Catherine Cortez Masto is the Democratic former Attorney General of Nevada and a rising star in the Party of the Donkey. She was term limited out of office as the AG in 2015, but had previously been courted to run for Governor the year before. (It’s an honor she declined.) With the announcement of Harry Reid’s retirement, she was hand picked to be his successor to the seat and is currently out on the campaign trail. With that in mind, voters may be interested to find out how she was conducting business (in a very capitalist sense of the word) while serving as their state’s top cop.

Cortez-Masto engaged in a bitter battle against Uber (and Lyft, by default), seeking heavy handed regulations which would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the ride sharing service to operate in Las Vegas. But at the same time, she had some predictable benefactors in the industry. (The Daily Caller)

Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto tried to kill Uber with one hand, while taking money from Taxi Services with the other, and a Koch-funded superPAC’s latest ad is slamming her for it.

In a new scathing video, titled “Driving Away Jobs,” the Freedom Partners Action Fund accuses the former Nevada attorney general of taking up to $72,626 from the taxi industry, while also attempting to ban ride-hailing companies in the state’s biggest city; Las Vegas…

Back in October of 2014, Masto went forward with several legal proceedings because they did not abide by the regulations that taxis are forced to follow.

This is a particularly brutal ad, particularly by Senate race standards. It hits all the key points about ride sharing services and the perception of paid favors to the unions that oppose them. Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o02kfxs9MqU

We’ve covered the Uber and Lyft battles here extensively in the past so most of our regular readers are familiar with the turf. The ride sharing services have really revolutionized ground transport, providing new options for consumers, less time spent waiting and generally faster, better service for competitive rates. It’s also provided a new avenue of employment for tens of thousands of people without requiring an advanced degree to get into the field. Obviously the taxi companies and their unions hate the idea because they’re used to having essentially a monopoly on the business which is supported by local and state government under rigged “medallion” systems.

With that as the backdrop, the incestuous relationship between too many politicians and these unions has been cast in a harsh light as politicians work to shut down companies like Uber to keep their union Super PACs happy. But it’s at least a bit more rare to find a politician who is actively accepting checks from the cab companies and their representatives while hammering Uber directly. If the voters in Vegas are wondering why they have to wait so long for a lift to the polling station next November, perhaps they should ask Ms. Cortez-Masto.