Commentary - February 2006

Reid Rises to the Top,

Nevada Sinks to the Bottom

by Lyle E. Brennan

In previous issues, I promised to keep our readers updated on how Harry Reid is performing. After serving more than a year as Senate Minority Leader, it’s time for a report card to see how well Reid has been representing the interests of the Nevada voters who elected him. After looking at his record, I have to say that Reid needs some remedial education.

Some folks may ask how such a liberal Democrat got elected from a red state like Nevada in the first place. I think voters were originally attracted to Reid because he stressed his small-town upbringing and seemed like a good old boy in the Western frontier tradition. But after spending so many years in Washington, Reid seems to have forgotten his Nevada roots. Sounds like a bad Western movie: the squeaky-clean sheriff gets sent to clean up Dodge City’s red light district and ends up running the place.

Reid continues to make political points because people assume his seniority and high-level position enable him to get perks for Nevada – presumably in the form of federal dollars. A report released in January should dispel that notion in a hurry. It showed that Nevada was dead last in the nation for the amount of federal dollars spent in our state on a per capita basis. For the full text of the report, which was issued by the U.S. Census Bureau, go to: www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/cffr-04.pdf.

On page 56 of this 110-page document, you’ll see that the federal government spent $5,469 per person in Nevada during 2004. Compare that to No. 1 Alaska at $12,886 per person. That probably included payments for the oil pipeline, so we’ll go to the next states, Virginia, at $12,150 per person and Maryland at $11,645. No oil money there. Considering that the government owns well over 80 percent of Nevada’s land and that there are several major defense/homeland security installations here, how did we end up at the end of the line when it came time to distribute federal grants and contracts? Maybe Reid should spend a little less time championing liberal causes and a lot more time looking out for his own state.

But, surely Reid must have done some good for his state. Maybe he was influential in making sure that Las Vegas got sufficient Homeland Security funds to protect the 50 million tourists that visit each year. A terrorist incident here could cripple the entire state’s economy.

But, once again Reid failed to represent Nevada. Las Vegas and 10 other cities originally designated to be potential "high threat" targets for terrorist attacks were dropped from the list – an exclusion that could jeopardize millions in federal funding. An outraged Clark County Sheriff Bill Young called for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to resign. I don’t think it’s Chernoff’s fault. We shouldn’t expect him to be out there fighting for Nevada’s interests. That should be Harry Reid’s job.

Maybe we’re being too hard on Harry. After all, he’s been busy in his role as Senate Minority Leader. How has he been spending his time? The first thing he did after assuming his lofty position was to set up what he called a "war room" to promote the Democrats’ positions and fight any Republican initiatives. Reid and his cronies next used a filibuster to delay a vote on President Bush’s judicial nominees, a tactic that almost brought the entire Congress to a halt. He spent time fighting to kill the Patriot Act. Lately, he’s been traveling the country making speeches on behalf of the Democrats. Do any of these activities help the citizens of Nevada? Not in my book.

Now Reid will be spending time trying to defend himself against charges of influence peddling. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy, tax evasion and fraud, saying he raised campaign money, paid for trips and gave gifts to lawmakers "in exchange for certain official acts." Charges against Abramoff included bribing members of Congress, defrauding American Indian clients and evading taxes.

Although Reid insists he performed no "official acts" for Abramoff, he admits to receiving thousands of dollars in contributions from Abramoff’s associates at his lobbying firm, as well as from Indian tribes that were Abramoff clients. More than 60 lawmakers have announced they are refunding contributions they received from Abramoff or donating the money to charity – but not Reid, who received the contributions while serving on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

Reid has been relentless in criticizing Republicans for receiving tainted money, but the facts show the lobbyist and the Indian tribes associated with him contributed $2.9 million to Republicans and $1.5 million to Democrats in the past five years. So, even though Republicans received more money, there were plenty of Democrats, including Reid, who also benefited.

Representing the Democrat party is a big job, but it was not the job Reid was elected to perform. Nevada voters chose him to support their interests in Washington. I agree with Paul Adams, chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, who recently said, "Harry Reid might claim to be a Nevada resident, but he represents Washington, D.C. values, not the interests of the conservative Western states."

It’s not too late, Harry. Remember the lesson Tom Daschle learned the hard way – it may be exciting and prestigious to be the point man for a major political party, but it’s the voters of your own state who elect you.

Lyle E. Brennan Publisher
COMMENTS? email: lyle@nbj.com