POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Wynn’s wrath doesn’t spare Berkley

It's no secret Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn is not a fan of President Barack Obama and the Congress of the past few years, repeatedly denouncing the stimulus and health care policies that have come out of Washington as the wrong medicine for the economy.

"The policies of this administration have destroyed the working -- the living standard of the working class in America," Wynn said last Monday in an interview with Neil Cavuto of Fox Business. "It's almost impossible to believe they don't know that what they are doing is destructive, but they do it anyway."

Wynn in particular had strong words for U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., suggesting she was cowed into voting for health care reform.

"I called her during Obamacare. I said, 'Shelley, what are you doing? How do you do this? This is killing the unions and all of us that are supplying health care to our employees,' " Wynn told Cavuto.

"And she said to me -- quote -- quote -- now this is not hearsay. Shelley said to me -- and she is running for the Senate -- 'Steve, I know it is terrible. My husband is a doctor. He hates it, too. But if I don't vote for it, she will punish me,' she being Nancy Pelosi.

"And I said, 'Shelley, every politician that has ever sold out their constituency has had a lame, terrible rationalization like the one you just gave me. Don't ever call me again.'

"She says, 'I am sorry you are disappointed in me. I still love you.'

"And we ended the conversation. That is politics in America today."

Berkley through her campaign manager contends Wynn did not remember the conversation accurately.

"Steve Wynn is a busy person who has numerous phone conversations a day, so it's not surprising that his recollection of the conversation is different than the congresswoman's," Jessica Mackler said. "Shelley was concerned -- and remains concerned -- that the bill did not go far enough to cut costs. But at the end of the day she voted for it because it helped middle-class Nevada families by holding health insurance companies accountable, eliminating pre-existing conditions, and making prescription drugs more affordable for seniors."

While expressing support for health care reform during the 2009 and early 2010 debate, Berkley publicly objected to a tax on high-end insurance policies that labor union members obtain through negotiated contracts.

Berkley softened her opposition to the tax after Obama agreed to postpone it until 2018. Her vote for health reform never seemed in doubt.

Aides pointed out last week that Berkley attended Obama's health care bill signing ceremony on March 23, 2010, hardly the action of someone who was strong-armed into voting for it.

-- Steve Tetreault

CAIN PRODUCTS POPULAR

Cain you dig it?

Yes we Cain.

Those are two of the Herman Cain T-shirt themes that are catching on as fast as the GOP presidential candidate, who's the flavor of the moment after rising in opinion polls.

CafePress.com, an online retailer where users design products to sell, said Cain has done what no other GOP contender has managed before: He's beaten the sale of President Barack Obama products.

For the month of October, Cain products accounted for 43 percent of sales on CafePress.com. That compares to 33 percent for Obama-related products.

The other GOP presidential contenders weren't even close, according to a bar chart. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was at about 12 percent, followed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 6 percent. Mitt Romney, the most experienced campaigner and the man to beat, barely hit the 4 percent mark.

"At this rate, we wonder, can Cain potentially challenge our current President Barack Obama in 2012? And, if he does, could he possibly win?" CafePress.com asked last week.

Now that would be "Raising Cain," all right, as one T-shirt for sale put it.

In the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" department, Romney and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann are both selling fleece jackets to raise money for their campaigns. Each put out email offers last week. The Romney fleece is going for a donation of $60 or more, while a Bachmann fleece costs at least $75.

"Not only can you wear your support on your sleeve, but you'll also help provide the much-needed resources to defeat Obama and his failed policies in 2012," the Romney email said.

-- Laura Myers

ROMNEY HOLDING HIS OWN

In real opinion polling, Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, is edging out Romney nationally but isn't out front of the former Massachusetts governor in the early voting states, which matters more.

In Nevada, Romney is far out front of the Republican field following the Oct. 18 GOP presidential debate in Las Vegas that rivaled professional boxing matches at the MGM Grand Garden for punches thrown.

Romney had the support of 38 percent of likely GOP presidential caucus goers in the Silver State compared with 26 percent for Cain, according to a survey by Magellan Strategies, a GOP firm.

Newt Gingrich took third at 16 percent, followed by Paul at 7 percent and Perry at 5 percent. Bachmann came in at 2 percent, followed by former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman at 1 percent each.

The auto-dial survey of 673 likely Nevada GOP caucus goers was taken Oct. 19-20 -- the two days following the CNN debate -- and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Among those surveyed who watched the debate, 40 percent said Romney had the strongest performance, with Gingrich, the former House speaker, following him at 27 percent. Another 19 percent picked Cain, followed by Paul at 4 percent with Perry and Bachmann at 2 percent each.

Among subgroups, Romney finished first with male and female voters, social and fiscal conservatives, voters 65 and older, Mormons who share his religion and Republicans who didn't participate in the 2008 caucus in Nevada, which Romney won.

The only group where Romney didn't come out on top was with tea party members, who picked Gingrich (34 percent) over him (32 percent).

CNN and Time magazine also conducted polls last week with ORC International in four other early voting states. Romney was up over Cain in New Hampshire (40 percent to 13 percent) and Florida (30-18). But Romney was just edging out Cain in Iowa (24-21) and South Carolina (25-23).

Nationally, a CBS-New York Times poll last week showed Cain ahead of Romney (25-21) while a Fox News survey put Cain over Romney, too, (24-20), both within the margin of error.

-- Laura Myers

HELLER IRKS HISPANIC CHAMBER

Members of the Latin Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas are upset with U.S. Sen. Dean Heller for canceling a meeting with them this week after he reached out to the Hispanic group.

Heller, R-Nev., refused to go ahead with a roundtable Tuesday night because a staffer for his Senate opponent, U.S. Rep. Berkley, was present as well as a camera.

The cancellation happened at the last minute after a Heller staffer warned the senator the chamber refused to ask the Berkley staffer to leave and get rid of the camera.

Heller apparently was already on his way to the meeting when his representative arrived ahead of the 5:45 p.m. event to make sure everything was in order.

"It was disrespectful," said Andres Ramirez, a member of the chamber. "Dean Heller had never gone to a single Latin chamber event, and so they've been trying to find a way to connect. He wanted to limit the audience, which is understandable. But the Berkley staffer is also a member of the chamber, so she shouldn't have to leave."

The Berkley staffer, Judith Fleischman, is a former member of the Latin Chamber's board and remains involved with the group. So Chamber President Otto Merida refused to ask her to leave.

As for the camera, politicians have become wary of videotaped discussions because opponents, especially in hotly contested races, often later use sound bites against them.

Heller's office said the senator wanted to reach out to Hispanics to discuss issues affecting them, from jobs to housing to health care. Latinos make up 26 percent of Nevada's population now, yet tend to vote Democratic in Nevada. Republicans are working to convince Hispanics the GOP has their interests in mind with unemployment at 13.4 percent here and a couple of points higher for Latinos.

"The office initiated a meeting with the leadership of the Latin Chamber last week because the senator wanted to open a dialogue with the organization starting with their leadership," said Stewart Bybee, a spokesman for Heller. "This was a good faith effort by the senator.

"When our staff arrived at the meeting, Congresswoman Berkley's staffer was there, and so was an individual with a video camera. Since Senator Heller initiated this meeting with the Latin Chamber Board, we asked that the staffer and the camera be removed. They said no, so the senator decided not to attend the meeting."

-- Laura Myers

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault @stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Contact Laura Myers at lmyers @reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter.