Columnist Benjamin Grove: Can Reid-Ensign bond survive beyond Yucca?

Benjamin Grove

Friday, July 12, 2002 | 4:49 a.m.

AFTER YEARS of legislative wrangling, months of intense lobbying, and hours of spirited final debate, senators late Tuesday afternoon filed into the Senate chamber to vote on Yucca Mountain.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., knew they were whipped.

As the "aye" votes flooded in, the two men huddled together on the floor -- a band of two battle-scarred brothers.

They shook hands. And they smiled -- fleeting, sad smiles. At that moment, the political odd couple was closer than ever.

"We just said, 'We gave it everything we had,' " Ensign said later.

Reid: "At that moment we realized that it wasn't as if we had taken a called third strike with the bases loaded. We played a good game. Looking back, I just really don't know what we could have done differently."

The two had lost the Yucca battle, as everyone expected they would. But they did it "valiantly," as one anti-Yucca activist put it -- and perhaps more importantly, they had done it together.

"You don't go through something like that without trust," Ensign said later.

Of course by now everyone knows the Reid-Ensign story: two bitter foes from the 1998 Senate race that Reid won by the narrowest of margins, just 428 votes.

Then they were thrown together just two years later when Ensign was elected to Nevada's other Senate seat. They quickly agreed to cultivate a working partnership, but it blossomed into a friendship that surprised even them.

The two often recount the tale at a weekly breakfast in an ornate Capitol room held each Thursday for Nevadans visiting Washington. Guests chuckle at the notion that this Democrat, the assistant majority leader, and this most conservative of Republicans get along so well.

The two swap inside jokes, and tease each other's staffers. They are the "envy" of other lawmakers who are mired in petty rivalries with the other senator from their state, Reid said.

There's no question Nevada benefits from the healthy political alliance.

The question is: Can it last?

To be sure, slogging through the trenches during the Yucca wars cemented their friendship. "Nevada's slogan is 'Battle Born,' " Ensign said during Senate debate. "When it comes to Yucca Mountain, we intend to fight."

Reid and Ensign's relationship was battle born, too.

But what now? These two politicians will have far less reason to remain close. Their frequent Yucca strategy sessions will cease. They both have lots of other fights vying for their attention. Will they grow apart?

Ensign has at times deferred to Reid's judgment, seeking the senior senator's guidance. As the freshman becomes more and more comfortable in his senator's shoes, will he seek Reid's counsel less?

Will the Reid and Ensign staffs, which by all accounts work well together now, fall into nasty, partisan patterns so common on Capitol Hill?

As the election season heats up, both men likely will be active campaigners for their teams. Reid, as a high-profile Democratic leader, will continue his public critiques of President Bush. Ensign understands this role. But will it gnaw at him?

In two short years, when Reid is challenged for his seat, will Ensign vigorously campaign against his friend?

My guess is Reid and Ensign will continue to deftly avoid situations that call on them to criticize each other directly -- including elections.

But they likely will drift off on their own separate paths. The luster on their celebrated alliance may fade. Still, they'll remain collegial. The two, along with their aides, will continue to work together on legislation and budget issues that benefit Nevada.

"You go through these battles and they tend to strengthen your relationship," Reid said, "rather than weaken it."