Columnist Jon Ralston: Third World politics in Nevada

Friday, May 17, 2002 | 4:09 a.m.

And yet, behind the sheen, Nevada remains a back- water.

We live in a place where who will win election to the state's highest elected position is more certain than in some Third World countries; where the city's most prominent politician shills for a gin company and funnels the proceeds to his wife's prestigious private school while public education withers; and where pregnant women can't find doctors while the political elites fret more about who might file against them tomorrow than what their responsibility might be to fix the crisis.

Against that dark backdrop looms the possibility of labor strife that could decimate an already rickety economy, as gaming chiefs harvest the bitter fruits of their harsh miens during the post-9/11 layoffs and labor bosses stir their workers into fighting for health care plans that some millionaires don't have.

Cause for concern? Not in Nevada.

I have said before that the Democratic Party is moribund, that its leadership is hollow. And I say it again: Gov. Kenny Guinn should not be getting a free ride.

The Democrats speak forcefully and cogently in hushed tones about what they see as issues the governor has not been challenged on: the tax structure, education funding, power rates. But when they are asked to talk in normal voices, to declare the governor's office important enough to risk political extinction, the fear of retribution or un-election snatches their tongues. Here, The Anointment Party is the only one that matters, with its headquarters on Las Vegas Boulevard South.

A two-party system? Not in Nevada.

As for education funding, I grant you that the school district's wailing and cutting of programs the trustees know will make parents mewl -- sports, for example -- is sadly repetitive. But the next time you hear a Republican whine about accountability, ask about the per-pupil funding being $1,000 below the national average. Ask about teachers who have to buy their own supplies, about overcrowded classrooms, about kindergarten that meets for less than half a day. Don't expect a straight answer.

Most communities would want to brag about how good their schools are, how they are funding them to produce the best and the brightest. They would cheer the iNVest plan produced by the state's superintendents, led by Clark County's Carlos Garcia, as a way to improve education. Here, the governor is congratulated by the teachers' union for agreeing to raise funding to the national average. Strive for mediocrity -- that's our motto.

Quality education at any cost? Not in Nevada.

We also have the political system's reaction to the manifest crisis of doctors shuttering their practices because of escalating insurance premiums. The doctors have been masterful, hiring PR men and lobbyists close to the governor, and creating the momentum for a solution. But the problem is real and the political system has reacted predictably -- Band-Aids and promises.

Instead of thoughtful solutions, we have loony-tune ideas such as extending the state employee liability cap of $50,000 to doctors, creating a special, privileged class. Where is the serious talk about insurance reform or tort reform, about the imperative to give these doctors a reason to stick around?

Here, politicians are frightened of saying anything during an election season to anger any of the involved, special interest groups.

Substantial, progressive policy? Not in Nevada.

Finally, during the same week the public education system cried out for money, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman offered to give half the proceeds of his self-promotional gin venture to his wife's tony private school. Anywhere else, with anyone else, this would be scandalous. Not here.

Many people realize the mayor is not to be taken seriously, a distinction he has earned. But here we have the city's most prominent official assisting (at most) a handful of kids at his wife's school rather than purchasing textbooks and supplies for hundreds of kids at a public school, or helping the homeless, or infusing money into the mental health system he claims to care about. Or maybe keeping his original pledge to donate all of it to the city's budget.

Instead we have His Honor reveling in his Bacchanalian pursuits and using his public office to enrich his wife's place of business (an idea he claims was Bombay Sapphire representative Larry Ruvo's idea as a condition of the deal, which doesn't make it any better). It's that rare oxy- moron -- classless elitism. And yet the media purrs, chuckles, enables.

Is Goodman treated differently? Don't forget the standard at City Hall. Michael McDonald almost lost his job because he used his position to help his employer. Michael Mack may still lose his because of a vote that helped a creditor. But Goodman is unscathed when he brazenly uses his position -- he would not have that Bombay gin contract were he not mayor and Carolyn Goodman would not be the beneficiary were she not related to him -- to help his wife?

Then again, I can't help but savor the irony of a man who regularly sends terrible messages to children -- name-calling is OK, drinking is harmless fun, it's all about me -- donating funds from a gin contract to a school.

Only in Nevada.