Editorial: Opportunity now abounds for the Democratic Party

Sunday, Nov. 12, 2006 | 1:19 a.m.

Tensions were high Tuesday and Wednesday when the results of U.S. Senate races in Virginia and Montana were too close to officially call. But after both Republican candidates in those states conceded their races Thursday, Democrats came away from the election having gained the majority in both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994.

Nevada's stake in the outcome was monumental. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who represented Southern Nevada for two terms in the House before being elected to the Senate in 1986, will now become the majority leader when the new Congress convenes in January.

In this position, Reid will be one of the four most influential and powerful elected officials in the country, sharing that distinction with the president, vice president and speaker of the House.

For Nevada, Reid's ascension means that Republican plans to defile the state with the nation's sole dump for high-level nuclear waste, at Yucca Mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, are in grave jeopardy. But as he blocks Nevada from this fate, he will also be serving the country, as plans to transport the waste to Yucca Mountain left a majority of states vulnerable to tragic accidents.

On the national level, Reid and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic congresswoman from the San Francisco Bay Area who is poised to become the speaker of the House, will be in a position to influence a change in the Bush administration's tactics and strategy in Iraq.

They will also be in a position to revive Congress from its six-year slumber on issues affecting ordinary Americans. Since President Bush was elected in 2000, the domestic agenda of the Republican-controlled Congress has been fixated on tax cuts for the rich and pandering to special interest groups affiliated with far-right causes. Additionally during this time, Republicans in Congress have been known for their short workweeks and for their ethical and legal transgressions.

Reid and Pelosi have pledged to change the whole image of Congress. Both say ethics reform will be a priority and that Congress under their leadership will be newly energized. Their domestic agenda, they promise, will be a return to what most people expect from Congress - a dedication to passing legislation that will improve the lives of all Americans.

On Wednesday during a nationally televised speech, Bush acceded to the message that voters soundly delivered. Had Republicans retained control of Congress, his message would have been different. But with his administration and his party so badly repudiated at the ballot box, he was forced to pledge a nonpartisan approach during his remaining two years.

For their part, Reid and Pelosi pledge not to exact revenge on Republicans, who had arrogantly flouted their power. Instead, they promise to begin moving legislation in as cooperative a manner as possible on such issues as the minimum wage, energy, the environment, student-loan interest rates, health care, retirement security, ethics reform and the 9/11 Commission's recommendations for making the country safer.

It is a promise that we hope comes to pass. After six years of virtually no movement on legislation benefiting anyone except the rich and special interests, the Democrats have a golden opportunity to show a new kind of accomplishment-oriented leadership - sans the scandals that have so shamed Congress under Republican control.

At stake in the Democrats' performance is nothing less than regaining control of the White House. Owing much to Reid's influence, Nevada's Democratic presidential caucus will immediately follow Iowa's caucus in 2008, ahead of the New Hampshire primary. The home state of the Senate majority leader will be on full view nationally, early in the nation's process for selecting the Democratic presidential candidate. In past years, Nevada's caucus, held after the front-runner had largely been decided, garnered little notice.

The attention paid to Nevada in 2008, however, will bring overwhelming attention to Reid - and how well the Democrats performed during their first year back in control of Congress. The assessments could be crucial to boosting the Democrats' chance of putting their candidate in the White House.

Closer to home, Republicans had more success on Nov. 7. Jim Gibbons, a conservative Republican who has been representing Nevada in Congress for the past 10 years, will be moving to the Governor's Mansion in Carson City in January.

But again, Democrats will have an opportunity to show their effectiveness. The party controls the Assembly 27-15 and trails in the Nevada Senate by only 11-10. Gibbons is not used to compromise, as he was in the majority for his whole time in the House, and became used to partisan power politics. But the Assembly Democrats have an outstanding majority leader in Barbara Buckley of Las Vegas.

Under her leadership, we are confident that Democratic goals such as full-day kindergarten, increased salaries for teachers, greater access to health insurance and developing alternative energy industries can be realized.

The Nov. 7 election created a historic opportunity for Democrats at the national and state levels. The party has America's attention, and we are confident that its leadership will not let the opportunity pass.