Where I Stand—Brian Greenspun: Keeping Bush honest

Friday, May 25, 2001 | 10:21 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

ACTING ON principle is a rare occurrence in political Washington. It is commonplace and refreshing in the rest of the country.

Regardless of how you see the results of Sen. Jim Jeffords' leaving the Republican Party affecting your own political goals and desires, the fact of the matter is that the man from Vermont acted out of conscience and that, in itself, is worth celebrating.

What is being said everywhere else, of course, depends from which quarter the comments are being sought. The White House, for example, will focus on bipartisanship and the need to move forward; the GOP branch of the United States Senate will remain perplexed and confused for a few days and will be, privately, deeply embittered by what some will think is selfish conduct on Jeffords' part proving, once again, that looking in the mirror is not part of what those folks like to do (just ask Sen. John McCain his view of what just happened and which party with which big tent is to blame); and the Democrats, inwardly overjoyed, will and should play humble and talk about the ability to give meaning to President George W. Bush's words of bipartisanship.

In the end, though, this seismic shift in the political faceplates of 21st century federalism will benefit the one person who is probably the single biggest cause of Jeffords' jump -- President Bush.

That's because, assuming all else stays static in the upper chamber of the U.S. Congress, which is an assumption not so easy to accept, the independence of Jim Jeffords will cause the Bush White House to moderate not only its words but also its deeds as it proceeds through the next 100 and 1,000 days of this administration. After all, it was one thing to listen to candidate W. on the campaign trail when he preached collegiality and urged everyone to get along and quite another thing when he took the oath of office and immediately let the dogs of ultraconservatism out to roam amongst a naive and unsuspecting public.

It was that kind of double talk and singled-minded movement toward the far right of the Republican Party that chased Jeffords from the ranks of a political place he had lived comfortably in throughout a long life in public service. I know whereof I speak because as I listened to his speech announcing his move toward independence I couldn't help thinking that the sentiments he expressed matched my own because I, too, belong to a political party that long ago moved away from the principles that first attracted me to it and toward a different standard that is practically unrecognizable to the moderate wing of the GOP.

As soon as the Congress sends the tax cut bill to the president, Jeffords' switch will be completed and the Democrats will control the agenda in the Senate for the first time since 1994. This time, though, they will be chastened by seven years in the outback of political activity, a place to which they do not want to return and a place, I might add, to which they could easily be sent if the public doesn't see action on its behalf. That means that with the Senate in the hands of a very capable majority leader named Tom Daschle, it will be incumbent upon both the White House and the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to moderate their views and their actions so that progress can be made in the areas of education, health care and the environment -- all matters important to the public and dissed by the current leader of the Senate, Trent Lott.

Since both sides will have to learn how to be civil to and work with one another, the man who will benefit most will be our president, who will be forced to walk the road of bipartisanship and not just talk about it. This should make him more popular with the public, which just wants to get things done and doesn't much care who gets the credit. A happy electorate is good for incumbents. By the way, a Senate which forces President Bush toward the center may be just the kind of excuse he's looking for to be able to stand up to his vice president and the very conservative wing of his party.

There are some who will condemn Jeffords for switching from a Republican to an independent. They have a point, just like they must have had when they condemned two Democratic senators who switched to the GOP just a few years ago. Not!

While party switching has been a rare occurrence for any number of good reasons, I believe that current events coupled with substantive changes in party principles may encourage others to take the leap. Both ways. That means there may be more to come, which could further jumble the players before the next election.

It is also clear to me that others may benefit from the Vermont senator's actions. And that's us. Yes, way out here in Nevada there is a man who not only cobbled the deal together to encourage the defection of his Northeastern colleague to the other side but who, because of that switch, finds himself in a position that no senator from this state has ever been in -- the second most powerful man in the U.S. Senate.

Our senior senator, Harry Reid, is now in a position to help Nevadans like no other politician has been before. If the administration wants something badly enough, Harry will be the man who can put a crimp in their plans or make sure the sailing is smooth. That means he has chips with which to bargain, and that means that this nuclear waste cloud that hangs so ominously over our heads may not yet darken the rest of our lives. We are still an underdog in that fight, but give Harry Reid the whip he needs and the odds will get much shorter.

So consider a future muddled with nuclear waste or one a bit more concerned about the environment and education. That may be the choice that Sen. Jeffords' party switch has given us and that's the contextual lens through which I think Nevadans ought to view what just happened. Seen in that light, I don't know how we can argue with the good senator from Vermont.

Independence is a good thing. I remember when Nevadans thought so, too.