LETTERS: State GOP leaders need to back Beers’ Senate run

To the editor:

Gov. Brian Sandoval appears uninterested in running for U.S. Senate in 2016 (“Will Sandoval’s inaugural address be as ‘optimistic’ this time around?” Jan. 3 Review-Journal). Reps. Joe Heck and Mark Amodei have said they do not plan to run against Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid next year.

Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers has declared that he will run for Senate. He certainly would be the best candidate for Nevada. It would be wise for Gov. Sandoval, Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison and Reps. Heck and Amodei to throw their support behind Mr. Beers and avoid any Republican infighting, which often happens in a primary.

As long as perennial spoiler Sue Lowden stays out of the primary, Mr. Beers will not have to waste all that money on such silliness. I am looking forward to a Bob Beers vs. Harry Reid Senate race in 2016. This could be a lot of fun.

MARCIA ROMANO

LAS VEGAS

Reid’s fall looms

To the editor:

It was nice to see liberal columnist Steve Sebelius back in the Viewpoints section (“Harry Reid still fighting,” Sunday Review-Journal). I always look forward to a good laugh, and his “I’m rallying for Harry” column did not disappoint. By the time I reached the final paragraph, my eyes were teary from laughter.

To paraphrase Mr. Sebelius’ opening, Sen. Harry Reid may be a tough old bird, but his claws are clipped, his feathers are withered and frayed, and his voice is nothing now but an aged cackle. On the Keystone XL pipeline, Sen. Reid bleats the same old Democratic liberal propaganda: “The more light that is shined on Keystone, the dimmer the project becomes.” Missing, however, is the real reason why the Democrats shy away from Keystone: their deep-pocket money guy Tom Steyer threatened to withhold funding to them if they support the project.

Sen. Reid can’t find it in his system to provide an absolute answer, except to iterate White House talking points to obfuscate the facts. If he believes in his heart that “Cash for Clunkers” deserved praise, so be it, but the program was an absolute mistake and a catastrophe, as was the bailout of the auto industry.

And what about the economy? Sen. Reid can chuckle all he wants about the Republicans’ role, but it seems to me he was a blockade in the Senate for every bill the Republican House sent forward — and there were hundreds of them. “Dead on arrival” was Sen. Reid’s second-favorite phrase, next to, “The Koch brothers are to blame.” Among those rejected bills were cogent and practical ones that would have added to economic recovery, but Sen. Reid made certain no Republican credit would be allowed during his tenure as majority leader.

I don’t think Sen. Reid’s recent exercise accident took the fight out of him, but there will be a technical knockout arriving in November 2016.

GEORGE PUCINE

LAS VEGAS

Krauthammer and Cuba

To the editor:

It is hardly surprising that Charles Krauthammer does his best to denigrate President Barack Obama’s initiative for the normalization of political and economic relations with Cuba (“U.S. got stiffed on Cuba deal,” Jan. 4 Review-Journal). One of the facts regarding the 50-year-long unsuccessful embargo of Cuba — designed to bring down Fidel Castro and his socialist regime — is that it has been used, ironically, by President Castro to cause economic hardship in Cuba. That’s reason enough to end a policy which only makes life more difficult for Cubans.

Mr. Krauthammer also fails to acknowledge that the current relationship between the U.S. and Cuba is a product of Cold War policy in which communist countries have been viewed as the enemy. Perhaps Mr. Krauthammer would prefer to maintain an iron curtain with regard to Cuba, rather than tear down walls to promote communication and change.

JOHN ESPERIAN

LAS VEGAS