Columnist Jeff German: Democrats looking to bounce back in ‘04

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 4:57 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

WEEKEND EDITION

July 24 - 25, 2004

Nevada Democrats knew something special was in the works in February when rank-and-file members showed up in record numbers at party caucuses to make John Kerry their choice for president.

In Las Vegas the crowd of 6,000 party faithful at Chaparral High School, about 10 times the turnout in 2000, was so big that it spilled over onto the football field.

It was the beginning, Democrats say, of the party's dramatic resurgence from an all-time low just two years earlier.

In 2002 Democrats lost all six constitutional offices in the state, including governor, as well as the new Congressional District 3 seat. Two of their brightest stars not only went down to defeat but later were charged in a federal political corruption probe.

At the Democratic "victory" celebration at the Riviera on election night, a dejected Sen. Harry Reid, the state's leading Democrat, looked like he was presiding over a wake. There was nothing to celebrate.

That's still the case today. But Nevada Democrats head to Boston this week for their national convention brimming with optimism.

"When you see the kind of enthusiasm we're seeing on the Democratic side of the aisle, you're thinking this could be an historic year," says Richard Urey, the top Washington aide to Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas.

Most of this enthusiasm isn't because Kerry is an exciting presidential candidate. It's attributed to animosity toward President Bush and the way he has handled Iraq and the economy.

At their well-attended state convention in April, Democrats vented their anger by passing a platform plank calling for Bush's impeachment because of missteps in Iraq.

Such frustration is reflected on a broader basis in the national polls which, remarkably at this stage of the race, show Bush and Kerry in a dead heat.

"This election matters more to people than it did two years ago," says Mike Sloan, a Mandalay Resort Group executive and longtime Democratic operative who is a delegate in Boston. "It's about their future and their children's future."

But Nevada Democrats have more than just rhetoric to give them reason to smile.

Through aggressive registration drives the party has pulled neck and neck with Republicans in the number of registered voters in the state.

Just last week Democrats surpassed Republicans in registration numbers in the crucial Congressional District 3 race, where Democrat Tom Gallagher is trying to knock off Republican Rep. Jon Porter. The polls have this a tight race, which is giving Democrats a bonafide chance to pick up one of the biggest political plums of the campaign.

Another plus for Democrats this campaign season is the increased involvement of organized labor, the party's traditional ally. A district judge's decision last week to put the AFL-CIO's minimum wage petition back on the ballot is firing up labor leaders, who are working hard to get tens of thousands of their members to the polls.

The biggest test of whether Democrats are on the comeback trail will be whether they're able to help Kerry win the state in November. At the moment their chances look petty good when you factor in Yucca Mountain.

As pointed out here before, there is a huge difference between Bush and Kerry on this issue. Bush is working to put the dangerous nuclear waste dump 90 miles outside Las Vegas, while Kerry is promising to put a halt to the multibillion-dollar project.

A Kerry win in November won't signal a return to glory for the Democrats, but it will bring them up from the depths of despair in this state.

And it will demonstrate that elections do indeed matter.