As if beleaguered citizens of the Silver State didn’t have enough challenges in their daily life, the Nevada Republican Party is floating the daffy idea of creating a “Coyote Compound” in a political paean to Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz.” All in the name of border security, of course.

“The crisis at the border isn’t just a border state problem anymore, it’s a national emergency, and Nevada needs to be part of the solution,” a party email requesting members’ opinions warns.

It’s a challenge to keep up with President Donald Trump’s brushfire administration, one in which audacious distraction is part of an authoritarian marketing plan. But the construction of Florida’s constitutionally corrupt Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center has certainly managed to capture the public’s attention. It’s such a topic of conversation that doesn’t include the words “Jeffrey Epstein” and “soaring deficits” that Florida Gov. Rick DeSantis has announced a second facility nicknamed the “Deportation Depot.”

The profits being scored by private prison corporations that enjoy Trump’s good graces have made fewer headlines. But they’re no secret. In fact, CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger couldn’t help crowing about it in a recent earnings call.

“Our business is perfectly aligned with the demands of this moment,” he said. “We are in an unprecedented environment with rapid increases in federal detention populations nationwide and a continuing need for solutions.”

With that in mind, let’s see what the coming months bring in Nevada. Recent news reports about high overtime costs inside the state’s prison system are sure to provide fodder for its critics. Informed sources report a substantive uptick in inmate violence that some are blaming on insufficient officer staffing.

It’s an issue law-enforcement Gov. Joe Lombardo should understand — as Clark County sheriff, he was in charge of the detention center — and find room on his busy calendar to address.

Because if there’s an actual call for a Coyote Compound, as dumb an idea as it is, Nevadans will have to be sold on it. In Florida, the bidding process for the detention facility was bypassed in the name of an “emergency” with state contractors winning approval.

The continuing vilification of undocumented immigrants surely plays to the Republican base. When all else fails and Epstein’s ghost haunts your dreams, you can always blame the brown stranger.

I’d argue that all the talk about the Nevada GOP’s Coyote Compound proposal is having the same effect on a segment of the public. It’s an attempt to distract from daily reports about our sagging tourism economy as the state continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the nation.

The trouble is you can’t reasonably blame the brown stranger for the fiscal ills that hamstring the state. The drop in international tourism in Las Vegas has also made the news. It’s directly related to Trump’s obsession with tariffs and abusive bullying of some of America’s longtime allies. That’s especially true of the Canadian market, which continues to bottom out. Gaming industry bosses initially were slow to admit that the man many of them contributed millions to had done something so damaging to their businesses. But that nodding silence has begun to change.

Who knows, maybe the sharp decline in passenger traffic through Harry Reid International Airport got their attention. They can’t blame it on undocumented immigrants. And Nevada’s service workers, who rely on tip income to make ends meet, will have to find another scapegoat as well.

Nevada’s economic woes are real, but they’re certainly nothing to build a new prison over.

That’s the biggest problem with the state GOP’s latest pabulum. It’s painfully ill-conceived. And by that, I mean stupid.

It even manages to vilify the lowly coyote, who already faces its share of critics. Everyone from Summerlin golfing swells to Great Basin stockmen takes a shot at them. When it comes to ferocious reputations, these dogs are certainly no alligators. They still continue to be slaughtered for sport in some parts of the state.

What does state GOP Chairman Michael McDonald expect them to do — frighten compound detainees by howling at the moon?

I’m not serious, but then his suggestion isn’t a serious idea. It’s an attempt to distract people from the important issues this state faces. But, given the Trump administration’s well-worn game plan, that makes it just the thing its Nevada fan club will probably attempt to force into existence.

In time, we’ll see whether the state GOP’s bite is as big as its bark.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in New Lines, Time, Readers Digest, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Reuters and Desert Companion, among others.