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"In Nevada, you put an 'R' behind your name and the devil himself could get elected. We've seen that in a number of cases in our state."

I didn't say that. A Nevada Christian conservative Republican did at a local meeting. I taped the program when it ran on Sierra Nevada Community Access Television last Feb. 22.

It was a formative session of the Nevada Republican Assembly, a Silver State affiliate of an outfit I first warned of last January 25: "AYATOLLAH NEVADA. According to Mother Jones Magazine's MoJo Wire, an outfit tamely called the California Federation of Republican Assemblies has an active Nevada chapter. They've taken over the California GOP and advocate replacement of democracy with a Bible-based theocracy. Am I scared? Hell, yes," I wrote.

If you websurf to the MoJo site, you will find links to the California and national organizations. The Nevada contact listed is longtime GOP activist Mike Weber of Reno.

The Feb. 22 meeting was most interesting when the camera turned to politicians who showed up asking support: State Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks-Reno, Assemblyman Don Gustavson, R-Sun Valley, and GOP Assembly District 29 candidate Sharron Angle.

The moderator checked off a list of candidates particularly worthy of the group's endorsement, including Washington, Gustavson and Rep. John Ensign, R-Las Vegas, who is running against incumbent U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

"They are 100% believers of everything we're doing as far as our principles are concerned," he noted.

Those principles can be found on the Republican Assembly websites linked to the MoJo story.

Here's a sampling: "We believe that God is the source of eternal truth and law as revealed in Holy Scripture...We hold to principles over politics...All human rights are granted by God, not government...the Constitution was written by wise men under the inspiration of God...to govern a moral and religious people and it is being destroyed by those who are neither...the forces of socialism and international communism are at present, and continue to be, the greatest threats to our freedom...the Unites (sic) States should stress victory over, rather than co-existence with, or containment of, communism; and its citizens should feel and express the will to win...Only men, not women, will serve in combat." (See addendum)

Sen. Washington offered to contribute money to the organization.

SPOO V. WASHINGTON. The Sparks area senate race will most probably decide which party controls Nevada's upper house next year. Democrat Jim Spoo, the former Sparks mayor, started a negative TV spot last week accusing Sen. Washington of opposing affirmative action while having benefited from it years ago.

Spoo's assertion is correct, although Mr. Washington may not have been aware of the facts at the time. In the early 1980s, Sen. Washington trained as an electrician in a union apprenticeship program. Since 1966, all such training has required affirmative outreach to minority applicants.

Affirmative action does not mean quotas. Once someone applies, he or she must meet all the criteria to qualify for a limited number of slots.

Mr. Washington apparently had the right stuff to gain entrance to a very desirable course which has had an affirmative action component for decades. He has not returned my phone call of several weeks ago.

MORE HILTON HIJINX. A Libertarian friend asked about the story (first broken here last Sunday) regarding the latest victory of the Reno Hilton's illegally fired security guards.

"Wasn't it a major blunder to accept a contract that gave up job security for higher wages? Wasn't it predictable that once Hilton was contractually allowed to fire the guards, they would?"

The security guards indeed made a deal with the devil, but that was not the key issue in the National Labor Relations Board finding that they had been illegally fired.

Basically, no matter what the contract says, the hotel can't break the law. The NLRB uncovered clear evidence that the guards were fired solely for union activity, which has been protected by federal statute since 1935.

NLRB investigators found that Hilton had essentially conducted the business equivalent of a double-blind study on the issue. On two previous occasions, the company had reviewed subcontracting and decided it would just not maintain Hilton-style service.

The NLRB found that the only condition which had changed between the two rejections and the reversal of policy was the presence of a union. Smoking gun. Slam dunk. Guilty as charged.

Hilton has announced that it will appeal the case, as usual, opting to pay expensive lawyers rather than faithful workers.

DIRTY FOLLYTIX ALERT. Teamsters and other union members have been complaining about anonymous phone calls "from your union...We're taking a poll. We need to know how you're going to vote."

The caller refuses to identify herself and gets very surly when people won't cooperate. Like any voters, the union members were insulted by such old-Chicago machine tactics. Which seems to be the point.

No such "poll" is being taken by any union organization. It looks like a campaign dirty trick to try to counter organized labor's extensive efforts to motivate members to vote.

Such tactics, including smear-question "push polls," have been used extensively in Nevada. The first one I ever wrote about (27 Sept. 1992), was conducted by Assemblyman Peter Ernaut, R-Reno. His smear tactics got him through a hotly contested primary against better known Republicans.

This year, Ernaut is running the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Kenny Guinn. I'd like to hear from anyone getting such a call.

RAILROAD JOB. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this Wednesday's Tribune which will include the annual "Looking to the 21st Century" special section. Trust me.

NAMEPHREAK ALERT. The webmaster of the Nevada Republican Party Internet site is an outfit called Retro-Media. A marriage made in heaven.

Be well. Raise hell.

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