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How to stay in the minority

Orrin J. H. Johnson
Orrin J. H. Johnson
Opinion
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Ford and Wheeler

So the Republican Assembly Caucus, already struggling with image problems among ethnic minorities in an increasingly diverse state, just chose to be led by a guy who once said he’d vote for slavery if his constituents wanted him to.

Can anyone tell me how this is the best choice to a) gain new Republican voters or b) achieve legislative policy goals? Let’s listen in on two new 18-year olds who are about to register to vote to find out:

“Hey man, I don’t know about those guys over there. They promise everything under the sun, but I think it’s too good to be true and then they want to tell me what to do all the time. And I’m pretty sure they swiped my credit card out of my wallet and are running up the balance to ‘give’ me stuff. What about the other guys?”

“Their state-level leader said he’d vote for slavery if enough people wanted him to.”

“Oooo Kaaaayyy… Being bossed around with ‘free’ stuff I gotta pay for later, it is.”

Newly minted Minority Leader Jim Wheeler means well enough, and generally votes in a way I agree with. But of every GOP member of the Assembly, how is the guy with this albatross hanging around his neck the best person to be the face of the caucus?

Let’s review what Assemblyman Jim Wheeler said four years ago, exactly:

“If that’s what they wanted, I’d have to hold my nose, I’d have to bite my tongue and they’d probably have to hold a gun to my head, but yeah, if that’s what the citizens of the, if that’s what the constituency wants that elected me, that’s what they elected me for. That’s what a republic is about. You elected a person for your district to do your wants and wishes, not the wants and wishes of a special interest, not his own wants and wishes, yours.”

No intellectually honest person actually thinks Wheeler was speaking in favor of slavery, or even racism. But then, intellectual honesty has never been in adequate supply in the world of political campaigning on the best of days, and most of the time it’s downright frowned upon by the consultant/Twitter/ad-maker class. Unfortunately, those image makers, honest and otherwise, matter too much in our social media world for politicians to be so careless with their words.

Besides – the way lawmakers use language directly affects us all. The statutes they propose, amend, and vote upon must be precisely crafted and considered to affect their policy purposes and avoid unintended consequences. A politician’s governing philosophy doesn’t matter a whit if he can’t competently turn those ideas into the law of the land. A politician’s care (or lack thereof) in communicating his ideas effectively – even informally at a political event – is a good predictor of success in actually governing.

But Wheeler’s real sin is in what he did say, which was essentially this: “I consider it my job to bend to the will of a mob, even if I know they’re asking me to do the wrong thing.” This attitude is the very antithesis of leadership. Wheeler’s supporters tout him as a “real conservative” as compared to his predecessor or the governor, but Wheeler’s words have more Lenin than Reagan to them.

Usually, when someone points out that the United States is a republic, not a democracy, they’re being obnoxiously pedantic. But here the distinction matters, because what Wheeler described is more or less the exact opposite of a republic. As the old saw goes, a democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on the dinner menu, while a republic is an armed sheep contesting the results.

I don’t need my politicians to have doctorates in American history, but I certainly demand they know the basics. From the Declaration of Independence to the entire Constitutional scheme, Wheeler badly misunderstands how – and why – the foundations of American governments at all levels are supposed to work. Republics protect fundamental human rights, no matter how popular oppressing this minority or that point of view might be at the moment. In republics, voters aren’t giving instructions to a mere messenger to the capital, but are hiring someone who can exercise judgment when faced with the unexpected. Discerning the “will of the people” in each policy decision is impossible, and so a representative of those people must have a moral and intellectual wisdom sufficient to make difficult decisions on their behalf.

I don’t think Jim Wheeler is a bad guy. I have no doubt he wants what’s best for Nevada. I hope that he is able to use his new position to achieve policy improvements and block bad ideas.

But back then, every other prominent Republican in the state rightly condemned what he said. Michael Roberson publicly said he should find another line of work. They were right then, as I fear we are soon to learn.

This isn’t “old news,” but an insight into his leadership and governing styles that still matters now. Wheeler’s elevation will work against the policy goals of conservatives and Republicans, making it harder to build popular support or make electoral inroads with newly emerging constituencies, or even to maintain coalitions within the party itself. His unfortunate words will be in every Democratic candidate’s campaign materials, fair or not, and Republican candidates will suffer for them. And his lack of understanding of his own claimed governing philosophy limits his ability to sell its benefits to others.

In the era of Donald Trump, the Republican Party has chosen to be a populist absurdity bereft of intellectual coherence, in which policy outcomes are merely incidental to its existence or desire to stay in power for power’s own sake. In this, it has become a pale shadow of the Democratic Party. Wheeler, I suppose, was simply ahead of his time. I’m not a fan of the new direction, nationally or locally.

If the GOP is to survive, thrive, and successfully use its political power to improve the lives and expand opportunities for all Nevadans, it must demand higher standards of its leaders than this.

Orrin Johnson has been writing and commenting on Nevada and national politics since 2007. He started with an independent blog, First Principles, and was a regular columnist for the Reno Gazette-Journal from 2015-2016. By day, he is a deputy district attorney for Carson City. His opinions here are his own. Follow him on Twitter @orrinjohnson, or contact him at [email protected].

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