Quote of the Day Archive

"We need to cope with the revenue we have and weather the storm. If there were a recession-proof tax that didn't hurt people, then someone at MIT would have thought of it."

--Ben Kieckhefer, a spokesman for Gov. Jim Gibbons on why the governor is not considering tax increases to help solve Nevada's budget shortfalls, the third worst of any state in the nation.

"For those of you who may not know this, you cannot negotiate with Coburn. It's something that you learn over the years, that it's a waste of time.''

-- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn’s practice of placing "holds" on bills with majority support, delaying their passage.

"It'll be interesting to see if they really come and vote."

-- Carson City Clerk/Recorder Alan Glover on the large numbers of 18-30 year olds registering to vote this year.

"The governor has not in any way pressured the assessor to do anything.He did nothing wrong, and any investigation will show that."

Ben Kieckhefer, a spokesman for Governor Gibbons, on how nothing untoward was involved in reducing Gov. Gibbons's property taxes from $5,000 to $15.

"If they really felt that way, they could have responded and said they wanted to reconvene. I couldn't be more frustrated and disappointed. We've been extremely open about what we've done."

--Nevada GOP Executive Director Zac Moyle on the outcry over his cancellation of the state's delegate selection convention after a quorum could not be reached.

"We strongly feel we need to be good stewards of the taxpayers' money."

-- Mary Scow, President of the Clark County school board, on the board's decision to not place a $7 billion bond issue for school improvements on the ballot due to a bad economic climate, despite the fact there was solid support for it.

"I am disturbed, but not intimidated or deterred by the efforts of Governor Gibbons, acting through one of his closest advisors, Monte Miller, to phone various regents on several occasions to attempt to muzzle or control what I write with my weekly memos, some of which have directly or indirectly criticized the governor for his total lack of support of Nevada education not just the higher education system, but also K-12."

--Nevada Education Department Chancellor Jim Rogers on his continuing problems with the governor.

"To say I was put in an awkward position I think is an understatement."

-- Elko County Assessor Joe Aguirre on being requested by Gov. Jim Gibbons to rezone some of Gibbons' property as agricultural in order to reduce the taxes that would need to be paid.

"He just laughed, I so felt good about it. I felt bad for him yesterday, because it was so hard for him to be here, but today I felt great."

--U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy's feelings about being brought in from seclusion to secure a veto-proof margin for a Medicare bill.

"Understanding the various economic pressures facing tourism currently, from fuel prices to higher national unemployment, it's essential that we continue doing whatever we can to entice visitors to come to Nevada."

--Governor Jim Gibbons after taxes from the gaming industry in June fell $19 million from the same period last year.