An activist governor keeps GOP troops in line

By Jon Ralston

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

It was a little thing, but with big portents.

Ira Hansen, a freshman Republican assemblyman from Sparks, was talking about the taxing nondebate soon to come in Session ’11. Hansen is a member of a clan that founded the Independent American Party and is known for its resolute conservatism.

“I didn’t sign a no-tax pledge,” Hansen said on “Face to Face” as the host’s eyes grew wide. And then this: “I think there may be a need to enhance revenue.”

In need of a defibrillator, I gasped to myself: Is this Hansen I see before me or some apparition?

The freshman went on, sounding more reasonable and thoughtful than most Legislative Building denizens. “There’s a certain amount of smoke and mirrors in this budget,” Hansen said on the program, a reference to the budget gimmickry that allows Gov. Brian Sandoval to spend more without any tax increases. Hansen said now may be the time to consider a “structural change” in the budget structure, necessary because, as he asked: “When was the last time the state of Nevada was in a Great Depression?”

I was stunned by Hansen’s comments and his naïve candor. But the real story came the next day when I saw him in the Legislative Building. He approached me to explain that he would never consider new taxes unless the governor was willing to entertain them. Of course, that’s not what he said the previous evening, nor is it likely Sandoval will break his pledge.

So what had happened? And then it hit me: Hansen had been taken to the gubernatorial woodshed.

Indeed, Hansen confirmed the governor had summoned him Tuesday morning to discuss his comments on “Face to Face.” And by the time the affable governor had finished with him, Hansen was a Stepford Republican again, telling me essentially what the governor says … goes.

I almost felt sorry for the freshman, learning his first political lesson — “Never tell the truth if it goes against what the party’s leaders are saying” — the hard way. Now I am sure this gubernatorial woodshed is a pleasant place, where blandishments substitute for bludgeons. But it clearly was effective and the point should not be lost:

Brian Sandoval is not playing a game on taxes, sticking to his doctrinaire position so he can negotiate a move later. He is going to seal every crack in the GOP dam with alacrity and ensure the legislative soldiers know who the general is.

I have previously posited that Sandoval’s political skills are formidable and he should not be underestimated. And this is more evidence thereof, as he moved so quickly to bring Hansen back into the fold.

I still believe Hansen could be a wild card come session’s end — he seems more thoughtful than the average freshman, maybe the average lawmaker. But for now, he is back in line.

We already knew that Sandoval, except for his three-word obsession, is not Jim Gibbons, that he would reach out to lawmakers and at least give the illusion he was listening to them. But consider how different his approach to this situation was compared with what Gibbons would have done.

The previous Republican governor would have needed a map to find the Legislative Building from his office, even though it is just across the courtyard. And if a lawmaker was not part of his no-new-taxes orthodoxy, Gibbons surely would have put out a news release attacking him or her as a clumsy way to shame the offender into submission.

But Sandoval is a man of gentle persuasion and, judging from his impact on Hansen, a very skilled practitioner of this dark political art. I have scoffed at those who believe in an end-of-session scenario where Sandoval vetoes a tax increase and then is able to persuade some taxing Republicans to sustain the veto. Remember the Democrats, even if they could hold all of their own flock (which is doubtful) would need three Republicans in the Senate and two in the Assembly to achieve the two-thirds majority necessary to raise taxes. I may now have to rethink my skepticism because the governor seems willing to be all over the GOP troops from Day 1 to Day 120, and he may be able to peel off one or two to sustain his veto, if that is how the session plays out.

The first week of the Legislature is generally meaningless, with ceremonial rituals and introductory hearings. Nothing much happens — at least nothing of importance. But Sandoval’s swift reaction to Hansen’s independence and the freshman’s equally swift obedience show that Gov. Sunny may also be something of a benevolent GOP despot.

And that should scare the Democrats to death.