It was not a ‘soiree,’ it was a lunch with libertarians and the governor’s office

Properly Subversive/Sherman R. Frederick

I want to tell you that I sat in on an intimate soiree with Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo’s Chief of Staff Ben Kieckhefer for a Q&A on the state of the state.

But as a young writer I had an editor once who jumped down my throat for incorrectly using the word “soiree.” 

“Are you French, Frederick,” she said?

No, English, mainly. 

“Was this event an evening party?”

No, it was a luncheon. 

“Then stop using foreign words and, if you do, at least use them correctly. A ‘soiree’ is a French word that means an event held in the evening, usually in a party setting.”

‘Oui?’” she asked.

“Oui, madame,” I said.

That exchange stuck with me. So, I won’t say “soiree.” 

Instead, I’ll say that I sat in an invite-only lunch hosted by the Nevada Policy (a libertarian think tank and advocacy group) to talk with Kieckhefer. It was a meaty session filled with inside-baseball budget stuff. The overarching message from Kieckhefer came down to this: Thank your lucky stars for Gov. Lombardo because he is the only big check that keeps the Legislature in balance. 

Lombardo is a Republican and the Legislature is Democrat. The Assembly is so lopsided with Democrat officeholders that it has a supermajority, meaning it can override a veto. The Senate, however, is one Democrat senator away from having a supermajority.  

So, as Kieckhefer sees it, the next election is critical if Nevadans are to maintain some kind of meaningful check on state government. Of course, we should add that Democrats see it differently. One more Democratic senator and Nevada will have finally achieved public employee nirvana (a word in Buddhism referring to the end of the cycle of suffering.)

So, what was the biggest take-a-way from the last legislative session, the chief of staff was asked.

The “political divide” between Nevadans during the session was “much stronger than what I hoped.” He said the opposition’s “primary objective” was to give the governor no legislative wins. 

“We still got about 70 percent of what we wanted,” but it was “disappointing we could not  find more middle ground.”

The next election will be “incredibly important,” Kieckhefer told the group. Sales tax revenue collection is off the charts of late (primarily due to inflation), so Democrats will gravitate to spending more while the governor will lean toward tax cuts. Rent control is also going back on the table. The Democrats “just won’t let that go.”

It wouldn’t be a libertarian event if there wasn’t a sharp question on the public assistance the governor supports to bring the Oakland A’s alleged baseball team to Las Vegas. 

“Why?”, the questioner boomed out. 

Long pause, then this: Because it “brings value” to the Nevada economy. 

Not the most satisfactory answer for a room full of Reason Magazine reading, die-hard libertarians. But good enough for this hot August soiree. 

Scratch that. 

Afternoon luncheon.

TOO WOKE

We live in interesting times. Queen dropped its popular song “Fat Bottomed Girls” from its greatest hits collection in what the Daily Mail newspaper says is to avoid criticism from America’s modern woke cancel culture. The hard-rocking tribute to a young man’s appreciation of fuller-figured ladies was written in 1978, the newspaper reports.

BURNING MAN

Nevada’s Burning Man festival near Gerlach begins this weekend and according to news reports tickets are re-selling at a steep discount. A normal ticket costs $575 but resellers are offering them for $139. 

I wouldn’t buy a ticket if they were selling for $1.39. But if you go, let me know how it was. 

ONE MORE THING

– Even wearing socks and shoes, a bear still has bear feet.

– School dress code update: Students may not wear a band’s shirt unless they can name three songs sung by the band.

– Always give 100% at work: Monday, 12%; Tuesday, 23%; Wednesday, 40%; Thursday, 20% and Friday, 5%. 

Thanks for reading this honest-to-goodness, real Nevada newspaper (not many still exist). Until next week, avoid knuckleheads, laugh a little and always question authority.

“Properly Subversive” is commentary written by Sherman R. Frederick, a Nevada Hall of Fame journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the enhancement and preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.

This column appeared in the Ely Times and other Battle Born Media newspapers in Nevada.