Subject: Emergency Appeal
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008 6:49 PM
From: Nevada Republican Party <info@nevadagop.org>
To: Nevada Republicans <info@nevadagop.org>
Conversation: Emergency Appeal

 
       EMERGENCY APPEAL   WARNING: SEVEN SIGNS OF THE POLITICAL APOCOLYPSE APPEAR IN NEVADA!      
     Dear Fellow Republican,   First.  No excuses.  No spin.  No Òlipstick on a pig.Ó  We lost.  Big time.  Nevada went Òblue.Ó   Media bias.  ACORN.  Harry Reid.  Organized labor.  ÒThe Obama Effect.Ó  Third parties.  It doesnÕt matter.  We lost.  We can either fix blameÉor we can fix the problems.   We can either quit.  Or fight on.    
 
 
I choose to fight.  I hope youÕll join me.  You can by volunteering here <http://www.nevadagop.org/Secure/VolunteerSignUp.aspx>  or donating here <https://www.fundraisingbynet.net/fbn/ContributePac.asp?guidRegistration=5D575E58> .
 
 
 
Because just like in sports, thereÕs always a next season (except when the players union goes on strike).  And I suspect Obama and the Democrats Ð like the Clintons before them Ð are going to over-reach and move too far Left too fastÉand the country will be ready to give Republicans another shot.
 
 
 
Our motto should be: ÒRed Again in 2010.Ó
 
 
 
But itÕll only happen if over the next two years we get our ÒstuffÓ together, find our collective Òinner ReagansÓ and return to the limited-government conservative principles this nation was founded upon.
 
 
 
We tried Òbig government Republicanism.Ó
 
 
 
It failed miserably.
 
 
 
We Republicans need to get our ÒgrooveÓ back, learn the ÒrightÓ lessons from 2008, and be prepared to earn back the trust of the voters at both the state and national levels.
 
 
 
And we need to do it by proudly running on what we believe, not running away from it.  We wonÕt win by being ÒDemocrat Lite.Ó  And we wonÕt win running down the middle of the political road.  As former House Majority Leader Dick Armey notes, the only thing you find in the middle of the road is a yellow stripe and dead armadillos.
 
 
 
Seriously, though. What good is the GOP to the citizens of Nevada if all weÕre going to do is raise taxes a little less than Democrats or expand government a little slower than Democrats?
 
 
 
Are you with me?
 
 
 
I hope so.  Because for the next two years Nevada will be living under what might best be referred to as ÒThe Seven Signs of the Political Apocalypse.Ó
 
 
 
1.)   Democrat President Barack Obama
 
2.)   Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
 
3.)   Democrat Congresswoman Dina Titus
 
4.)   Democrat Congresswoman Shelley Berkley
 
5.)   Democrat State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford
 
6.)   Democrat State Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley
 
7.)   An all-Democrat Clark County Commission
 
 
 
Folks, weÕre in for a world of hurt!
 
 
 
All of these folks are pre-disposed to raise taxes.  ItÕs hard-wired into their system.  However..
 
 
 
Voters in the election also spoke on this issue.  Loudly.  Clearly.  ÒNo new taxes.Ó
 
 
 
Make no mistake.  Nevadans do not want their taxes raisedÉperiod.  No way.  No how.  Consider the followingÉ
 
 
 
Question 4 on the statewide ballot asked Nevada voters if they wanted to allow the Legislature to change the ÒSales & Use Tax ActÓ without a vote of the people - which many rightly saw as a first step toward taxing the Internet.  It was crushed, 73 percent to 27 percent.
 
 
 
Question 1 on the Carson City ballot asked for a mere 1/8th of 1 percent hike in the sales tax for a tourist railroad project billed by proponents as critical for economic development.  It was crushed by 61 percent to 39 percent.
 
 
 
Question 2 on the Carson City ballot asked for a property tax hike for cops and firefighters.  It was crushed worse than the V&T railroad question Ð 69 percent to 31 percent.
 
 
 
Question 1 in Washoe County would have raised sales and vehicle taxes for the public school district.  It was crushed 55 percent to 45 percent.
 
 
 
Question 2 in Washoe County would have raised the sales tax a mere 1/8th of 1 percent for public transportation.  It was crushed 64 percent to 36 percent.
 
 
 
Question 4 in Washoe County would have raised property taxes for fire protection.  It lost 52 percent to 48 percent.
 
 
 
And get this: In a recent poll, 2/3 of Clark County residents said theyÕd rather accept money from the federal government in exchange for Yucca Mountain than have their taxes raised!
 
 
 
This isnÕt just a Nevada phenomenon.  Voters across the country Òjust said noÓ to tax hikes in the election.  Consider this recap from Steven Moore of Political DiaryÉ
 
 
 
ÒArizonans voted to ban transfer taxes on property sales by 77% to 23%. Maine voters repealed an alcohol and soda pop tax by 64% to 36%. Coloradoans rejected a teensy 0.2 percentage point sales tax hike to benefit the disabled by 63% to 37%. Floridians defeated a measure that would have allowed localities to propose new sales taxes to benefit community colleges by 57% to 43%. 
 
