The Word From Vegas August 15, 2022August 14, 2022 From the editors of the Las Vegas Sun (thanks, Andy R.): No one knows better than Nevadans when it’s time to put our cards on the table. The Editorial Board, and Nevadans as a whole, are facing an agonizing problem. We have endorsed Republicans in the past and might do so again in the future. Yet as we survey the field of Republican candidates across the state, we are struggling to identify those who are not an active threat to American democracy . . . . . . Of the five leading Republican candidates for the governorship of Nevada, every one of them has gone on record as both supporting and contributing to the Big Lie. In doing so, they have all made a choice to subvert our democracy, undermine the integrity of our elections, and ignore the Constitution of the United States. Will GOP leaders stand up for the rule of law and free and fair elections by rejecting autocracy and lies? Or will they continue to debase themselves and their formerly great party by kneeling to their unhinged demigod, Donald Trump, and his dreams of authoritarianism. We pray this type of anti-democratic leadership does not represent the entirety of those candidates seeking office under the Republican banner in the Silver State. After all, this is the state that just seven years ago found common ground and reelected Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval with a staggering 70.5% of the vote. Sandoval proved to be a fair, effective and honorable governor. And had the party not lurched into insanity, he would be considered a compelling GOP candidate for president in 2024. In today’s GOP, he wouldn’t stand a chance because honor and fairness doesn’t win primaries in the GOP anymore. . . . We yearn for a dignified, honest and pro-democracy Republican leadership. We yearn for the Republicans of years past. Patriots, not insurrectionists. So please, if you are such a Republican and are running for office, stand proud and reach out to us. We want to present a list of heroes trying to rescue their party from the madness afflicting it. Worth reading, and sharing, in full. That was, basically, “What’s wrong with the Republican Party.” Here, now, basically, “What’s right with the Democratic Party.” From the Miami Herald: President Biden and the Democrats have come through for working-class Americans Opinion By FDP Chair Manny Diaz . . . Biden’s presidency opened to seemingly insurmountable obstacles — a pandemic infecting 185,000 and killing 3,300 Americans each day . . . almost 10 million jobs lost in 2020 . . . razor-thin margins in the House, an evenly divided Senate, and a Republican opposition so extreme it attempted a coup. Despite these headwinds, Biden and Democrats in Congress have delivered on their promises to the American people. They passed an American Recovery Act that helped administer 300 million vaccines in his first 150 days; Americans went back to work in record numbers . . . They passed a . . . once-in-a-generation investment in roads, bridges, rail, clean water, lead-pipe replacement, and high-speed internet, which will add more than 1 million jobs per year for the next 10 years. They passed the CHIPS Act, another generational law that invests in America by supercharging our efforts to make semi-conductors in America, and creates a more secure economy . . . [And now they have passed] the Inflation Reduction Act . . . [giving] Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices and cap out-of-pocket expenses. . . [cutting] carbon emissions by 40% from 2005 levels by 2030 making [giant] corporations pay [at least 15%] in taxes, something Republicans have long opposed. . . . . . . After enduring an administration defined by chaos and extremism, Biden and party majorities in Congress have governed like common sense, get-things-done Democrats who are fighting and delivering for the American people. Also worth reading, and sharing, in full. Have a great week!