Jim Rogers, the Nevada university chancellor and medium-sized media mogul who Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn has been trying to coax into the governor's race, says GOP Congressman Jim Gibbons isn't very bright. No argument from the Gleaner.
But even an idiot, say, Gibbons, should be able to knock Rogers out of a Republican gubernatorial primary without too much trouble.
See, Rogers is reportedly a Republican. But that's not who he gives his money to.
Over the last two election cycles, Rogers has contributed $70,200 to candidates for federal office, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Of that total, $67,600, or 96 percent, went to Democrats. Rogers gave only $2,600 to Republican candidates, and none of them were running in Nevada. Rogers didn't contribute any money to Gibbons, which makes sense, given Rogers' low opinion of the backbencher. But nor did Rogers give money to Gibbons' Republican House colleague Jon Porter.
Rogers did give money to Porter's opponent though--$4,000 to Democrat Tom Gallagher in 2004. Rogers also donated handsomely to the campaigns of Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, contributing $8,000 since 2002 (including a $2,000 contribution this year).
Harry Reid got $2,000 from Rogers. Reid became Senate minority leader, and hired press people who had worked with Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, two Democratic senators from Massachusetts who, as it happens, also got money from Rogers. Kennedy's re-election campaign last year got $4,000. Rogers gave $2,000 to Kerry's failed presidential campaign, and $1,000 to Kerry's 2002 Senate re-election run.
Other notable contributions from Republican Rogers to Democratic candidates include $2,000 to one-time House Democratic leader and presidential candidate Dick Gephardt, $1,000 to Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, and $2,000 to another Kennedy, Congressman Pat, all of whom could fairly be said to reside within the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.
Topping off Rogers' contributions to the Democrats was a whopping $24,000 to DNC Services Inc., which distributes money to Democratic candidates for the Democratic National Committee, and $5,000 to the Effective Government Committee, which likewise exists to dole out cash to Democrats.
It could also be noted that Rogers' wife, Beverly, who's been known to make the news from time to time, contributed almost as much money as her husband, and that nearly all of it went to Democrats, but that'd be piling on.
Which is what Gibbons, state Sen. Bob Beers and even the front-runner for also-ran status, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, will do if Rogers gets into a Republican primary. That's not to say he shouldn't. He'll bring tons of money into the race, which means Gibbons will have to spend a sizable chunk o' cash making and airing the attack ads that will gleefully hammer Rogers' contributions to Democrats. The more Gibbons has to spend early, the better.
Rogers is always touted in the media, even the media he doesn't own, as a take-charge, can-do, no-nonsense sort of guy. Those are admirable qualities, but it's not readily apparent they have anything to do with politics. Even if Rogers, running as a Republican, could explain away all those Democratic contributions in a general election, it's hard to see how they'd do anything but sink him in a GOP primary. Gibbons may not be "very bright," but nor is he, or more importantly, his staff, in a vegetative state, which means they should be able to make pretty quick work of the media mogul.
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