Columnist Jeff German: Beers goes way beyond insensitive

Friday, Feb. 7, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

It was once amusing to watch Assemblyman Bob Beers, the budget-crunching Las Vegas Republican, challenge the wisdom of his party's governor in the tax debate at the Legislature.

Now it's just disgusting.

When Beers suggested that Gov. Kenny Guinn, instead of proposing $1 billion in new taxes, should consider cutting back Medicaid for seniors or health insurance for children living in poverty, we thought he was insensitive.

When he proposed charging Nevadans a fee for taking the time to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles rather than conducting their business by mail or e-mail, we figured he was crazy.

This week, when he declared casino workers among the worst of society, we saw him as ignorant and mean-spirited -- a man who needs counseling.

In an e-mail responding to questions from Las Vegan Betty Pardo, Beers suggested the casino industry provides "some of the best jobs in America for people who do not value education."

He also wrote that casino workers "sire" children who are more prone to dropping out of school, reproducing illegitimate children, abusing drugs and alcohol and killing themselves than those who value education.

His words insulted thousands of casino industry housekeepers, mostly Hispanic women, who migrated to Las Vegas with the hope of gaining a better life for themselves and their families.

And Beers angered countless food servers, such as state Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, who is sending her 18-year old daughter to college and preparing to send another one next year.

"Every parent wants to lift their children up to the next level," says Carlton, an activist in the Culinary Union, which represents casino workers.

What Beers did was promote a stereotype we would expect from the most rabid gaming industry foe, not a seasoned member of the Nevada Legislature.

The use of "sire" is particularly disturbing. It refers to the breeding of animals. Early in American history, it was used to describe the "breeding" of slaves.

Some argue there may be underlying racial overtones to the assemblyman's disdain for casino workers.

That may be a stretch. But in his own way, Beers has become Nevada's version of Trent Lott.

He has marginalized himself with his colleagues in Carson City and taken himself out of play as an effective voice in the tax debate. Even his public apology doesn't sound plausible. He says he was just trying to further a discussion of taxes.

Of course he was -- by displaying his own deep-rooted social prejudices.

Today, with the future of our economy hanging in the balance, we can't afford to allow this kind of perverse thinking to clutter up the tax debate.

Beers should come home and seek counseling at one of Nevada's fine health facilities -- before the state runs out of money and closes it.