Democratic tidal wave

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s historic and overwhelming victory Tuesday, along with the big gains made by Democrats in Congress, were a repudiation of the failed and divisive Republican policies in handling the economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, didn’t help himself by selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, whom the far right loved but who the overwhelming majority of Americans knew was clearly unqualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Also working against McCain was his steadfast support of President Bush. Voters didn’t forget that for eight years President Bush and his supporters in Congress had right-wing ideological answers to just about any issue and engaged in slash-and-burn politics along the way.

Americans, on Tuesday, said they had had enough.

Other Democrats running for local, state and federal offices, including here in Nevada, often echoed the inspirational message of Obama, who pledged to bring a new way of governing to Washington, one where he would stand by his principles but would also work across the aisle with Republicans to institute common-sense solutions for all that is ailing this country.

It also was relieving — and uplifting — to see that race didn’t end up hurting the candidacy of Obama, who will become the first black man elected president of the United States, truly a moving moment in a country stained by its history of slavery.

It also was heartening to see that Nevada, a battleground state that had voted twice for George Bush, cast its five electoral votes for Obama.

The importance of Nevada’s Democratic presidential caucus, which was moved up in the calendar at the urging of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to give the West a voice earlier in the presidential nominating process, can’t be understated in Obama’s strong performance here.

Before the presidential caucus, Republicans held a slight lead in voter registration in Nevada, but the Democrats were able to engineer a remarkable turnaround, so that Democrats now hold a 100,000-plus registered voter advantage over Republicans.

Obama’s field organization, here in Nevada and elsewhere in the country, was something to behold, as it ran circles around McCain’s campaign in getting people to the polls, both in early voting and on Election Day.

Congress

Democrat Shelley Berkley easily won reelection in the 1st Congressional District. But the big news in Nevada regarding Congress was that Democrat Dina Titus beat Republican incumbent Jon Porter in the 3rd Congressional District. Titus laid out a clear agenda for change, a positive message that resonated with voters compared with the negative attacks by Porter. Meanwhile, Democrat Jill Derby lost in her contest with Republican incumbent Dean Heller in the 2nd Congressional District, which makes up Northern Nevada.

Reid’s influence in the Senate, and Nevada’s standing on national issues, certainly will increase as the number of Democratic senators will grow close to 60. It is a testament to Reid’s toughness and drive that the Senate, which was comfortably in the hands of Republicans before the 2006 election, now has a commanding Democratic majority.

There were many events outside of his control, but the drubbing the GOP took in Congress’ upper house didn’t help Nevada Sen. John Ensign, who was in charge of the Senate Republicans’ efforts to win more seats.

State and local

The Democratic wave that swept through the White House and Congress carried over to Nevada. Democrats took control of the state Senate Tuesday night and extended their hold on the Assembly. They will need that leverage as they deal with a $1 billion budget shortfall and Gov. Jim Gibbons, who has continually blocked the forward-looking solutions the state needs.

The Republican governor’s anti-government ideology has blocked common-sense solutions and threatens to stand in the way of progress. The question is whether Republicans in the Legislature will follow his lead.

Our hope is that they see the will of the people, who voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, and will put aside their partisanship. The Republicans should work with the Democrats to find solutions to put the state on the right path. Past budget cuts have set the state back years in the areas of transportation, education and health care, and this is not the time to blindly slash the budget.

Clark County voters made that clear, using the ballot to rebuke Republicans and their policies. Voters were convincingly approving an advisory question to raise the room tax to increase funding to public schools. That is a clear slap in the face of the far right, which has unbelievably tried to argue that school funding in the state is sufficient.

On the Clark County Commission, the Democratic incumbents cruised to reelection and in the two open seats, Larry Brown and Steve Sisolak, made it a Democratic sweep.

From top to bottom, Tuesday was the Democrats’ night, as the politics of division that were perfected by Republicans in recent elections were decisively rejected. It also was a night, including at the local and state level, that the anti-government, anti-everything mantra suffered a resounding defeat. For that, we can all be thankful.