UNLV profs: Yucca won’t be key issue in race

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004 | 9:41 a.m.

With Las Vegas on the verge of a presidential-candidate filled couple of days, some of the top political scientists at UNLV gathered for an on-campus forum Monday night to talk about the coming election.

The panel of six academics agreed the war in Iraq is the biggest issue in the campaign, but some said that issue might be overshadowed in key states.

"In some key battleground states the economy may overpower terrorism or Iraq," said Kenneth Fernandez, whose expertise is in public policy and American politics.

While the debate over turning Yucca Mountain into a nuclear waste dump might energize some voters, panel members said it doesn't appear the issue will play a large role in the election.

"It won't turn Republicans to Democrats or vice-versa, but it may well turn nonvoters into voters," political science Professor Ted Jelen said.

Overall there was agreement that President George Bush and Sen. John Kerry are locked in a close race.

The first debate "rendered the contest competitive," assistant professor Michele Kuenzi said.

Jelen agreed it could go to the wire. "The evidence suggests we're heading toward another all-nighter if not another all-monther."

About 50 people attended the forum, which was held at the Richard Tam Alumni Center at UNLV and was hosted by Las Vegas ONE anchor Jeff Gillan. The forum was held as Las Vegas readies for the expected arrival of independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on Wednesday, and then Kerry and Bush on Thursday.

The forum also touched on the congressional race between incumbent Republican Jon Porter and Democrat Tom Gallagher.

David Fott, who specializes in American government and politics, said Gallagher would likely need a big boost from the Kerry camp to beat the incumbent. He also said it is unusual for candidates with a sizable lead, such as Porter, to turn to negative campaigning, and others agreed.

"Porter is running as if he's four points behind, and not like someone with a double-digit lead," Jelen said.

The panel also weighed in on the explosion of ballot initiatives. Clark County residents will see at least 10 on the ballot.

Assistant professor David Damore said the original intent of ballot initiatives was that they would be a grass-roots effort from the voters. However, they are instead tools of special interests that use the initiative process to work around state Legislatures.

Kuenzi said ballot initiatives are bad for democracy because they remove consensus-building from the political process.

The forum also discussed the Electoral College.

Ann Ward, an expert in ancient political philosophy, said the Electoral College has certainly affected the choice of presidential candidates. For example, Kerry's running mate John Edwards was picked at least in part because he is from North Carolina and is expected to help win Southern votes.

Likewise, Bush hails from the electoral-vote-rich state of Texas, she said.

Damore added that the Electoral College creates a disincentive to campaigning across the country, because candidates are best served by focusing on the states where the races will be close.