Right wing left hook

Nevada is not typically a trendsetter for the political winds of change, but the 2013 legislative session may prove otherwise. It seems there is a seismic shift to the left occurring right before our eyes, as last session’s “no new taxes ever” Senate Republicans call for major increases in mining taxes.

To illustrate the enormity of this shift, check out the news release announcing their new position. Many political pundits observed the release might have been written by the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, commonly referred to on Twitter as the People’s Liberation Army of Nevada by self-proclaimed “Todd the Taxpayer.”

While the Republicans’ effort to entice the Democratic majority into creating an alternative ballot initiative to the margins tax proposal is probably destined to fail, they are absolutely right to support the passage of SJR 15 and return the design and mechanism of mining taxation to the Legislature. Last week’s proposal pierced the capital’s political bubble because it was so unexpected, especially since three of the six caucus members supporting this plan actually voted against SJR 15 in 2011.

The only thing that’s changed since then? Public opinion.

Other progressive bills are also gaining ground quickly, featured in hearings with minimal opposition. Legislation protecting transgender individuals, increasing transparency of lobbyists’ “gifts” to legislators, campaign finance reform, and even comprehensive universal sex education have not been roundly denounced by the Republicans this year with their usual thinly veiled sneer of contempt for progressives who promote these issues.

It even seems possible the bill to begin the process to remove the discriminatory prohibition of gay marriage from our state’s constitution may pass, as Nevada rushes to catch up to the rest of the country and reclaim our title of Marriage Capital of the West. Advocates are pushing the bill sponsors to go even further, by replacing the constitutional prohibition with a law to allow gay marriage in Nevada. The added benefit of significant economic reward through a boost to Nevada’s wedding chapel industry will undoubtedly help, but it still feels remarkable that the bill has such good chances.

The much-ballyhooed spirit of “bi-partisanship” in 2013 seems more like a realization on behalf of the Republicans that the electorate has shifted its views and is translating those opinions to the ballot. While national Republicans have responded ineffectively to demographic changes in age and race, Nevada Republicans who once voted instinctively against progressive ideals, reflexively denouncing Democrats as union lackeys and misguided bleeding hearts, now insist they were never really against these ideas. Either they were misunderstood or they just didn’t have all the information. You do have to admire their chameleon-like ability to become whatever they perceive the voters want them to be.

Maybe there’s an even simpler explanation: Republicans may be as tired of the Tea Party as the rest of us. Their children attend the same public schools as ours do after all, at least the kids who aren’t shuttled off to the imagined safety and superiority of private school. It’s also possible they sincerely want to stop the politics of obstruction and move Nevada forward.

Or is the House of Cards about to crumble, a la Kevin Spacey, as Republican leaders miscalculate and their caucuses end up bitter and divided, fighting among themselves via increasingly pointed press releases and Twitter bombs by their followers?

The real question is whether the Democrats seize the moment and maximize this sudden change of heart. Many fear they will turn timid, worried they might be falling into a clever trap. The next three months will tell the tale.

As nimble politicians rapidly adjust to the new reality of voters who have clearly shifted towards the left, long-time progressive Nevadans can afford a small smile of satisfaction. Change is coming.