Reid attracts more GOP supporters

Sen. Harry Reid's re-election campaign announced a new batch of Republican supporters last week, even as controversy swirled around some of those previously announced.

The new additions to Republicans for Reid bring the group's membership to more than 100, according to the campaign.

One name is familiar even to those who don't follow politics: former major league pitcher Greg Maddux. The Las Vegan is somewhat active in local Republican circles, and some insiders were trying to get him to run against Reid.

The new list also features Fred Gibson, former chairman of the Nevada Taxpayers Association; Michael Yackira, president of NV Energy; Jacques Etchegoyhen, a former Douglas County commissioner; and University Regent Jason Geddes, according to the campaign.

But the campaign's word for such things can fairly be called into question, since two of the biggest names on the original Republicans for Reid list, announced last month, either never should have been listed or developed cold feet.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reported last week that Reno Mayor Bob Cashell denies he ever endorsed Reid, while Sparks Mayor Geno Martini was "wobbling."

Cashell and Martini had co-hosted a Reid fundraiser in Northern Nevada, and Martini was listed as the co-chairman of Republicans for Reid.

After earlier saying he couldn't remember whether he had agreed to be on the list, Martini on Friday released a statement announcing his endorsement of Reid.

Cashell, on the other hand, said his hosting of the fundraiser should not have been construed as an endorsement and his inclusion on the list was a mistake, the Gazette-Journal reported. Cashell co-chaired Reid's 2004 group of Republican supporters and currently says he's considering a run for governor.

Both GOP mayors of Northern Nevada's largest cities said they had taken guff from fellow Republicans for supporting Reid when the Senate majority leader doesn't even have a Republican opponent yet.

"Our campaign is getting stronger every day, thanks to the support Senator Reid is getting from Democrats, independents, and this growing list of Republicans," Reid campaign manager Brandon Hall said.

RIGHT SPEAKER

National political consultant and commentator Dick Morris will be the guest speaker at the annual dinner this fall of the Keystone Corporation, a statewide group of business leaders.

Morris, Bill Clinton's former campaign manager who has since taken a turn to the right, writes a regular column for the New York Post and appears frequently on Fox News. His new book, "Catastrophe," written with Eileen McGann, argues that President Barack Obama is a dangerous radical who must be stopped.

Keystone is an exclusive, right-leaning group whose previous annual events have featured the likes of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He spoke to the group in 2007, when he was considered a top contender for the Republican presidential nomination.

The group took a hard line against tax increases at this year's legislative session even as many other business groups, including the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, had concluded that the state needed more revenue.

Keystone's president, American Pacific Corp. CEO John Gibson, professed to be "thrilled" that Morris will keynote this year's event, scheduled for Oct. 27 at The Venetian.

"His remarks will be especially timely given the major policy changes and government expansion being advanced by government today," Gibson said in a statement. "Our members and guests will be fortunate to hear from one of the most successful political figures of our generation."

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

A former executive director of the Nevada Democratic Party has landed a plum post in the Obama administration in Washington.

Alison Schwartz, who helped engineer Barack Obama's Nevada victory in 2008, starts today as director of intergovernmental affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The job entails working with state and local governments and agencies to do FEMA's disaster response work. It's a political appointment, the type of position commonly doled out to former campaign staffers.

"I'm excited. This is a real change for me," Schwartz, 31, said. "I've been doing campaigns for the last 10 years, so to go work in government is something different."

She noted, however, that "crisis management" has been an apt description of many of her previous jobs.

Schwartz came to Nevada from her home state of Missouri in 2003, when Harry Reid was beefing up the state Democratic Party. She was executive director from 2005 to 2007, when she became political director of the Obama campaign in Nevada.

Since the campaign ended, she has been a partner in Sagebrush Inc., a consulting and lobbying start-up. The company hopes to continue without her.

ROOTING FOR THE HOME TEAM

Wayne Allyn Root, the Las Vegas oddsmaker who was the Libertarian Party's 2008 vice presidential candidate, has his own conservative talk radio show.

"W.A.R.: The Wayne Allyn Root Show" began earlier this month. According to Root, it can be heard in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago on the Salem Broadcasting Network.

Root's first show featured libertarian hero and former 2008 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul as well as Andrew Napolitano, the former judge who now is a Fox News analyst. MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, Dick Morris and conservative economist Mark Skowson also were on the schedule.

The tireless Root has a book coming out in July, "The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution With God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts."

In recent weeks, he has guest hosted Jerry Doyle's radio show and appeared on Fox News.

This weekend, he is scheduled to speak at July 4 "TEA Party" tax protest events in Texas.

"This tremendous national exposure is all leading up to my playing a Ross Perot-like role in the 2012 Presidential election, where I'll be the first EVER Nevadan as a Presidential candidate," Root said in an e-mail.

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball @reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.