Posted on 04/21/2011 3:59:24 PM PDT by Danae
Nevada Sen. John Ensign (R) plans to announce Friday he will resign his Senate seat, aides said Thursday.
Ensign has been under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee over whether he violated Senate rules during his affair with Cindy Hampton, a former campaign aide. Hampton’s husband, Doug Hampton, was Ensign’s deputy chief of staff during most of the extramarital relationship.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53557.html#ixzz1KCVouaTc
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Well, Ensign does have a pretty good record, it’s just unfortunate these guys don’t realize that whatever “private business” they decide to have is usually going to come out (and unlike Democrats, who can get away with murder, they’ll usually be out on their butts).
But regarding NV-2, that district is designed for a Republican and has never voted anything but since the state was divided into two seats in 1982. If we can’t win there, the whole state is a loss. Given that this is a special election at a time when the Administration in DC is becoming more unpopular by the day, it is all that more likely we’ll retain it. Only an unpopular nominee from our side (Angle) could cost us the seat.
Although I supported Angle in the 2006 House primary when Gibbons ran for Governor, her erratic behavior in charging Heller with voter fraud and demanding a do-over showed she wasn’t ready for prime time. She followed it up with another losing exercise against Bill Raggio in ‘08, and it was no surprise to me when she lost to Reid last year. However, it wasn’t RINOs alone who undermined her, she herself had to shoulder the bulk of the blame. I was absolutely flabbergasted when the Tea Party got behind her in the primary, willfully choosing to ignore her blown past candidacies. Virtually any other Republican candidate could’ve taken down Reid. She reminded me of the FL Senate candidate in 2006, Katherine Harris (despite her role in keeping the Dems from stealing the state in 2000, she was the most polarizing (and unpopular) political figure in the state). She had die-hards delusionally believing she could win statewide, and I would remind them she would lose to the unpopular Bill Nelson by a landslide (and which she certainly did).
As I said, as for NV-2, we SHOULD win it, but yes, we could lose it, because our party has often been known to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Angle vs. Reid is a prime example. That race should’ve resembled Sandoval vs. Rory Reid with a non-damaged candidate. We were smart with the Governor’s race (and NV-3 with Joe Heck), too bad we weren’t across the board, and with the most important Senate race in the entire country.
I really just want someone to the right of Ensign appointed. The photo of Reid escorting her down to be sworn in would be nice to see, though.
I really just want someone to the right of Ensign appointed. The photo of Reid escorting her down to be sworn in would be nice to see, though.
Forget about Sharron Angle. Whether it's fair or not, she's viewed as a whackjob. She lost to sorry-ass Harry Reid at a time when just about any person who comes off as sane would have beaten him easily.
Good. Get the hell out.
Heller has represented a big part of Clark County in Congress since the 2006 election and before that was elected statewide, so he’s well known in Las Vegas. He won’t have much of a deficit against Berkeley in Clark County, and will trounce her in the rest of the state.
Thanks for quitting, Ensign and take that nitwit Harry Reid with you.
Agreed - Sandoval is a true-blue conservative and statesman...Nevada is in great hands with him at the helm. I really like Sharron Angle and would love for her to take over Heller's Senate seat, but I'm going to have to agree with you on your analysis about how the vote might go. Plus, I have an uneasy feeling that she may get knee-capped by her own party again.
Agreed - Sandoval is a true-blue conservative and statesman...Nevada is in great hands with him at the helm. I really like Sharron Angle and would love for her to take over Heller's Senate seat, but I'm going to have to agree with you on your analysis about how the vote might go. Plus, I have an uneasy feeling that she may get knee-capped by her own party again.
Sorry: senate = congressional. Mistyped, misspelled, double-posted, and can’t get the hang of html!!! ;-)
Having.A.Bad.Hair.Day!
I would like to second these assessments of Ensign. He has been a solid vote for cons. Heller has also been a solid vote.
Actually Sin knows no party line
As I recall, special elections for the House don't have primaries. So it's up to the political class - read Republican committee members or county chairs (in New York state) to pick the Republican nominee. This may be different in Nevada, but generally speaking, House special election are held fast, so it's very helpful if the Tea Party has joined the hierarchy.
And I'm sure you Nevada locals know whether Angle is electable, and who the best electable candidate is.
My thoughts too...just to see Reid’s reaction.
My thoughts too...just to see Reid’s reaction.
Nice. Your scenario much be implemented.
Nice. Your scenario MUST be implemented
I agree, we don't want Angle to be the replacement, she'd be a weak candidate to keep the seat in GOP hands, even as an (appointed) incumbent.
During last November's race when the Kirkbots were claiming we had to accept that it was "Brady's fault" he lost the IL Governor's race, I responded that I have no problem accepting blame when Republican nominees are likely to win but screw up and lose in an upset. But Brady's election wasn't an example of that, the numbers showing a wide lead held and he was on message, plus conservatives and independents didn't assume they could rest easily, but were energized and motiviated to turn out AGAINST Quinn. Massive Election fraud caused Brady to lose, not a "bad campaign"
Nevada's Senate race, on the other hand, IS an example of a Republican snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. All Republican candidates had a lead over Harry Reid when the election season started. It was Angle's to lose, and she lost it, through a poorly managed general election campaign where she kept shooting herself in the foot and turning off voters. If it had been any other Republican nominee, I think we would have ousted Reid. The tea party made a mistake in backing Angle over two other qualified conservatives. With her current track record, there's no way I want to see her appointed to a Senate seat when voters know she never wins on her own accord.
The question is, who's the best choice to replace Ensign? I think I'd probably prefer a caretaker Senator who won't run in November. After the stench of Mel Martinez in Florida, I think the seat warmer appointment is one thing that helped Rubio win the next time around. Martinez was out of the spotlight, George LeMieux was low key enough to not steal away attention from the GOP, but decent enough to wash away the voter discontent with the previous Republican Senator, and with LeMieux stepping down, it was an wide open field to replace him and that allowed Rubio to gain moment over the odious Charlie Crist. Had Crist tried to appoint a permanant replacement, we'd probably get stuck with another right-of-center go-along-get-along establishment Republican, such as Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
Thoughts?
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