Editorial: Clear choice in Senate race

Sunday, Oct. 25, 1998 | 9:33 a.m.

The differences between the major candidates in the race -- Reid and Ensign -- couldn't be more stark. Ensign is an ideologue who reflexively supports or opposes legislation despite what's going on in the real world. In contrast, Reid understands that issues must be dealt with one at a time and debated on their merits, not on preconceived notions.

For instance, Reid supported a patient's bill of rights that would have helped HMO consumers, and he backed meaningful campaign reform that would have cleaned up elections. But Ensign was against both of these reasonable measures, showing how out of touch he was with the people of Nevada.

In addition, long before it was fashionable, Reid led the way in exposing IRS abuses, authoring the 1988 Taxpayer Bill of Rights. He also was at the forefront of eliminating the source tax from retiree pensions and has fought for legislation that would ensure women's health care coverage isn't short shrifted.

Leaving aside policy differences, there also is another obvious reason why Reid should be re-elected: seniority. If Reid is re-elected he will become a member of the Senate Democratic leadership. It's important to understand that in a small state such as Nevada, seniority in Washington is very important.

Because population determines representation in the House, Nevada has just two members out of the 435 representatives. But in the Senate, the odds are better, with each state getting two members. If a state has a U.S. senator with seniority, that individual wields considerable clout, able to pass and block legislation harmful to that state. That brings us to Yucca Mountain.

Reid's seniority and friendship with other senators enabled him to gather enough votes to sustain a presidential veto of a temporary nuclear waste dump in Nevada. Otherwise that nuclear waste would have been on its way to our state by now. Reid prevented the world's deadliest waste from coming to our state.

Starting from scratch with a freshman senator would be disastrous for Nevada. Reid's stands on issues are in touch with Nevadans and his seniority will help protect the state from abuses by the federal government. Send Harry Reid back to Washington for another term. We need him now, more than ever.