GOP touting jobs growth in Nevada, other states

Kirsten Searer

Monday, May 24, 2004 | 11:06 a.m.

State Republicans beamed Friday when new statistics showed that job growth in Nevada and other battleground states continues to improve.

Of the 17 states considered battlegrounds in this year's presidential campaign, Nevada and 10 other states reported job gains, according to new statistics released from the Department of Labor.

Unemployment in Nevada fell from 4.4 percent in March to 4.3 percent in April. The state has the largest increase proportionate to population.

Within hours of the news, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., and the state Republican Party put out releases touting the President's tax cuts as the reason for recent growth in Nevada.

"President Bush has held firm to the principles guiding his economy policy, and the result is a recovery and a level of stability that is paying off for Americans everywhere," Ensign said.

And in a conference call with reporters on Friday, Bush-Cheney Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman pointed out Nevada as a specific case where he said the President's plans for growth are working.

Almost 50 percent of the jobs created in April in Nevada were at or above the national wage average, said Tim Adams, policy director for the campaign.

The key to creating more high-paying jobs, Adams said, is to allow the economy to purr so that more entrepreneurs "take risks and expand their operations."

Democrats weren't wearing the same rose-tinted lenses.

On Friday a Kerry spokesman criticized the Bush administration for touting a growing economy, saying that Bush will be the first president since Herbert Hoover to have a net loss of jobs under his watch.

"Bush didn't really cut taxes because 32 states, including Nevada, had to raise taxes in response to Bush's failed fiscal policies," Sean Smith, a spokesman for the Kerry campaign, said.

"In addition to that," Smith said, "Bush has no answer for families paying more in gas prices and health care costs. Only George W. Bush would celebrate a record of so many broken promises."

Of the 17 battleground states, only Arizona, Arkansas, Ohio and Washington saw the unemployment rate increase in April. New Mexico and Pennsylvania remained the same.

The economy always is key when it comes to the factors voters use to make their decisions come Election Day, but some consultants predicted Nevadans will see the economic situation differently than other states.

Billy Rogers, a Democratic pollster, said Bush won't be able to get around the fact that there has been an overall net job loss since he took office.

And Bush isn't the reason the Southern Nevada economy is improving, Rogers said.

"There are a lot of people responsible for that, none of whom are President Bush and this administration," he said.

And as the situation in Iraq remains turbulent, some Nevadans might start to worry about the economy here, said Democratic consultant Dan Hart.

"We've been in sort of an upward cycle when large portions of the country haven't been," Hart said. "In war time, we have a very fragile economy. If something should happen that's dramatic -- God forbid a terrorist attack or something happens in the war -- people are less apt to travel, they're less apt to come here."

While national polls show Americans remain worried about the economy, that's partly because of the images they are seeing in Iraq, Mehlman said.

"Americans are recognizing that the economy is improving," he said. "I think the focus (will be) more on domestic issues as the bad news of the past weeks goes down."

The Bush Administration wasted little time spreading its positive economic news.

U.S. Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore was in Las Vegas Friday to talk with Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce members about the strength in the economy. Fore, who is a Las Vegas resident, said Nevada and the nation's economy are doing well with job and homeowner numbers increasing under the Bush administration.

"It's a good reflection on the president's economic policies," she said. "On a national basis the president moved a very effective tax-reduction package. When you lower the tax burden it encourages creation of jobs and encourages consumers to buy goods and services.

"We believe tax relief does need to be permanent," she said. "It's what we're seeing is propelling the economy."

Fore was among several administration officials who traveled to battleground states to spread the word about Friday's positive news.