Romney

Robert Leonard Reid’s “None of the Above!” a satirical song, dance, and comedy revue that lampoons the 2012 presidential election will be staged in Carson City by the Wild Horse Theater Company leading up to the election.

RENO – GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney told about 3,700 members of the National Guard Association of the United States here today that now is not the time to weaken the nation’s military.

On the 11^th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Romney said the return of the country’s troops from Iraq and the impending return of troops from Afghanistan in 2014 cannot be used as an excuse to impose devastating cuts on the Defense Department.

SPARKS – Fresh on the heels of another disappointing jobs report, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan held a brief rally here today, telling a crowd of 2,500 at a local small business that President Obama needs to be replaced to get the country back on track.

CARSON CITY – Democrats continued to outpace Republicans in their voter registration efforts in August, signing up 12,163 new voters to 5,042 for Republicans, the Secretary of State’s office reported today.

Registered nonpartisans increased by 6,575 during the same time period, also exceeding the registrations by the GOP.

CARSON CITY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today defended President Obama’s record of accomplishments in his first term, citing his preservation of the nation’s auto industry, the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a threat to America and his push to regulate the banking industry as examples of why he deserves a second term in office.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval had his moment in the national spotlight today at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, using his six minutes at the podium to talk of his humble beginnings and the need for change in the White House.

CARSON CITY – As GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval prepares to deliver remarks in Tampa at the Republican National Convention tomorrow, the three GOP members of Nevada’s Congressional delegation are staying close to home.

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, who is facing a tough election battle against Rep. Shelley Berkley, will still be following the convention from afar, however.

RENO – President Obama talked about his ongoing commitment to education in a visit to this battleground state today, his first official campaign event of the year in Northern Nevada but his third visit to the area in just the past few months.

Obama’s campaign stop, to be followed by another event tomorrow in Las Vegas, comes to the state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 12 percent.

CARSON CITY – It’s not just jobs and the economy but the future of Social Security and Medicare that concerns Nevadans aged 50 and older in this 2012 presidential election year, according to a new poll commissioned by the AARP and released today.

CARSON CITY – Nevada ranks 40^th among the states for the amount of energy consumed per person, according to the nonprofit website EnergyTrends.org.

The state rankings were released on Wednesday and show Nevadans consumed 239 million Btu per capita in 2010 compared to 303 Btu per capita in 2007.

RENO – Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney went on the attack against President Obama today in a speech to attendees of the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention here, criticizing him for national security leaks, weak foreign policy and a failure to seize on political opportunities in such countries as Iran.

Romney, speaking to the same group that Obama addressed on Monday, spent his 27-minute talk focusing on his foreign policy views and the need to maintain a strong military presence.

RENO – President Obama told members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars today that he has fulfilled the promises he made four years ago to make America safer, strengthen jobs programs for returning military personnel and fight homelessness, suicide and posttraumatic stress disorder among the nation’s veterans.

Dating back to Republican President Theodore Roosevelt (1904) he and every president since has toyed with some kind of a health care plan, but none have had the appetite to place their political careers on the line for it with the exception of President Barrack Obama.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today he needs a lot of questions answered before he can decide whether to expand Medicaid eligibility in Nevada, and that it could take several months to resolve all the uncertainties.

“There’s no specific time schedule,” he said. “I mean I understand right now we’ve had the Supreme Court decision. Everyone has been waiting for that. I think there are still people that are trying to interpret it.

CARSON CITY – Nevada officials are busy preparing cost and enrollment estimates so Gov. Brian Sandoval will have reliable information before deciding whether to expand Medicaid following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month upholding much of the Affordable Care Act.

LAS VEGAS — Six-hundred or so of the state’s Democratic party faithful this morning attended their annual state convention at the Bally’s Hotel conference center in Las Vegas. Five-hundred sixty-two delegates were credentialed but about two dozen vendors lined both sides of the room and guests were also welcomed.

CARSON CITY – Washoe County Republican and Democratic Party leaders may disagree on who the best choice is for president, but they agree on one point – Washoe is the “battleground” county in the battleground state that is Nevada.

