Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: It’s silly season in D.C.

Sunday, Oct. 24, 1999 | 10:28 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

BLUNDERING their way down the road to the evils of yesteryear.

I suppose that the American people should by now be used to the political rhetoric that flows from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue this time each congressional year when budgets must be set and spending bills must be passed. But, to be truthful, I don't think I'll ever get comfortable with the silliness.

I understand that most of what is said is done so for purely public consumption, the politicos understanding the difference between what they say and what they do. In this case, what and how it is said is far more important than the actual doing of the public's business because of the way the media report and the people accept the news.

If the public paid attention to more than a few sound bites on the evening news, then the real substance of the important debates over spending priorities, educational efforts, Social Security fixes and the like would have more meaning and be taken more seriously. The fact of the matter is that most people just don't have or take the time to understand what they are being fed over the airwaves and in the news columns by politicians who have mastered the art of rhetorical relations.

The result is that elected officials can often get away with saying one thing and doing exactly the opposite. Nowhere is this more evident than in this latest stalemate over the budgets for the next fiscal year.

The Republican-controlled House and Senate are long overdue in their responsibility to provide this nation with the operating budgets that will address the needs of our country for the next two years. This is not a new position for them. And, as in the past, they have painted themselves into some kind of corner that has left them little or no running room against a proven master in the art of one-upsmanship, President Bill Clinton.

Each time the two sides have tangled over the budget, the GOP leadership has been left with egg on its face and a public enmity strong enough to be remembered at the polls. It was not that long ago, you may recall, that the gamesmanship lasted well into the winter and resulted in the shutdown of the U.S. government.

The Republicans paid dearly for that bit of political bravado. This time it isn't much different. But this time there is far more at stake than just the closing of government offices, the laying off of thousands of government employees and the reduction of services to a public who couldn't care less about the inside baseball antics of the two warring political parties.

And, as if it weren't enough that President Clinton is right again on the issues, the GOP front-runner for the 2000 presidential sweepstakes has also chimed in with his two cents. And neither one of them reflects well on the motives or concern level of his Republican colleagues.

I am not so concerned about how this one will turn out because, in the end, the two sides will either make peace and compromise their positions or the government will shut down again until the people rise up and show their dissatisfaction. Such an outcry will have a significant effect on next year's elections, which will make them far more interesting than they are so far expected to be.

What does concern me and should give most Americans pause for concern is the fallout on serious matters of American policy that could get trampled upon while the political behemoths strut their stuff.

We had a clear-cut example of that earlier this month when 50 years of leadership against the proliferation of nuclear weapons was reversed by a Congress hell-bent on making a silly political point. Rather than delay action on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty until problems could be resolved, the Senate voted it down.

It was a blatant effort to "show the President" who was boss and, by doing so, the Senate created an excuse for the rest of the nuclear-powered world to blame us for its irresponsibility. It remains to be seen just how damaging that vote will be.

In that same vein, all this hoopla over the budget negotiations carries with it the real threat that an important foreign policy initiative may get lost in the shuffle. While the politicians are distracted with their ridiculous fight over budgetary differences, a serious foreign policy initiative is threatened from lack of attention.

We have come a long way toward a final peace in the Middle East among Israel and her Arab neighbors. The major reason for the hard-won success is the unwavering commitment by the United States to support -- with financial and other resources -- the agreements reached between the parties. The latest of these agreements is the Wye River Accords.

With the political jockeying absorbing all the time and attention of the White House and the Congress, the Wye River agreements are being threatened by neglect, political pique and personal animus. This, on top of the surprising and untimely setback in our nuclear testing leadership, cannot be allowed to happen.

Peace in the Middle East -- at the very least the absence of war -- is very serious stuff. It is not a game to be played by political rivals in search of some temporary political advantage. So when the dust settles and the fingers start pointing in an effort to cast blame, let it be for shutting down the government or some other such silliness. From that we can recover.

But rekindling the flames of war in the Middle East is something from which very few will recover. Congress holds the match that can set the fire. All it need do is renege on the word of the United States of America.

There's not much left after that!