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Much has been written about how the Hispanic vote helped Democrats in 2012, from President Obama to many down-ticket races. It was certainly true in Nevada, where the Latino vote helped many candidates and almost elected Rep. Shelley Berkley to the U.S. Senate. But in a piece Friday in National Journal, Hotline Editor Reid Wilson showed just how many Hispanic votes were left on the table in 2012. The premise of the piece is how the Latino vote lagged far behind the white vote in many states,...
Cook Report National Editor Amy Walter has said what Republicans in Nevada have learned the hard way: Nevada is a blue state. In a piece posted Friday, Walter argues that Pennsylvania is the much better bet for the GOP in 2016. The headline on the email she sent out:  "Sorry Nevada and Colorado: Pennsyvlania Is Key For GOP In 2016" In a chart linked in the column, Walter shows how Nevada has moved 6 points in a key measure of partisan voting behavior. She writes: The Romney campaign spent $8.9M...
UPDATED WITH DEMOCRATIC PARTY COMMENT AT BOTTOM One day after Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick introduced a measure that would tax movie tickets, the state Democratic Party has a petition drive going to help film star/producer Nicolas Cage get a tax break. Indeed, the petition link to "Help us help Nicolas Cage" is at the top of the party's site. And there was a breathless pitch to the party's email list to sign, which I have pasted below. Yes, I have made my feelings known on the spectacle of a...
UPDATE: I'm reliably told Democrats, as I reported previously on Twitter, are considering a corporate income tax component, perhaps on the ballot. The general idea is to use an expansion of the Modified Business Tax (payroll tax) as a bridge to a more stable solution. Can they pull it off? Imagine: A measure that would raise $350 million dedicated to lower education funding through adjustments to the payroll tax, a severance tax on mining and a new admissions tax passes the Legislature on May...
UPDATED ON 5/8 WITH BILL LANGUAGE--ATTACHED---IT COVERS JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING WHERE ENTERTAINMENT OCCURS.   Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick this morning informed folks that her long-awaited admissions tax is finally drafted, setting a rate of 8 percent for all major venues. The current Live Entertainment Tax has a two-tiered rate, with some venues taxed at 10 percent and others at 5 percent, depending on capacity. I'm told the bill draft exempts only small venues under 50 seats, nonprofits and some...
  This is the state we are in: On Tuesday, state lawmakers drooled over and posed for pictures with Nicholas Cage, who wants them to pass a $35 million tax incentive bill for him and other film producers. This comes against a backdrop of an admissions tax, which would add 8 percent to the tickets of those going to see the prospective Cage masterpieces in Nevada. The Legislature giveth and the Legislature taketh away. This is how they do tax policy – a hodgepodge of giveaways and takeaways with...
Big tax day in Carson City: A few hours after Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick released her new admissions tax, Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson has released his Education Priority Act. (Or should I say I have a copy of it....) That's the one with the tax on mining. But embedded in the draft is also a short-lived increase on financial institutions to get the education rainy day fund going. ---- UPDATED: ►The measure clearly outlines what a disaster the margins tax supposedly would be and...
In a missive sent Friday, Dave McKeon, who wants to oust Cindy Lake as chair of the Clark County GOP, claimed he has registered 100 times more voters than she has. McKeon says he registered 100 Republicans, including 16 party-swtichers, in 27 days while she has registered just one -- former Republican, Chuck Muth, the anti-tax drumbeater who apparently returned to the fold. A few comments on the neverending GOP comedy show: 1. At this pace, McKeon is on pace (I'll give him a little benefit of...
The secretary of state's office has cleared ex-gubernatorial Chief of Staff/Assemblywoman Heidi Gansert in a campaign finance complaint filed in March. The complaint was filed by an ex-Democratic Party chairman and was clearly in retaliation for a measure that Democrats saw as an effort to hurt ex-Speaker Barbara Buckley. Lost in all of this: The notion that folks can hang onto campaign funds for as long as they want after they are out of elective office is simply outrageous. Oh, and not...

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