Columnist Jon Ralston: Gang of Four has difficult task ahead

Sunday, Feb. 6, 2000 | 9:12 a.m.

Jon Ralston, who publishes The Ralston Report, writes a column for the Sun Wednesdays and Sundays. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or ralston@vegas.com.

Rarely has a task of this magnitude confronted Nevada's congressional delegation, always outnumbered and constantly besieged.

In the coming week, the Gang of Four must perform double the number of Sisyphean feats it is intermittently called upon to accomplish, trying to defy political gravity on the two most volatile state issues.

It's hard enough to defend an industry that, while it fancies itself in the entertainment delivery business, is perceived too often as cashing in on human weakness and compulsion. But to do that while also arguing a remote patch of desert nowhere near civilization is NOT the best place for a nuclear waste repository probably doesn't do wonders for the credibility of our fearsome foursome.

This time, though, they will have to do more than just employ a "woe is me" strategy designed to give them a ready-made excuse if they lose and a license to brag if they win.

Faced with a nuclear waste bill and a bipartisan move to ban sports betting, the delegation will be tested. This is especially important for Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid, who in 1998 asked voters to re-elect him because he is Mr. Juice, able to deliver or short-circuit legislation because of his lofty perch.

So, too, will this be a barometer for the gaming industry, which will see if its millions poured into lobbying and campaign contributions can drown a proposal that not only threatens its bottom line but could be the first of many taxing ideas it succeeds.

The nuclear waste legislation, expected to be debated Tuesday, is especially problematic for Team Nevada. Delegation sources say they are concerned that Senate Energy Chairman Frank Murkowski, the prime dump proponent, could cut a deal with the administration to erase a Damoclean veto hanging over the legislation.

Will the delegation then employ, as one source put it, a "Vietnam strategy -- declare victory and get out"? Or do they continue to fight because the measure still accelerates the scheduled transportation of waste to Yucca Mountain?

This is likely to be a source of contention for the two senators, who have very different approaches on this issue. Richard Bryan is a true believer, unafraid to do anything, including alienating his fellow Club of 100 members, to kill the bill.

Reid, though, is much more willing to maneuver on the inside to maintain collegiality that he can later redeem. Reid was letting his true feelings show last year when he told a reporter that he "wouldn't throw myself under the train" on last year's dump measure.

Just this week, Reid told the AP the bill is not nearly as "egregious" if they fix the radiation standards language. But does that mean he would then support the bill or make like he's boarding a chopper in Saigon?

It will not be an easy call, especially because Ed Bernstein, the Democrat trying to take Bryan's seat, wants to use nuclear waste as a way to bludgeon Republican John Ensign -- in much the same way Reid did in 1998. But if the issue is taken off the table, and Reid has declared victory, what does Bernstein do? "There's a lot riding on this," said one legislative observer.

The same is true of the high school/college/Olympics betting ban measure, which Reid will answer with a countermeasure to probe illegal betting, co-sponsored by Robert Torricelli and Louisiana's John Breaux, both from gaming states.

But this is a Nevada-only measure, which makes it more difficult for the delegation and for American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf.

If the former Republican National Committee chairman can't get a GOP senator to sign onto Reid's bill, that will not be helpful. Reps. Shelley Berkley and Jim Gibbons did their part for the industry on Friday, signing a "Dear Colleague" letter that responds to a demagogic one issued by the House sponsors earlier in the week.

The industry's soft money largesse may indeed have softened up the leadership in both houses. But if the bill gets momentum, that boulder could start rolling down the hill again toward Nevada.

And considering they have their hands full with nuclear waste, too, the delegation may find itself in an avalanche of trouble and ready to start crooning their "woe is us" theme song for the home folks.