Free Republic

An iconic retail store in San Francisco may close its doors after 160 years after its CEO warned the deteriorating conditions are making the city “unlivable.” San Francisco retailer Gumps CEO John Chachas told the host of the Fox program “The Story with Martha MacCallum” that high crime and rampant public drug is out of hand. “It’s a sad state of affairs,” Mr. Challas told MacCallum. “I spoke to a customer today who’s come to us for 50 consecutive Christmases and who won’t come back because the city is in a difficult and awfully dirty condition.” Gumps’ CEO said conditions...

snippet That meddling is about to get even more intense as the Tea Party Express buys two hours next week on the top-rated AM talk station in Las Vegas to promote and fund raise for Angle. The Tea Party Express "basically told us to go to hell," said Nevada tea party activist Debbie Landis of Reno, whose group, Action Is Brewing, has about 7,000 members on its e-mail list. "They told us, 'Listen, this is none of your business. This has nothing to do with Nevada, this is the Tea Party Express.' In my view, that's not how grassroots is...

Sue Lowden has touted her career as a businesswoman on the campaign trail, mocking Sen. Harry Reid for having spent scant years in the private sector. The former state senator and Republican Party chairwoman, who hopes to be her party’s nominee against Reid, has been described by national political reporters as a wealthy casino owner worth $50 million or more. Her story — she came from nothing — is one of uplift and socioeconomic mobility. For Republican audiences fond of the free market, it’s an appealing message: A hardworking entrepreneur who has to meet payroll and so will keep intrusive...

It was 2007, and the Southwest was in the grips of speculative fever. The land frenzy was particularly acute in Las Vegas, where major casino companies were in the middle of ambitious expansions, feeding the demand for housing and driving prices skyward. Danny Tarkanian, now a leading Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, was looking to share in the good times. With the development industry booming, a friend and partner in Tarkanian’s real estate firm approached him about an investment opportunity: Dignitary Downs, an “equestrian destination resort” in Anza, Calif., complete with a 200-room hotel, restaurant and jockey school, all on...

By now it’s become a disturbingly familiar pattern for conservatives: A candidate who seems promising at first glance wins a Republican primary, and then suddenly the press — often fed by a Democratic rival’s opposition-research team — begins looking in-depth at every controversial and regrettable statement and act that candidate ever made. Just days after it’s too late to change the nominee, the choice of GOP primary voters appears to be an egregious mistake. The most recent, and perhaps most extreme, example of this phenomenon is Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul. Overnight, Paul changed from a soft-spoken, genially libertarian version...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) accused Republicans Wednesday of “making love to Wall Street.” Reid charged that Republicans are stalling action on a Wall Street reform bill because “they are having difficulty determining how they’re going to continue making love to Wall Street” by resisting banking regulation. The sweeping Wall Street reform bill had stalled on the Senate floor because of a partisan disagreement over how to handle amendments, though shortly after Reid’s comments, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) announced a breakthrough in negotiations. The deal Dodd struck with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the ranking member on...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is down in the polls and fighting for re-election, so he's lucky to have a wealthy, new benefactor in his corner. The unions? The greens? Try the drug industry. A new TV ad is up in Mr. Reid's home state praising the Democrat for creating "good Nevada jobs," expanding "clean energy" and providing "tax credits for small business." Moreover, "thanks to Harry Reid's leadership, if you change or lose your job, you can keep your health care coverage." The ad encourages viewers to call Mr. Reid's office, where no doubt they will be routed to...

As unemployment numbers in Nevada soar, and Sen. Harry Reid's approval ratings sink, the Senate majority leader is running out of options to market his government-run health care scheme. Reid knows his new health care entitlement plan is so unpopular in Nevada that he and his liberal allies attacked me for revealing at a town hall meeting that many patients and doctors in our state have bartered, bargained and negotiated for their health care services at reduced costs. Bartering, chickens and goats: these three words have put me at the epicenter of talk shows, late night TV and political commentary....

A late twist has been the reaction of Nevada Republicans to the draconian Arizona legislation requiring law-enforcement officials to demand proof of citizenship from people who raise “reasonable suspicion” that they are in the country illegally. Sandoval, who is Latino, immediately endorsed the Arizona law, indicating where he thinks his own political bread is buttered. Gibbons took a different tack, arguing that Nevada’s non-border location makes such tactics unnecessary. The third major candidate, former North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon, who is trying to undercut Gibbons from the right, drew cheers during a recent candidates' debate for taking the following...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s support remains frozen again this month around 40%, while two of his chief Republican opponents continue to draw over 50% of the vote in Nevada’s U.S. Senate race. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Nevada shows Reid earning 39% to 41% support, depending on his opponent, well below the 50% safe mark for incumbents. His numbers are virtually identical to findings in the previous survey earlier this month and in line with surveys since last fall when his support began trending down. Reid, who is seeking a fifth term in the...

An important candidate's forum is taking place this Friday, April 23rd - organized by the good people at Action Is Brewing.The complete details follow below - admission is $15 at the door: April 23rd: Candidate Forum, Debate, and Reception / Reno What:  Conservative Nevada Candidates for Governor and US SenateWhere: The Grove at South Creek, 95 Foothill Road, Reno, NV 89511When: April 23rd, 6-9pm. Ticket purchase begins at 4:00pm, Doors open at 5:00pm.Cost: Earlybird Registration is CLOSED / Admission is $15 at the door, $0 for candidates.Send inquiries to event@angerisbrewing.com or call Debbie at 775-530-2694This is the most comprehensive...

Click here to watch the videoTalk on Nevada host Andy Matthews interviews Geoffrey Lawrence, NPRI's fiscal policy analyst, on Nevada's budget situation. Geoffrey is the author of Nevada's Freedom Budget: 2009-2011, which would fund priorities, eliminate waste and save Nevada over $1.7 billion compared to the legislature's budget. Andy and Geoffrey also talk about legislature's proposed job-killing, record-setting, billion dollar tax increase,

A New York banker with roots in Ely is exploring a run against U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. John Chachas, a managing director of Lazard Ltd., has been talking to Republican Party bigwigs in Nevada and Washington who are anxious to find a credible challenger to the Senate majority leader, sources said this week. Chachas declined to comment Thursday on the speculation about his potential candidacy. Chachas' interest in the race is said to be active but preliminary: He feels strongly that Reid could be felled by a strong opponent and would be willing to step into that role if no...