Jon Ralston

Why no principled conservative would seriously contend that Palin belongs on the ticket: By Jon Ralston; After all the post-debate chatter about Sarah Palin’s resurrection (I bet a lot of folks were saying “Jesus” during her performance) and about her potential 2012 presidential candidacy (paging Mitt Romney & Co.), the real story of last week’s encounter was that the true elitists were revealed.

Junk mail — from candidates: By Jon Ralston; It’s hard to keep track of all the awful offal filling mailboxes these days, but I cannot ignore some that arrived this week in mine, which happens to be at the center of the Nevada political universe this cycle.

Speaker Buckley’s earnestness: By Jon Ralston; Only 100 or so people showed up, and at least a fifth were lobbyists or Democratic legislators hoping to curry favor with the speaker.

Why the punditocracy can’t be trusted to provide meaningful analysis of debate: By Jon Ralston; In this swing state, on the most swinging streets in the world, national pollster Frank Luntz told Fox News on Friday night what turned out to be the survey consensus after the debate:

You won’t believe what the Democrats are up to: By Jon Ralston; I was privileged recently to have been invited to a supersecret meeting convened this week by Democratic strategists hoping to engineer the takeover of the state Senate. I secretly recorded the session, which was held in a conference room in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office:

Nevada still polling as toss up state: By Jon Ralston; With 75,000 more Democrats than Republicans, with the GOP brand the wrong kind of red (etched in scarlet letters) this year and with the state Democratic Party-Barack Obama organization as potent as any this state has seen, a question lingers: Why is Nevada still polling as — and considered by the pundits as — a tossup state in the presidential race?

Why it's time to remove Gibbons from office: By Jon Ralston; It is somewhat disturbing, albeit not entirely unexpected, that the governor’s reaction to the unemployment numbers contains an implicit lie — no one is calling for new taxes.

A call from Bruce Woodbury: By Jon Ralston; Bruce Woodbury called me Thursday. I would be honored, except the venerable county commissioner called hundreds of people and said the same thing:

The silliness season has started early: By Jon Ralston; In campaigns, the line between the overused and rendered-meaningless phrase “negative campaigning” and legitimate criticism of records or statements is as thin as Sarah Palin’s resume to be vice president or Barack Obama’s curriculum vitae to be president.

Political mythology often trumps reality: By Jon Ralston; I have covered a few political myths in my time.

Jon Ralston takes Porter, Titus to task for their inaccurate point-counterpoints: By Jon Ralston; I thought Dina Titus was running against Jon Porter. But it turns out she is again running against Jim Gibson.

Gibbons shares his secrets: By Jon Ralston; News item: Gov. Jim Gibbons will host the 2008 Seminar for New Governors in late November. The seminar “helps governors-elect prepare for life as their state’s chief executive,” the National Governors Association announced. Gibbons says he found the 2006 version “to be an invaluable experience.”

Imagine what’s said when the cameras are off: By Jon Ralston; With candor taking a holiday the past fortnight — and likely to stay on an extended vacation during the next 60 days — I thought I’d share a frank discussion I overheard the other night in the Straight Talk/Change We Can Believe In bar between a pair of Nevada political operatives, one a Democrat (DO) and one a Republican (RO), granted anonymity lest the dissonance between their spin and reality be revealed:

How Palin’s speech divides America: By Jon Ralston; I have a confession as I slink out of the ivory tower, outed as I was this week by the stirring hockey mom: I am a media elitist.

GOP enthusiasm and Democratic tiptoeing: By Jon Ralston; Politics, for the most part, is the art of illusion. And nowhere is that talent for prestidigitation so valued as during a presidential race, where a state senator four years removed is seen as not just presidential timber but almost godlike by his acolytes, and where an unknown governor of a far-removed state who has barely interacted with the standard-bearer is considered fit to be the proverbial heartbeat away.

Blog: Ralston's Flash

The battle to save Beers begins (6 Comments): The Committee to Improve Nevada's Economy and Education System -- no it's not a Jim Rogers group! -- has begun a rebuttal to all the ...; 12 hours, 26 minutes ago

Jim Rogers loves Jim Gibbons! (5 Comments): If you don't believe me, read the letter at right.; 3 days, 12 hours ago

Updates from executive producer Dana Gentry

High Court Debate: It only took me a few election cycles producing Face to Face to realize that many political candidates are woefully unprepared for the office to ...; 4 days, 12 hours ago

Feds, D.A. rebuffed HOA members (2 Comments): The woman who brought her suspicions about collusion on her homeowners association board to the attention of the FBI says she didn't get far. Wanda ...; 7 days, 12 hours ago