Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Examining Reid and that PAC

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2000 | 12:37 p.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Her column appears Thursdays. h her at deskin@vegas.com.

Legal and aboveboard but, nevertheless, a bit sneaky and underhanded.

That is the way I look at the amassing of funds under the guise of a soft-money political action committee.

Before going further, I must admit that this column took some hard decision-making before I decided to write. After all, it involves Sen. Harry Reid, whom I admire and respect.

Reid is one of the most honorable men I know, but he has been caught in the web of distrust now being aimed at the subject of soft-money PACs. He has been bashed repeatedly in letters to the editor regarding his Searchlight Leadership Fund PAC.

Unlike most campaign funds the PAC does not require disclosure of the sources of donations. Nevada law requires candidates to disclose funding sources. On the national level, however, the PACs are allowed to solicit and accept funds without disclosure. Reid is one of many senators who are taking advantage of the system. And it is all perfectly legal but questionable. It's another way of belling the cat. Funds are to be used to assist party candidates in their campaigns.

With all the huffing and puffing by Congress over campaign reform, it is ironic that PACs are alive and doing quite well, thank you. Reid has gone public in announcing the Searchlight Leadership Fund and justifying his position. Personally, I believe political expediency is not sufficient cause for PACs to exist in this atmosphere of secrecy.

Perhaps the senator can explain it to me. Again, and for the record, I believe Reid is a man of great integrity and Nevada is fortunate to have him in the Senate. But he might have an Achilles' heel until this whole idea of soft-money PACs becomes obsolete.

Occasionally friends or acquaintances will request that I read a manuscript and tell them whether I think it has possibilities. I'm certainly no expert in the department and have never been too keen to grant the request. My reticence is based on not wishing to dash the hopes of aspiring writers by giving a thumbs-down signal. That certainly would not be the case for Vasili Sulich. I have just finished reading a fascinating autobiography written by the former director and founder of Nevada Dance Theatre.

Sulich is a surprisingly good storyteller with a great life story. His style is unique and almost poetic in the beauty of the prose. Sulich needs a publisher and a good editor to give his story more continuity and tighten the loose ends. With that, he could have a best seller.

There's a sadness every time a long-established hometown business bows to the test of time and economics and succumbs to the big boys. Such is the case with Walt Casey Culligan, swallowed by a merger with U.S. Filter.

For 50 years the Walt Casey name meant clean, clear water for hundreds of residents. When Walt retired, his son, Steve, carried on with a company noted for business integrity and customer service.

Las Vegas was built on the ingenuity and faith of men and women who had confidence in the future and established small businesses. As large corporations moved in, the picture has changed, but many of us will remember the Walt Caseys and others who made it all possible.