** Patriots,
------------------------------------------------------------
On April 25, we helped launch the Nevada Freedom Caucus, the 4th state to join our State Freedom Caucus Network. Below is a Q&A session that we recently did with its chairman, Jim Wheeler. We hope you enjoy it.
Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, speaks before the Nevada Freedom Caucus at their launch in Las Vegas on April 25, 2022.
** Q&A: Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, Nevada Freedom Caucus Chairman
------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Jim, let’s start with the basics. Can you tell us a bit about where you were born, what your family was like growing up, and how that influenced your political philosophies today?
Sure. I was raised by a middle-class ranching family in southern California. Though we owned a ranch, we were each still expected to work long hours to supplement our family’s income. Because of that, I learned the value—and felt the satisfaction—of a hard day’s work from a young age. I’ve embraced that work ethic ever since. I’m a capitalist, after all!
Eventually, I worked long and hard enough to put myself through two years of college at the University of Southern California. The financial strain of the university experience was overwhelming, however, and I opted to join the United States Air Force at age 21.
Following my stint in the armed services, I spent about four years working in law enforcement before eventually starting my own successful business in the automotive-performance industry.
Q: What made you leave California for greener pastures in Nevada?
When I was younger, I’d often work summers in the Carson Valley. I call this area “God’s Country” for its sheer beauty. The eastern side of the Sierras is as picturesque as it gets. I always knew I liked northern Nevada and long thought I’d eventually move here.
Ultimately, I left California because it became a less desirable place to live. The high cost of living, the congestion on the roadways, the taxes/fees levied by the government at every juncture—all of this convinced me to pack-up and move to Gardnerville in 2003. Back then, Nevada was known as the freest state in the union.
Q: You said Nevada ‘was’ the freest state. Do you no longer see it that way?
What I see now is that Nevada is diametrically opposed to the values it stood for only decades ago—freedom, prosperity, minimal government. We’ve embraced the mindset, unfortunately, that bigger government means a better society—a position the Nevada Freedom Caucus fundamentally rejects. The state of Nevada resembles California more and more each year.
Q: Is that why you founded the Nevada Freedom Caucus?
In brief, yes. The Freedom Caucus was founded because too many Republicans have voted as moderates after having campaigned as “true” conservatives. We’ve seen this pattern over and again in Nevada. The 2015 session, of course, was the worst year in this sense—Republicans controlled both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s mansion. Those “conservative” majorities then proceeded to levy the largest tax increase in state history! And for what? Our schools aren’t any better. You can’t just toss money at a broken system and expect results. Even last year, we had 6(!) Republicans cross the aisle and vote for another tax increase on the gold and mining industries—again, for schools. The Freedom Caucus was formed to stop Republicans who campaign as conservatives from becoming moderates after they arrive in Carson City.
Q: Tell us a bit more about that. How, exactly, will the Nevada Freedom Caucus make Nevada legislators vote more conservative?
The Caucus will immediately inject accountability into the legislative process. Our cohort of lawmakers represents the ‘gold standard’ in Nevada conservatism. Any deviation from those who market themselves as “conservatives” will be loudly chided. More than that, we will work directly with the establishment caucuses in both the state assembly and senate to espouse the best conservative policies. We believe that by doing so, all Republicans will be better able to assess the merits of any particular bill. Oftentimes, lawmakers literally don’t have the time or resources to even read the bills they’re voting on! Collaboration here will benefit our conservative-policy prospects, generally.
Q: A perfect segue into my next question…It sounds like you’d like to be perceived as a willing partner with the establishment—a complement of sorts. Is that correct?
Yes, absolutely. It is paramount to us that we foster a good working relationship with both existing GOP caucuses. We want to be cooperative—not divisive. We want to work with anybody who shares our general views. Of course that includes the senate and assembly caucuses.
That said, we will not hesitate to critique the establishment when we view their position on certain legislation as being incorrect. Again, this entity aspires to be the ‘check’ on the establishment that Nevada conservatives have lacked for so long.
Q: Let’s get wonky. What are some of the policy proposals you’d like to see passed during the 2023 legislative session?
I’ll give you three: Election integrity, educational freedom, and repairing Nevada’s broken emergency statutes.
Let’s take those in order, starting with election integrity. What flaws do you currently see in Nevada’s electoral system, and what changes can be made?
The biggest problem with elections in Nevada today is that a sizeable portion of Nevadans no longer believes we have free and fair elections. This is the direct result of Democrats codifying the “temporary” election reforms passed during the height of the pandemic in Summer 2020, and the ubiquitous disparities we saw regarding how the 2022 general election was administered.
Did systemic fraud give the election to Biden? We don’t know. That’s a simple fact—we just don’t know. The State of Nevada rebuked all efforts for an in-depth audit of Nevada’s electoral processes. So, I think it’s quite reasonable, if not to be expected, that Nevadans would have doubts regarding the sanctity of their ballots. And I think we should all agree on this basic premise: When millions of Nevadans have doubts about their elections, that’s a serious problem—regardless of whether those doubts are justified.
What can be done about it? Well, the Nevada Freedom Caucus supports the current efforts to put voter ID on the ballot. We know the public overwhelmingly favors voter ID—by something like 4-to-1—so we’ll champion this issue if it fails to make the statewide 2022 ballot. Similarly, we hope that policies meant to improve the security of Nevada’s ‘signature-matching’ process for absentee voting make the ballot this November. But again, if not, we will champion that policy as well during the 2023 session.
Q: Let’s talk about education reform. What are you seeing in Nevada today?
The pandemic has exposed teacher and administrator unions’ true colors. They are political entities, wed to the Democratic Party, whose primary purpose is political. They don’t care about students. They’re not incentivized to.
It was these powerful unions nationwide that influenced the CDC to shutter schools for over a year. This was among the biggest public-policy debacles in modern history. Our children suffered.
Let’s ditch the one-size-fits-all government-school monopoly. Let the money follow the students—it doesn’t belong to public schools to begin with! We need more private schooling, more homeschooling, more charters, etc. We’ve been throwing more dollars at the public K-12 system each year for decades while witnessing little improvement.
Q: And what do you plan to do to improve Nevada’s emergency-management statutes (NRS 414)?
What happened in Nevada these past two years cannot happen again. A single individual has been permitted to wield king-like powers since March 2020, wholly unchecked. As I sit here today, Nevada is still technically in a state of emergency. Our Democrat-majority legislature has been on the sidelines, totally disinterested in reclaiming its legislative authorities.
That’s why my first bill of the 2023 session will be to amend Nevada’s emergency statutes by inserting a statutory time limit—a point at which the governor would be required to consult formally with the Legislature, and seek its continued approval for extending his or her emergency powers. I will introduce this bill whether a Democrat or Republican resides in the governor’s mansion next year.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE ([link removed])
[link removed]
============================================================
Copyright © 2022 State Freedom Caucus Network, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.
Our mailing address is:
State Freedom Caucus Network
300 Independence Ave SE
Washington, DC 20003-1021
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
