Editorial: Seeing politics as priority

Tuesday, June 6, 2006 | 7:12 a.m.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, in a meeting with reporters and editors Friday at the Las Vegas Sun, noted that President Bush is now saying that a resolution of the Iraq war will rest with whomever succeeds him in the White House. Given the worsening situation in Iraq, Reid said he did not believe the country had that much time.

Reid also noted other major problems that Bush and Congress should be viewing as urgent priorities - the lack of health insurance for 46 million Americans, high gasoline prices, cuts in student loans and grants, immigration, ethics, energy, the economy and the plummeting international standing of the United States.

But Republican leaders in the Senate are putting aside these issues in favor of pushing constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage and flag burning and to push for repeal of the estate tax. Reid criticized this abandonment of responsibility.

Only a tiny minority of Americans, those who are in the very upper echelons of wealth, pay the estate tax, Reid said.

He also said he believes that marriage is between a man and a woman, but that he also believes in the ability of the states to resolve this issue.

With the country nearly evenly divided on the gay marriage question, Reid said proposing a constitutional amendment, which has no chance of passage, will serve only to divide the country.

As for flag burning, Reid asked: "Is that as important as other issues?"

Of course not. Partisan politics is all that is driving these Senate GOP proposals.

An initiative question in Ohio to ban gay marriage brought conservatives to the ballot box in droves in this key state during the 2004 general election, helping carry President Bush to victory.

Cutting taxes for the wealthy is another GOP cause, even if it would drain hundreds of billions of dollars from the treasury when the country can least afford it.

A constitutional ban on flag burning is another red-hot issue for conservatives, but there is no need to pass such an amendment. It hasn't been an issue for years.

Senate GOP leaders have one goal in prioritizing these three issues - to recharge their dwindling conservative base in time to rescue the midterm elections. The misplacement of their priorities is matched only by their desperation.