Editorial: Guinn must fight harder

Wednesday, March 2, 2005 | 9:08 a.m.

President Bush wants to filch at least $700 million a year from Nevada and Gov. Kenny Guinn says he doesn't have the strength to fight him. The governor says that, for now, he's going to allow Nevada's congressional delegation to take the lead in fighting Bush's proposal to confiscate 70 percent of the revenue from federal land sales here -- revenue that a 1998 federal law says belongs to Nevada. "No matter how tough your dog is, you can only get into so many fights," Guinn said. That's not the posture we believe our governor should be assuming. It's true that our congressional delegation -- two Democrats and three Republicans -- are singing in the same choir when it comes to voicing strong opposition to Bush's money grab. But Guinn, as governor of the state, should be leading the choir. His voice should be heard above all others. It should be loud enough to rattle the fine china in the White House.

It's inconceivable to us that Guinn could assume for one moment that Nevadans would not want him out front on this issue. President Bush has proposed reaching into our pockets and literally stealing money that belongs to this state -- money that means the world in terms of our ability to meet the needs of our growing population. It's on issues of this magnitude that we look first to the governor, and expect to see a warrior in full battle mode. Instead we're seeing a Republican governor shrinking and shivering in the shadow of a Republican president hell bent on ruining this state.

Guinn will need to do a lot more than issue a press release clarifying his stance on this issue. He made the remark about taking a back seat to the congressional delegation while attending a National Governors Association meeting in Washington. After the story was picked up by the state's media outlets, Guinn's press office distributed this statement by the governor: "I want to make it clear that I am strongly opposed to the federal government taking funds away from the state. I am in agreement with our congressional delegation that this must not be allowed to happen. ... I plan on making personal contact with the Bush administration ... to tell them that this proposal is not good for the people of Nevada."

Bush proposed this outrageous raid on Nevada's revenue a month ago. And Guinn is just now saying he plans to tell administration staffers that the plan is "not good?" Guinn has a history of being pushed around by Bush. He chaired the president's election and re-election campaigns here, knowing that doing so was equivalent to rolling out the red carpet for Yucca Mountain -- the deadly nuclear waste dump that Bush wants to open 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. As governor, Guinn should rise above partisanship and fight tooth and nail for this state. If our own dishes were rattling as he roared at the White House, we wouldn't complain -- we'd cheer and be proud.