Columnist Jon Ralston: Goodman has lost credibility

Friday, Feb. 22, 2002 | 3:42 a.m.

Four months ago I wondered whether Goodman, his charisma and zest for his job notwithstanding, was metamorphosing from engaging maverick to loose cannon. Now we know: He's there.

And his comments about the gaming industry, vis a vis Yucca Mountain, reinforce that what Park Place's Tom Gallagher implied last week could be the ultimate result: Goodman could become irrelevant.

Oh, the Lowest Common Denominators he appeals to will always adore him and provide him with the clapping-seal adulation he so craves. But so far as being taken seriously by other elected officials and decision-makers -- those who act like adults and take their jobs seriously, and thus accomplishing anything -- that's a different matter.

I won't go through the litany of Goodmanisms here -- his flip-flops, his character assassinations, his factual inaccuracies. I'll save that catalogue for another day.

But his behavior toward the gaming industry during the last couple of weeks -- culminating with his inane characterization of the casino corps' "eerie silence" on Yucca Mountain -- is nothing short of outrageous, damaging and hypocritical.

It's so easy for anyone, especially those unencumbered by any facts or knowledge, to sneer at the gamers. This is a company town, so naturally the company running the place will be the target of more brickbats than blandishments. This is no apologia for the industry that Goodman first pilloried in a speech a couple of weeks ago as not contributing to the community (followed up by letters to various executives apologizing for his remarks). But consider the facts as Goodman and his drooling acolytes snidely criticize the industry for its $250,000 seed money for the Yucca fight.

Forget that in any other city in America if the leading industry came forth with a quarter of a million dollars, there would be effusive praise. But this is gaming, which is easy to smear because of the nature of the business. Fair enough. Let's look at the history, though:

Since Yucca Mountain was first mentioned in the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the gaming industry has spent billions of dollars in Las Vegas, contributing to the state budget, creating jobs and lending assistance when it could to the dump fight, as ex-Sen. Richard Bryan, who actually knows the facts, pointed out at a news conference. And what has His Honor done?

As a leading citizen of Las Vegas since 1982, Goodman contributed millions of dollars to his own pocketbook trying to keep mobsters out of jail and did not utter a peep about Yucca Mountain. Eerie silence? What's eerie is a man who defended killers and wise guys for a fat paycheck passing judgment on anyone, whether it's the gaming industry, John Sununu or Spencer Abraham.

No one from the gaming industry ever publicly suggested that the state should bargain with the federal government because the dump probably is coming. But the mayor did.

In May 2000 Goodman shot off his mouth at a meeting of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Authority:

"If we say to ourselves that Yucca Mountain is going to be the repository, and that it is a done deal, do we say to ourselves, do we start talking about how we take advantage of that economically? Or do we continue to take the position that I've taken, do we not want this to be used as a repository? That's a decision we have to make ... There is a lot of money to be made if we concede that we are going to be the ultimate destination for this ... I think that we really have to be practical."

That was then. Now Goodman talks about implied consent and lambastes as whores those who even talk about taking the money.

Harrah's CEO Phil Satre said last week, echoing comments made by Rep. Shelley Berkley, that he didn't think Goodman "was very well-informed" about what the industry has been doing. But how can you be well-informed if you don't care about being informed? Goodman makes no effort to educate himself until well after his foot has been shoved far into his esophagus.

And what do Goodman and others think the gamers should have been doing as they tried to, like any business, protect their bottom lines from government assaults? Should they have been wailing about the end of the gaming world here if Yucca Mountain is built, thus creating quite the dilemma with such apocalyptic pronouncements if the dump becomes a reality?

Like most politicians, Goodman is a performer, as he was as a criminal lawyer. But the act is wearing thin and someone needs to tell the man who says whatever he wants to say, whenever he wants to say it, that words do matter for prominent elected officials, that there are times when discretion is the better part of valor.

Or let me put it in terms that the LCDs who love him might understand: Sometimes it's better just to keep your mouth shut.