments (and some yelling) sprinkled throughout. Senator Roberson proved he was a text book conservative (blaming public workers for the state’s problems) with endless confidence. He complained that he’s shared more words with us than Senator Horsford. But much like the governor, he’s made himself irrelevant by refusing to compromise.

Then there was the donut summit.

It was mischaracterized as the governor winning over “students” with treats. No one was won over by anything the governor said or did. Sure, some people got in a picture with the Governor, but it was because his staff asked us to. Most of us refused. The Governor did not come to Sandoville to sell his budget, he came there to maintain his brand. Even his staff looks “sunny” and happy. A group of non-threatening people with warm smiles who, like the Governor, look like they were cast for the roles they play.



Governor Sandoval was unable to provide any perspective or answer questions with anything other than useless empty GOP “we hate taxes” rhetoric. And if the whole thing wasn’t ridiculous enough, he was wearing cowboy boots with his suit.

It’s safe to say that donuts are the only thing of substance the Governor will deliver to the people of Nevada this legislative session.

Sandoville is no longer on the lawn of the legislature, but it is not gone. On the bus ride down we were planning out next trip up north. At the end of each day in Sandoville we had checkin-in and planning meetings and a major wrap-up meeting was held Friday once everyone was back home.

We have new friends, a wider network, new targets and better perspective. With less than three weeks to go before the end of the session, and with the Governor threatening to shut down the state government, we have a lot of work to do.

--

Laura

Why you should ignore Carolyn Goodman's poll

A bit of controversy erupted last week in the mayor's race (I know, shit breaks out every other day) over some dueling polls. Chris Giunchigliani's campaign released a poll conducted by Beneson Strategy Group showing the race statistically tied. Carolyn Goodman's campaign was forced to release their own Magellan Strategies conducted poll--after spending the weekend telling reporters they can't release the numbers because they're so good no one would vote--that showed Carolyn up 53-31.

Freelancer Steve Friess was skeptical of Chris G's poll, airing his frustration on Twitter that Goodman's numbers weren't being reported as breathlessly as Giunchigliani's. But anyone familiar with Magellen Strategies knows they have a poor reputation. And that could explain why no one is giving Carolyn's polling numbers any credibility.

Take for example:

“Tom Tancredo will become Colorado's next governor,” predicted David Flaherty, president and CEO of Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies, a Louisville, CO, pollster that works for Republicans around the country.

That statement was made Friday before the 2010 gubernatorial election in Colorado. Democrat John Hickenlooper went on to beat Tancredo 51-36 four days later. Magellan also predicted Meg Whitman would win the governor's race in California. She lost to Democrat Jerry Brown.

Another "oopsie" in 2010 by Magellan, they had to issue an apology for their flawed polling in the Kentucky senate race. Their polls showed Republican candidate Rand Paul beating his closest competitor by 20-30 points. What they forgot to mention: the poll they conducted did not mention any candidate but Rand Paul. Rand Paul went on to win the election 55-44.

In 2010 Magellan released a flurry of poorly conducted polls, all benefiting Republican candidates. Their website at the time had the tag line: Magellan Strategies Helping Republicans Win Elections. Magellan is on the payroll of the Republican National Committee and Koch-funded astroturf conservative organization, Americans for Prosperity.

I've been told that Magellan's bad results are due to bad methodology. One person was polled by Magellan at an office number. They pollster did not ask for a specific person nor did they ask any screening questions ("Are you registered to vote in Las Vegas?") either. Magellan is simply a disaster.

I should start my own polling firm. Get paid tens of thousands of dollars to produce crap? Light Skinned Polling is open for business.

But hey, if you want to trust Magellan, be my guest.

Everyone else who lives in a place called reality, keep knocking those doors and making those calls. It's making a difference.

--
Laura

Governor Brian Sandoval welcomes Urban Outfitters and their legacy of racism and anti-semitism

On May 4th Governor Brian Sandoval "proudly tweeted" ("proud to" and "honored to" is Brian Sandoval's "this one time, at band camp" twitter tick) that Urban Outfitter's would be setting up an "internet fulfillment center" in Reno.



The gov claimed the 650 news jobs would come to Reno. But the reality is (Gov seems to have a problem with that) this "internet fulfillment center", aka warehouse, will provide maybe 150 full-time jobs and 650 temporary construction jobs.

150 jobs is better than no jobs. But why is Sandoval happy about gaining 150 when he plans on firing 7,000 teachers?

Also, why is Sandoval proud of a warehouse being built in his hometown by a company known for its racism and anti-semitism?

2003: Ghettopoly: Get your neighborhood addicted to crack, you earn $50. A parody of Monopoly labeled "racist" by the NAACP and African American clergy organizations.

2003: 'Everyone Love a Jewish Girl' t-shirt. Jewish girls are pretty awesome, but a t-shirt with that phrase, coupled with dollar signs caused the Anti-Defamation League to express "outrage and disgust" at this and other incidents of Urban Outfitters insensitivity. The shirts were discontinued.

Read a full list of products that were pulled from Urban Outfitters shelves. The company our governor is so proud of.

Is this what Nevada values?