MINORITY REVOLUTION
Republicans in the Assembly have five solid plans of attack for the 2007 legislative session
BY CHUCK MUTH

Chuck Muth is president and CEO of Citizen Out reach. He is a professional political consultant. Find more about him and read more of his work at www.chuckmuth.com. Other stories by Chuck Muth

Like conservative congressional leaders pre-1994, Republicans in the Nevada State Assembly have become "comfortable in the minority," maintaining they "can work with the Democrats." 

But if you're comfortable being in the minority, all you're going to get is table scraps. On the chance that some conservative members of GOP Assembly caucus are not comfortable with their minority status and want to do something to change that situation, here are five suggestions for their consideration.

TAKE THE BUDGET TO TASC: Judges threw the Tax and Spending Control (TASC) initiative off the ballot this year, but Republicans in the Assembly can still turn that lemon into lemonade. What they should do is draft a resolution and have it signed by every one of their 15 members. It should say something like this: "Thousands of Nevada voters signed the TASC petition, and thousands more would have voted for it were not kicked off the ballot by the Supreme Court. Therefore, we the undersigned members of the Legislature pledge to the people of Nevada that we absolutely, positively will not vote for any budget increase in 2007 that exceeds the rate of inflation plus population growth."

The 15 members of the Republican Assembly Caucus should then forward that same resolution to all the Democrats in the Assembly for their signature. Then release the letter with all the signatures to the press and the public. 

One of two things will happen: Either minority Republicans in the Assembly will have successfully put a leash on the spending urge of the Democrat majority by getting at least a half-dozen conservative Democrats to sign onto the pledge, or Democrats in the majority will refuse to sign the pledge, giving Republicans in the minority a tailor-made issue of fiscal responsibility to run on in 2008.

OPERATION OFFSET: One of the key principles shared by the GOP congressional revolutionaries in the early '90s was the notion that any and all new spending had to be offset by corresponding cuts in existing spending. Without offsets, all new spending programs inevitably lead to new taxes. Whatever new spending the Democrats propose, the automatic Republican response should be: "Where's the offset?" Full-day kindergarten. Where's the offset? Alternative energy research. Where's the offset?

Maybe a new senior citizen center is a good idea. But you fund it by eliminating spending somewhere else in the budget where the money isn't being used wisely or isn't as important as the new project. Again, this puts Republicans on the side of fiscal responsibility, not just knee-jerk obstructionists.

SUNRISE, SUNSET: Not only should all new programs be offset by spending cuts elsewhere, but such programs should include a sunset clause so that the program automatically expires unless reauthorized. This would require future Legislatures to evaluate all government spending programs on a regular basis to ascertain whether or not the program is still "needed" and/or cost-effective. Again, it's a fiscally responsible thing to do. If Democrats won't include a sunset provision in a new spending bill, Republicans have a legitimate reason to vote against it.

BY THE GRACE OF: Offset and sunset provisions will help with all the new spending Democrats are going to pursue in 2007, but will do nothing to shrink current government spending and programs. So Assembly Republicans ought to borrow an oldie-but-goodie from late President Ronald Reagan: The Grace Commission.

In Reagan's first term, he created the Grace Commission as an outside, independent group dedicated to the sole purpose of recommending where federal government spending should be cut. They were charged with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse that was costing the taxpayers a fortune. The Grace Commission did come up with a ton of ways to save the government a ton of money, only to have its recommendations ignored by Democrats in Congress. Go figure. Assembly Republicans ought to propose a Nevada version of the Grace Commission.

HANDLING FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN: So how do Republicans in the minority of the Assembly vote against a sweet-sounding new program such as full-day kindergarten without paying an electoral price? First, they insist that in absolutely no way the program be inaugurated using any one-shot funds. A permanent new program should not and cannot be funded with the current budget surplus. Period. That would be reckless and fiscally irresponsible.

Second, they must require that the program's cost be offset (hello!) by a reduction or elimination of other state spending. Third, they require that the program be sunsetted so that it automatically expires at a specific time, unless a future Legislature reviews it, certifies that it's cost effective and extends it. And fourth, require that a significant school choice proposal, including vouchers, be included in the bill.

Again, if the Democrats won't be fiscally responsible and empower parents to choose what's in their children's best interest, let the Democrats pass their full-day kindergarten program 27-15 and then take the GOP's case to the electorate in 2008. This isn't being an obstructionist. It's being responsible. We'll soon see if Republicans take such a new path, or remain comfortable in their minority. Any bets? LW