Congress members taking it to the streets

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 | 7:29 a.m.

WASHINGTON - Don't be surprised to see Nevada's members of Congress at a town hall meeting or rally near you next month.

Democratic and Republican leaders are pushing representatives to talk up party priorities during the August recess, when members - especially those few in truly contested races - head home to campaign. The stakes are unusually high.

"It's the missile race - the same as the U.S. and the USSR," said Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "Control of Congress is very much in question. For the first time in 12 years, members have a lot to work for - potentially the prestige and power of being in charge."

The Democratic battle cry is to "own the month of August." House Republican leadership is sending members home with pocket-card talking points, fresh from the printer this week.

In the Las Vegas area, Republican Rep. Jon Porter is planning a flurry of August events, including possible public forums on education, transportation and Yucca Mountain.

Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley is expected to make her party's case on energy issues with soaring gasoline prices and the need for alternative fuels.

But Nevada's delegates in Washington bristle at the suggestion that their parties are calling the shots.

"Congressman Porter takes his marching orders from his constituents," spokesman T.J. Crawford said. "A memo is not going to tell him how to conduct his congressional business over the recess Look at those three issues - education, transportation, Yucca Mountain. That's local stuff. That's the stuff that's important to Nevadans."

Similarly, Republican Sen. John Ensign - whose events include a Lake Tahoe summit and a talk with new Clark County School District teachers - will be focused on his work and vision for the state, a spokesman said. Ensign also is up for re-election.

While Berkley will be taking her party's "new direction" message to voters, her spokesman said they are issues she "has talked about and will continue to talk about whether she is in Las Vegas or on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives."

Still, party leaders want to avoid a sluggish summer when either side could lose ground in the crucial run-up to November. Just over a dozen seats in the House, and half as many in the Senate, are expected to decide which party controls the chambers.

"This is about every member going to their home district, talking with people and telling them what we've done," said Gretchen Hamel, spokeswoman for the House Republican Conference.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid wants voters to know Democrats have a "plan to move our country in a new direction," a spokesman said. The party has more than 150 events planned nationwide Aug. 5.

Sabato noted there was a time hardly a generation ago when the August recess really was a break. Not this summer. Not when there's more attention being paid to the midterm election than at nearly any time since Republicans swept control of both houses of Congress in 1994.

"People don't take vacations any more," Sabato said. "In political years, it's just essential to spend that time planning for an extremely busy September and October. If you're not ready to go full-out as a party, as a caucus, as a candidate, you're opponent probably is."

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