 
 
ÒThe left's latest crusade to impose Ôfat taxesÕ on McDonalds and other fast food purchases was clobbered in localities in North Carolina and Virginia, even as these voters helped elect Barack Obama. Finally, one of the biggest successes for anti-tax activists was defeating an amendment to gut the spending limits in Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, despite huge money spent by the spending constituencies.Ó
 
 
 
So the road to recovery and redemption starts with Republicans re-committing themselves to the historical glue which holds our various right ÒwingsÓ together: Opposition to tax hikes.  That issue transcends party affiliation and puts us on the side of voters.
 
 
 
Opposing tax hikes is a conservative issue.  And itÕs a ballot box winner. Republican elected officials abandon this issue at our own peril.
 
 
 
But itÕs not responsible to just say ÒnoÓ to tax hikes and yet continue to vote for bigger and bigger budgets.  Republicans need to learn to say ÒnoÓ to non-essential government spending, as well.  Because as Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) says, ÒOnce created, government programs are nearly impossible to eliminate.Ó
 
 
 
The debate, of course, is over what is ÒessentialÓ and what isnÕt.
 
 
 
Throwing criminals in jail is an essential, legitimate government function.
 
 
 
The Nevada Arts Council is not!
 
 
 
Everyone seems to have forgotten how we got into the current budget mess to start with.  As the Las Vegas Review Journal reported in June 2005, ÒBetween 1994 and 2005, state spending increased by 147.5 percent.Ó  The paper further noted that Òno state budget is growing faster than NevadaÕs.Ó
 
 
 
The Left Ð and some big government Republicans - claim this out-of-control spending splurge was necessary to keep up with the stateÕs growth.  However, as the RJ pointed out, had legislators limited spending increases to the rate of population growth plus inflation, the budget over that period of time would have grown by only 93 percent.
 
 
 
Fellow Republicans, make no mistake.  This issue of taxes-and-spending will be THE issue of the upcoming legislative session.
 
 
 
The pressure to raise taxes will be enormous.  On the other hand, the appetite to cut government to its bare essentials will be virtually non-existent.
 
 
 
Yes, Republicans lost big in the elections this year.  But it was due, in large part, to our failure to stick with our limited-government principles on taxes and spending.  WeÕre about to get another chance, because the next fight is right around the corner.
 
 
 
As this letter goes to print, Gov. Gibbons is mulling another Special Session of the Legislature to deal with the budget crunch.
 
 
 
And the regular session Ð with Democrat majorities in both the state Senate and Assembly Ð will convene in less than three months.  Ominously, IÕm told there may be as many as two dozen tax hike bills already being drafted by the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
 
 
 
Now, more than ever, itÕs critically important for the Republican Party to stand up for NevadaÕs citizens against higher taxes and non-essential government spending.  To do thatÉ
 
 
 
I need your help <https://www.fundraisingbynet.net/fbn/ContributePac.asp?guidRegistration=5D575E58> !
 
 
 
I know youÕre feeling dejected with the election results.  Believe me, youÕre not alone.
 
 
 
And I know times are tight financially for every American family.
 
 
 
But we Republicans have an important choice to make: Do we give up and let President-elect ObamaÕs socialist-Democrats win?  Or do we pick ourselves up and fight them with everything weÕve got?
 
 
 
I know that conservative Republicans - being the free-thinkers we inherently are - donÕt always agree on every issue.  And I know in the last election cycle we werenÕt as unified as we should have been.  Mistakes were made. Things were said.
 
 
 
I take full responsibility for that - and promise to work faithfully to bring us back together and repair any damage in the months ahead.
 
 
 
But first things first.
 
 
 
We spent every last dime we had on the 2008 elections.  Mother HubbardÕs cupboard is bare.
 
 
 
So IÕm asking you to send an emergency donation <https://www.fundraisingbynet.net/fbn/ContributePac.asp?guidRegistration=5D575E58>  to the Nevada Republican Party today so that we can continue to be fully engaged as the stateÕs new Battle of the Budget commences.  
 
 
 
Whatever you can spare.  $500É$100É$50É$25.  Even $10 will go a long way.
 
 
 
Just click HERE <https://www.fundraisingbynet.net/fbn/ContributePac.asp?guidRegistration=5D575E58>  to make your secure, online donation
 
 
 
Or mail your check made out to:
 
 
 
Nevada Republican Party
 
8625, W Sahara Avenue 
 
Las Vegas, NV 89117
 
 
 
As I look at the Òspread the wealthÓ socialism Barack Obama, Harry Reid and the Democrats have in mind for our nation and our state, I canÕt help but recall the immortal words of Thomas Paine:
 
 
 
ÒThese are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.Ó
 
 
 
Will you stand with me now - as you have in the past?  Together, united in common cause, even in the minority, we can beat back the growing tide of socialism at our door.
 
 
 
And maybe, just maybe, Republicans can earn back the trust and support of voters in 2010.
 
 
 
Sincerely yours,
 
 
 
 
 
Sue Lowden
 
Chairman
 
 
 
P.S. Since weÕre in the unique American season of giving thanks, please allow me to thank you for your generous past support of our efforts!  And thank you for whatever support you can give us again today.  May God bless you and your family this Christmas holiday season.