Passing over the man currently leading the GOP caucus Pat Hickey, Ira Hansen (R-Washoe) was selected to be the Assembly Speaker of the Nevada Assembly. This was considered a victory for the Tea Party wing of the Nevada GOP. This is the first time the GOP has controlled the Assembly since 1985.
Hansen is one serious conspiracy theorist, and has held forth on some really strange ones, below the orange tumbleweed. The Reno News and Review details a number of his claims - the whole article is worth a read on a fine example of wingnuttery.
He missed dog whistle classes, but that didn't prevent his selection. Perhaps he is taking his cues from Cliven Bundy.
Here are a few (the News & Review has many more):
On Bill Clinton:
In one instance, shortly before the execution of Timothy McVeigh, Hansen argued that the Clinton administration was responsible for the Oklahoma City explosion, with McVeigh either innocent or a dupe: “Claiming the building was a public hazard the government began tearing it down long before any reasonable and complete investigation could occur. … Distrust of the federal government was at an all time high prior to the bombing. Afterward, public sympathy shifted the other way, masterfully manipulated by the Clinton Administration.”
On women:
On a battle over a Supreme Court nomination, Hansen wrote, “As usual, it boils down to the issue of murdering unborn children, given the clinically sterile title of ’abortion’.”
Also in 1997: “Today, when Army men look at women in the ranks with ’longing in their eyes’ it very well may constitute ’sexual harassment.’ The truth is, women do not belong in the Army or Navy or Marine Corps, except in certain limited fields.”
On African-Americas:
He wrote that African-Americans are insufficiently grateful for being given their freedom: “The lack of gratitude and the deliberate ignoring of white history in relation to eliminating slavery is a disgrace that Negro leaders should own up to.”
On Latinos:
“Locally, gangs and their associated criminal activity are obviously dominated by immigrants, especially Hispanic immigrants. You cannot read a story about criminals or watch a news report locally without noticing a grossly disproportionate amount of Hispanic involvement.”
On gays:
“Considering only about 2 percent of adult males are homosexuals, the numbers show why homosexuals have been historically regarded as such a threat. Male homosexuals are grossly disproportionate in child molestation cases, and the youth orientation of male homosexuality drives this trend.”
On "liberal Republicans":
Hansen has opposed Republican presidential nominees Robert Dole and Mitt Romney (“way too liberal”), and other Republicans at lower levels.
He will take control of the Nevada Assembly in its Spring session.