Rory Reid dodges question on dad’s Nebraska deal

Rory Reid, the likely Democratic nominee for Nevada governor and son of Senate majority leader Harry Reid, dodged a question today about the so-called "Cornhusker Kickback".

Rory came to the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial board this afternoon to talk up his campaign for governor. (As an aside, my personal take is that Rory will be a formidable candidate for governor. He's surprisingly more conservative than his last name might imply. He's smart. Thoughtful. While he's not doing particularly well in the polls right now against likely Republicans in the race, I suspect the polling numbers will tighten up as voters get a closer look at Rory.)

Anyway, I asked Rory what he thought about his dad's deal over the weekend to get Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson's vote on the controversial Senate version of the health care "reform" bill. Reportedly, Nebraska will get a permanent exemption from the state share of Medicaid expansion, meaning taxpayers from other states will have to kick in an additional $45 million in the first decade of the deal. Imagine that. A free pass from Medicaid increases not for three years, or five years or even 10 years. Forever!

I question whether that's even legal. So, as the potential future governor Nevada, I asked Rory what he thought about that?

He said he had not read the bill and would have no further comment. (I pressed him with a follow up question, but he stuck to the answer and as we are always courteous at Review-Journal editorial board meetings, we let it stand at that.)

I suppose Rory's sidestepping of the question was probably the smart thing to do as a son. But I gotta tell you, if I were governor of Nevada, I'd be absolutely, 100% livid. You can bet that Rory's likely opponents will be quick to jump on his dutiful demur.