KEEPING UP THE PRESSURE
Much to our critics' dismay, Liberty Watch boosts conservative messaging

Certain liberals in this town love to bray about Liberty Watch�s overall inability to contribute to GOP successes in the voting booth. These tax-happy cynics (who tend to be members of the local weekly paper media) are certainly not above taking vapid potshots at our little magazine, and me personally, for the defeats many of our endorsed candidates seem to have suffered in recent elections. But let me ask a question: If we�re so ineffective, why do they continue to write at length about our so-called failures? 

Because they know our message is compelling and spreading quickly � and not just among Republicans and Libertarians.

Evidence of the growing power of the hardcore conservative message Liberty Watch and our influential contributors � like activist Chuck Muth � lies everywhere. However, nowhere is our impact more visible than in the recent overthrow of three false Republican assemblypersons: Francis Allen, Robert Beers (no to be confused with the real Bob Beers, a State Senator) and John Marvel. Even Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter John L. Smith noted in his Aug. 15 column: �It�s not a stretch to say the efforts of Muth and GOP veteran George Harris to move the Republicans in the Legislature to the right have done more to help embattled Gov. Jim Gibbons than all the chief executive�s high-priced help mates combined.�

Our issues with Allen have been well-documented in Liberty Watch, but just to refresh your memory: Allen appeared twice on this magazine�s �Not List.� During her first session, at the age of 28, Allen had already garnered a reputation as a party girl amongst her conservative colleagues. Her scary relationship with Democratic Speaker Barbara Buckley concerned Republican leaders, who had hoped she would mature. That never happened. Instead, Allen made our �Not List� a second time for the 2007 legislative session, when she managed to tack her name onto a couple of pathetic bills � one increasing the age of mandatory life-preserver use on boats from 12 to 13 years of age, and another on a last-minute homeowners� association omnibus. And 2008? Don�t make us laugh, please. Ding-dong, the witch is dead.

Robert Beers, meanwhile, is yet another ethics-challenged Democrat. If you spend any time reading the Review-Journal, then you read about how I busted this clown for taking campaign contributions via his website during the June 27 special legislative session. I made a $10 donation just to make sure my eyes weren�t deceiving me, and then filed a complaint with the state Ethics Commission. It was only when the R-J broke the story that I began to understand how unlikely it would be for the fake Beers to win re-election. After all, the only two contributions he received during that special session came from the reporter and me. Thanks for the reimbursement, Robert! Next time you coast into political office using another well-known politician�s name, try not to break the law, OK?

John Marvel, meanwhile, is the northern Nevada Assemblyman who in 2003 switched his no vote to enable a record $833-million tax increase. Voters, especially in Washoe County, were none too pleased and eager to kick him out of office, and understandably so. Marvel broke the first rule of conservatism: Never, ever, under any circumstances, increase taxes. 

This is why Liberty Watch devotes so much space covering the message of people like Chuck Muth and the real Bob Beers (who happens to be featured in this month�s cover story), both principled, uncompromising conservatives who will never sell out to avoid conflict. It�s their message � it�s our message � which boosted to primary victors Richard McArthur, Jon Ozark and Don Gustavson.

So let the critics continue to criticize. We�ll do what we do best, which is spread a winning conservative message.