Raggio: A Nevada Icon

Last night I dined with a friend off the coast of South America, just about as far as you could get from Nevada.

And what was the topic? Bill Raggio. We spent a good hour talking about his good points and bad points as we saw them. His tendency to tax more rather than spend less was the weak spot in his resume, we thought. But we agreed he was a monumental good force in politics in Nevada. The Legislature was a better place with him and Republicans erred when they pushed him out of a leadership position when he held his nose to endorse Harry Reid in 2010.

So it was eerie to wake up in the morning and read about his death.

Smooth sailing, Bill. You will be missed.