The Nevada Senate blues

So in all the hype of the Obama election, Nevada went blue. And I mean blue. Republicans lost the majority in the Nevada Senate. Democrats increased their majority in the Assembly—they now have a veto-proof majority. It appears few voters realize how badly they hurt their state in all of their excitement over the presidential election.

There was such a great need to “change” the country that Nevadans stopped thinking about the situation in their own backyard. Nevada is suffering more than most states in this country. Foreclosures are higher than ever, and with the budget cuts, higher education is struggling. Basically, our economy is in the dumps.

And yet voters in the state of Nevada decided to take the control of the Senate away from the Republicans. It’s now 12 Democrats to 9 Republicans. Blind voting, if you ask me. Republicans have had the majority in the Nevada State Senate since 1991. The Senate leadership knew what it was doing, but instead of thinking of this, voters decided to change it. The Senate’s leadership experience is lost.

Bad move. Really bad move. In the critical financial situation we are in, this kind of drastic change is the last thing Nevada needed.

What this state needed was experience. And that they no longer have. People just jumped on party lines and went along for the ride. Now we all must suffer the consequences. Instead of having strong leadership at the head of our committees, we will have Democratic senators with less experience. It’s a sad thing for Nevada.

Going from one extreme to the next is a shock to the governmental system, and it may cause more problems than it’s worth.

This election has pushed politicians such as senators William Raggio, Randolph Townsend and Maurice Washington into the minority so they can’t help the state in the manner they have been able to in the past. Each of these senators has experience and knowledge, which could have helped push Nevada up and out of this mess.

Voters were too busy promoting change across the board, but in the state races, they forgot our foundation and what it needs. We need strong politicians who will stand up for what we need to solve these major problems. These senators are not doing this as a career, they are doing this because they care about this state and what is best for Nevada. We have a non-professional legislature, so careerism is not the issue.

Some would say that as Republicans they do not have the state’s best interest at heart. Before you call these people self-interested, look at the education building at the University of Nevada, Reno. Whose name is on that building? That would be Sen. Raggio’s name. The Republicans in office have helped this community in many ways, and they had the experience as leaders of the legislature to continue to help Nevada. But now as the minority, they can no longer take the lead.

In my opinion, voting a Democratic majority into the Nevada Senate was a mistake. In doing this, the community has only promoted inexperience and failure.