Clark County is expected to go big for Democrats and President Obama, while Nevada’s rural counties are expected to go strong for Mitt Romney. But Washoe County, where Republicans lead in voter registration by 3,700, has gone for both parties in past elections.

CARSON CITY – Long-time Republican political consultant Sig Rogich said today the 2013 Nevada Legislature has to take a serious look at collective bargaining reforms so that situations like the impending layoff of hundreds of Clark County teachers can be avoided in the future.

CARSON CITY – While Mitt Romney and Barack Obama were campaigning elsewhere today, Nevada Democrats and Republicans took up the battle for the presidency on their behalf.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., held a telephone conference call to talk up Romney’s credentials as a “turnaround specialist” who will get the country back on track. He also criticized Obama for failing to get spending or the national deficit under control as he promised early on in his presidency.

RENO – President Barack Obama made a brief stopover here today, visiting with a couple who refinanced their home through a White House initiative helping underwater homeowners who have government-backed loans.

After meeting with Paul and Valerie Keller, Obama urged Congress to expand the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) to other mortgages as well.

Ron Paul supporters effectively crushed Mitt Romney backers at the state Republican Party Convention this weekend.Angered by the disasterous 2008 state convention which was arbitrarily shut down to...

SPARKS — An impassioned motion to revoke credentials for more than 300 delegates who arrived after the meeting began. Heated questions about the presence of guests and whether they were voting. An angry motion to remove the convention chairman. And that was just for starters.

More than 1,600 county delegates today gathered at the Nevada Republican Party convention in Sparks in a meeting that fluctuated between contentiousness and relative calm as the hours rolled on.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today that a recent deal announced with Amazon.com to collect sales taxes from on-line purchases in Nevada beginning in January 2014 is only the tip of the iceberg.

Reading over the coverage of the Supreme Court's oral arguments over the fate of ObamaCare, you might get the impression that the conservative-leaning court will strike this law down.

While those people on each side of the political divide will have their opinions about this, I, as a person whose profession is all about writing and words, am struck by how the future of this law seems hinged on the wording in the legislation.

The major argument against ObamaCare has to do with the requirement that everyone must buy health insurance, otherwise known as the individual mandate.

CARSON CITY – About 500 Republicans in the capital city participated in the First in the West GOP caucus today, hearing from candidate representatives and learning the rules as early returns suggested favorite Mitt Romney would win the contest handily.

Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich were battling for second place.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., the new representative for the 2^nd Congressional District, urged caucus goers to support the GOP nominee whoever it might be if they truly want change in Washington, DC.

To my Western friends: My man Newt Gingrich lost here in Florida but there was one demographic he carried and that is hard-core conservatives. If “taking America back” is high among your priorities please know that your counterparts in Florida decided that Newt is just the man to do it!

RENO – From a cheering crowd of several hundred at a brief but energetic Mitt Romney rally to a more subdued event for Rick Santorum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition to another well-attended rally for Ron Paul, it was a trifecta of presidential candidates in Reno ahead of the Saturday GOP caucus.

Romney got the balling rolling at the Grove, with an estimated 800 supporters packed inside and standing outside the event center in South Reno. Romney spoke briefly to those standing outside before giving a short but enthusiastic speech to those crowded inside.

RENO – Former Sparks resident and George W. Bush presidential adviser Karl Rove predicted today the both houses of Congress will go Republican in the November general election, but said the presidential election is up in the air even with President Barack Obama’s low approval ratings.

RENO – Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich told a cheering crowd here today that he is the only GOP candidate with the knowledge and experience to get the U.S. back on track after what will be four years of failed policies by President Barack Obama.

Gingrich, a former speaker of the House, is in Nevada ahead of Saturday’s First in the West Republican caucus.

CARSON CITY – Nevada state Republican Party officials today announced they expect all the major GOP candidates will visit the state ahead of the Feb. 4 first in the West caucus.

The Nevada GOP is also introducing social media into the process, using the Google and Twitter platforms to report the caucus results beginning about 5 p.m. that day from 16 of the state’s 17 counties.