Editorial: Beware the boomerang syndrome

Thursday, June 26, 2003 | 8:58 a.m.

Many Assembly Republicans from Las Vegas, in the week leading up to the second special session of the Legislature that began Wednesday, kept repeating that they weren't against funding our public schools. They said they would pass the K-12 budget intact -- if they were given a chance to do so. But, they added, they wouldn't pass the education budget if it was linked to an increase in taxes. These Republicans like to portray themselves as fiscal conservatives, but just how are they going to fund education if they're not willing to pay for it? And, as the Legislature's legal counsel has pointed out, the Nevada Constitution requires that the budget for public schools can't be adopted unless there is a corresponding source to fund it.

It also has been interesting -- and galling -- to watch the hypocrisy of Republican lawmakers from rural Nevada. They want to reopen the budget and make cuts before raising taxes to balance a budget that a fiscally conservative Republican governor, Kenny Guinn, has proposed. As the Sun's Cy Ryan noted in a Wednesday story, it was Assembly Republicans who earlier this year pleaded to have 39 law enforcement positions in rural Nevada restored that the governor had proposed cutting from the budget. The rural lawmakers also urged the restoration of money for schools in rural counties where student enrollment is falling. In both instances, the funding was restored by the Legislature. If these lawmakers from rural Nevada truly were principled, they would offer to give this money back to the state treasury. But we're not holding our breath waiting for that to hap pen.

It's been evident from the start that the Republican fight against new taxes, opposition that mainly has come from members of the Assembly, has been all about partisan politics and next year's elections. But the longer this drags on, and the longer they refuse to fund education and the rest of state government, the more likely it will have a boomerang effect, with the public turning on them. If they had any sense, they'd pass the budget and get back home where they can't do any more damage -- to Nevada and to their political careers.