Nevada Farce

Romney will easily capture the Republicans in Nevada. What many may not know is that Sin City is the hometown to a large number of Mormons. They are very quiet about their presence but they are a strong influence in the local politics. This primary will not be an exception.

As for the Democratic caucus, I have yet to hear any pundit nail down all of the aspects of allowing casino employees to caucus in the casinos. I have heard both sides question the fairness of giving the casino workers this advantage. And yes the talking heads all discuss the implications of having to publicly “vote” for the candidate they want in front of their co-workers and union bosses.

However, I have yet to hear any discussions regarding the casino executives. Having worked in the casinos as an executive I can tell you that an unspoken reason for holding caucuses there is to lose a minimum amount of work in comparison to allowing their workers to leave during the shift.

Although I have been out of the casino industry for nearly a decade I doubt if they have changed all that much. It was a brutal industry. Las Vegas is a one industry town where jobs are pretty much limited to casinos. So you either get with the program or find another town.

In the up and coming caucus. the rank and file will be looking to their union to tell them how to vote. Although much fewer in numbers you can bet that all levels of executives will vote the way the C-level (CEO, CFO etc) tells them to vote.

Why do I say this? Well, I worked for one casino that threatened to withhold my raise and promotion if I didn’t give to the United Way. In another job I was threatened if I didn’t contribute to the company’s lobbying efforts. Then there is the case of attending an HR meeting for executives where we were told to speak our minds and two days later a manager who did speak up was fired.

In these open caucuses at the casinos I wonder if anyone will be strong enough to stand up and vote their own conscience rather than the union’s or top executives. Probably not. And yet their delegates will count while those in Michigan and Florida don't. It just shows what a farce it all is.