Reid-Ensign race has national interest

Thursday, Oct. 22, 1998 | 12:14 p.m.

All eyes will be on Nevada for the Nov. 3 general election battle in which Sen. Harry Reid attempts to defend his seat against Rep. John Ensign.

That's because the winner of the six-year term between Democrat Reid and Republican Ensign could have a major impact in the shaping of the 106th Congress.

The Republicans, who control the House, also have a 55-45 edge in the Senate. They are five seats away from obtaining a filibuster-proof majority, which would prevent the remaining Democrats from stalling legislation along partisan lines. It so happens that Reid, a two-term veteran, is considered by the GOP to be one of the five most vulnerable Democratic senators up for re-election.

Reid argues that it would be better for Nevadans to send an experienced senator back to Washington, even as a member of the minority party, than a rookie. Ensign counters that Nevadans would have a stronger voice if at least one of their senators were in the majority. Nevada's other senator, Richard Bryan, also is a Democrat.

Most polls have had Reid leading by a slim margin over Ensign in a race in which there are clear ideological differences. The bitterness the two candidates have for one another is evident in the negative television advertising coming from both sides.

The nonpartisan Project Vote Smart of Corvallis, Ore., published evaluations of what special-interest groups thought of members of Congress last year. On a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the highest approval rating, these are how some groups viewed the two candidates:

* American Conservative Union, Reid 8, Ensign 100.

* Americans for Democratic Action, Reid 85, Ensign 5.

* League of Conservation Voters, Reid 71, Ensign 38.

* League of Private Property Voters, Reid 29, Ensign 100.

* National Council of Senior Citizens, Reid 100, Ensign 40.

* 60 Plus Association, Reid 20, Ensign 70.

* American Civil Liberties Union, Reid 33, Ensign 0.

* Christian Coalition, Reid 43, Ensign 100.

* U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Reid 50, Ensign 80.

* Consumer Federation of America, Reid 86, Ensign 67.

* United Auto Workers, Reid 90, Ensign 7.

* Associated Builders and Contractors, Reid 40, Ensign 100.

* National Taxpayers' Union, Reid 21, Ensign 68.

* National Education Association, Reid 94, Ensign 43.

If there was a single vote in Congress that defines the differences between the two candidates, it was Reid's support of President Clinton's fiscal 1994 federal budget plan. Reid and fellow supporters of the plan credit it with helping to eliminate the budget deficit and stimulate the economy.

Every congressional Republican voted against the plan, calling it the largest tax increase in history. Ensign wasn't yet in Congress. But he has made it plain during this campaign that he, too, would have voted in opposition.

The bashing between Reid and Ensign actually began in 1995 when the latter entered Congress representing Southern Nevada's 1st Congressional District. Ensign was part of the GOP tidal wave that allowed the Republicans to gain control of Congress following the November 1994 elections.

He wasted little time blasting Democrats such as Reid as tax-and-spend liberals who said one thing in Nevada but did another in Washington.

Reid and fellow Democrats tied Ensign to increasingly unpopular House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and charged that Ensign was a far right-winger out of touch with the average Nevadan. Reid and colleagues said that Ensign voted against seniors and supported legislation that would ruin the environment.

The competitors are not opposites on all issues, however. Both are pro-life on the abortion issue. Both are fervent opponents of efforts to transport high-level nuclear waste to Nevada. Both are friends of the gaming industry.

Reid lists among his Senate accomplishments authorship of the 1988 Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Patient Abuse Protection Act, Violence Against Women Act (making sex crimes a violation of federal civil rights), Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act, Federal Gang Violence Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Children's Bill of Rights (making it easier for abused children to testify in court).

He also helped to create the Great Basin National Park in north central Nevada, hosted a 1997 Lake Tahoe summit attended by Clinton, and urged Congress to create the Red Rock National Conservation Area. Reid also led the fight to eliminate the source tax from retiree pensions, sponsored legislation to put women's health care coverage on equal footing with men, and sought campaign finance reform.

"I am disappointed that once again, members of the majority party in the Senate have delayed action on campaign finance reform," Reid said. "The American people believe that the rising costs of elections are chipping away at our democratic system of government. Not only are they becoming disillusioned with the democratic process, they believe the deck is stacked against them at the voting booth and in the halls of Congress."

Ensign includes among his accomplishments authorship of the Workers' Meal Fairness Act (stopping a proposed tax on free meals provided to workers by their employers), and a law that bans pornography in federal prisons. He also has sponsored the Prison Work and Victim Restitution Act, and a new law requiring Medicare to cover annual mammograms for seniors.

"I want to change the system so that our prisons are no longer warehouses where inmates only learn to be stronger, meaner, and better criminals," Ensign said. "We've got to attack the problem of recidivism because crimes by repeat offenders are causing too much suffering in Nevada and throughout the country."

He also helped secure funding for Southern Nevada's first veterans' home, supported welfare reform, sought to replace the federal tax code and fought to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare recipients.

Reid, the 58-year-old son of a hard-rock miner and a native of Searchlight, has had a lengthy career in public service. A former Henderson city attorney, he won election to the state Assembly in 1968 and then became Nevada's lieutenant governor two years later. In 1977, he became chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, serving for five years.

After returning to his private law practice he served two terms in the House and then won election to the Senate in 1986 and 1992. Reid co-chairs the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and is vice chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee. He also is on the Appropriations, Environment and Public Works, and Indian Affairs committees, and on the Special Committee on Aging.

Ensign, raised in Northern Nevada and the son of Circus Circus Enterprises executive Mike Ensign, is a veterinarian who opened the first 24-hour animal hospital in Las Vegas. Having also served as a gaming executive, Ensign was a political unknown when he unseated incumbent Democratic Rep. James Bilbray in 1994.

The 40-year-old congressman serves on the House Ways and Means, and Resources committees.

Although Reid and Ensign are getting all the attention, there also are two third-party candidates in the field. They are special-education teacher Michael Williams of the Natural Law Party and Libertarian Michael Cloud, both of Las Vegas.

Cloud, a 47-year-old professional speaker and author, supports repeal of the personal income tax, the gun-registration Brady Bill, and all laws against semi-automatic weapons. He would pardon all nonviolent drug offenders and would remove Social Security from government control by allowing taxpayers to invest that money in their own plans.