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Hopes for the New Year

Orrin J. H. Johnson
Orrin J. H. Johnson
Opinion
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The end of the year is a great time to both reflect and look ahead. Some years are better than others, but wherever 2017 fell on your sine wave of life, there is always room for improvement. So here are a few hopes (not predictions) for 2018 that will have Nevada moving in the right direction.

As marijuana continues to emerge as a growing industry, 2018 should be the year the federal government ends its statutory prohibition on the noxious weed. I wasn’t in favor of its legalization on the state level, but a majority of voters disagreed. And now that it is legal, the various states who have chosen to experiment should be allowed to do so without fear that a mere change of heart by one guy in Washington, D.C. – a Justice Department employee who suddenly decides to bring charges against a pot shop just because he can – could unexpectedly tear down not only the businesses themselves, but a significant source of state revenue intertwining itself with the state budget.

And marijuana is only the tip of the federalism iceberg, and the best way for congressional Republicans to both shrink the federal bureaucracy and sell the benefits of (what should be) their governing philosophy to their constituents to their left.

Speaking of federal overreach, there ought to be a lot of job openings for federal prosecutors in Nevada in 2018 after the Bundy trial debacle. The multiple instances of deliberately failing to disclose relevant evidence is not something that happens by accident, nor is it the type of misconduct that is isolated to a single case. It is not something “more training” will fix, and it speaks to a deeper rot in the culture of that office that must have been festering for years. And while we’re at it, plenty of that same sort of rot was exposed at the BLM as well by this trial.

Government officials of any description who understand neither the limits of their power nor their responsibilities to serve the public cannot be permitted to remain in positions of authority.

The cultural shift in 2017 to no longer accept creepiness, sexually motivated or otherwise, from our elected officials even if they’re on “our team” will hopefully lead to a broader reawakening of the importance of character in our electoral decisions. I wonder – if Bill Clinton had been forced by his own party to resign in the wake of multiple allegations of misconduct, perjury, and preying on interns, would Mark Manendo have ever had a political career? Would the culture in Carson City have become more professional sooner?

In a lot of ways, I think sexual misconduct is a mere symptom of a broader problem in our culture and in our politics. Basic human decency, honesty and fair dealing even (especially) with our adversaries are becoming mere incidental virtues, every one of which is disposable at the slightest political convenience. Harassing or abusing women is as much about power and control as it is gratifying one’s lust.

And so I hope that party activists looking to recruit candidates will focus first on those virtues rather than on any given set of policy preferences. If they do, great things will follow. Not only will there be fewer victims of sexual harassment and worse, but we’ll have better legislation crafted in a more open, collaborative way, and radicals on either side left sitting on the sidelines. Democrats in particular should choose this year to finally free themselves of Harry Reid as their kingmaker. His ends-justify-the-means, no-holds-barred approach to politics led inevitably to total Republican control in Washington, DC, and contributed immeasurably to our modern political toxicity.

It will be interesting to see whether we as voters can apply the lessons to be learned from the Roy Moores, the Ruben Kihuens and the Bundy prosecutors of 2017 to our 2018 electoral decisions. Will we grow as an electorate, or fall back into our now comfortable tribal patterns? One thing is for certain – we will get more of whatever we reward at the polls.

The race for governor will be especially interesting, and telling. Our current governor is, I believe, a man of character, character which includes the diligence to dig into the policy details of specific proposals and not simply wave slogans around to keep an electoral base happy. I don’t agree with everything Gov. Sandoval does, but on the whole, the state has grown and improved a great deal under his stewardship. That growth would have been impossible under a thoughtless partisan from either party. The candidate who follows Sandoval’s personal example – if any of them can – will be a worthy successor, regardless of policy differences he or she surely will have.

One thing is for certain – the coming year of crowded primaries, recall elections and the national implications of our local congressional races will be a boon for columnists and commentators.

But in the end, 2018 will be like any other year – full of highs and lows, good luck and bad, tragedy and heroism. As always, so much of our fates is in our own hands, and we have every reason to be optimists!

Orrin Johnson has been writing and commenting on Nevada and national politics since 2007. He started with an independent blog, First Principles, and was a regular columnist for the Reno Gazette-Journal from 2015-2016. By day, he is a deputy district attorney for Carson City. His opinions here are his own. Follow him on Twitter @orrinjohnson, or contact him at [email protected]. He thanks you all more than can be said for your readership this last year, and wishes you all a most wonderful and prosperous New Year!

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