Columnist Jon Ralston: Ten questions before voting

Friday, Oct. 22, 2004 | 7:14 a.m.

Jon Ralston hosts the news discussion program Face to Face on Las Vegas ONE and publishes the Ralston Report. He can be reached at (702) 870-7997 or at ralston@vegas.com.

WEEKEND EDITION

October 23 - 24, 2004

Like me, I am sure you are counting down the days until the election so we can get down to the serious business of the state, which, of course, is impeaching a shameless constitutional officer who holds a superfluous position no one cares about.

But as we breathlessly await Controller Kathy Augustine's public hanging next month, questions remain about Campaign '04 that should be resolved within the next 10 days -- or so we hope. Ten come to mind and may be of relevance to those of you who are not among the 100,000-plus early voters who have treated your franchise as a convenience to be dispensed with rather than a sacred right to be exercised only after all the information is in:

No. 1: If you are among the few in Nevada who cannot make up your minds on the presidential race, why wouldn't George W. Bush's behavior on Yucca Mountain make the difference? Assume you admire the president's resolve but worry about the misleading reasons for war and/or respect John Kerry's service but wonder about his equivocation reflex.

All politics, even presidential politics, ultimately may be local. Kerry at least will try to stop Yucca Mountain -- he has made too many specific promises to do otherwise. Bush has for four years patronized the state, embarrassed its GOP leaders and lied about his intentions -- why shouldn't this be decisive if you are indecisive?

No. 2: Why isn't the right decision -- with the possible exception of the advisory question on sales taxes for police -- to vote against every initiative on the ballot to protest the abuse of the process? The doctors and lawyers are the biggest perpetrators of this fraud, with both misleading the public with silly ads to pass their initiatives. (Anyone else swerve to miss a doctor walking out of town as you drive to California on Interstate 15?)

I know our leaders often don't act like leaders. But this solution -- circumventing the republic to allow opportunists and special interests to manipulate the system -- is the greater of two evils.

No. 3: Which party has been more craven this year? GOP leaders have meekly and spinelessly refused to try to extract anything on any issue (Yucca comes to mind) from the president during an election in which Nevada is as important as it ever been -- truly an impeachable offense. And the Democrats are so desperate to hold onto their only power base in the state -- the Assembly -- that their leaders have protected some members unfit for office (the leering Mark Manendo) and ignored obvious problems with others (two county employees fired for double dipping).

No. 4: Why does it seem that there are more legislative candidates than ever with no visible means of support, no record of any real jobs and no reason to serve other than they need the elected position to survive? Not to single anyone out -- well, maybe a few -- but has anyone figured out what Mark Manendo, Anthony Bandiero, Chad Christensen and Francis Allen do for a living?

No. 5: Does it bother anyone else that with no widespread evidence -- at least not yet -- of voter fraud that the parties are both sending in swarms of lawyers to lay the groundwork for post-Election Day lawsuits to challenge the results if their man doesn't win the White House? If Nevada is decided by a few thousand votes, and the presidential contest is close, too, the stringing up of Ms. Augustine may have to wait.

No. 6: Despite the overheated rhetoric and ludicrous innuendo, does anyone really think the world will change much if Tom Gallagher or Jon Porter go to Congress or if Lynette Boggs McDonald, David Goldwater, Tom Collins or Shari Buck go to Grand Central Parkway? The irony of these campaigns is that the intensity and volume of the rhetoric is in inverse proportion to the actual differences between the candidates.

No. 7: In the Year of Sen. Harry "Pinky" Reid using his childhood friends in his ads and Rep. Jim Gibbons using a supposedly apolitical ballot initiative (Education First) in his campaign commercials, is there any substance out there? Positive is one thing; insipid and vacuous is another.

No. 8: Is Kenny Guinn still the governor? The man vilified by his own party since Sessions '03 has not been a visible political force this year. Will he be in Session(s) '05? Can he be?

No. 9: Why has the largest tax increase in history not sparked some kind of tax revolt in Nevada despite the best laid plans of certain Republicans? I wonder if that means it didn't affect most Nevadans that much.

No. 10: Speaking of Augustine, why haven't legislative leaders announced that while they will give the controller due process, they will not allow her to defend herself by using calumny against others? Get in and get out. Or someone get her a job so she will resign. They should not allow it to take more than two weeks -- and that sounds too long.

So don't vote early. Wait for the last debate to be done, the last dirty trick to be played and the last mailer to arrive. And then it's time to celebrate that all the political nonsense will be over -- unless you count the Augustine lynching, the run-up to Session '05, the 120 days (at least) to follow and then we will be fully engaged in the race for governor.

Great news: It's never over even when it's over.