Buckley’s decision may not be best for Nevada, but is for her

By Jon Ralston

Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 | 2 a.m.

With a 2-to-1 lead in the gubernatorial primary polls, plenty of money for a credible campaign and a loyal, passionate following, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley must be a terrible politician to opt out of a race she easily could have won.

But she also must be a great mother.

Some day her 10-year-old son, Aiden, will realize what his mother sacrificed for him, how she let go of a dream for his sake. In the world of politics, where motivations are seldom accepted at face value and where the personal so often is secondary to the political, any elected official who explains a decision by declaring he or she will spend more time with the family is immediately disbelieved.

So, too, will Buckley’s explanation invoking Aiden be derided by many in the conspiracy-theorizing, petty-minded echo chamber, where it will be unthinkable that someone could actually decide a course of action by looking into the eyes of a child instead of gazing upward at the next rung on the political ladder.

I can hear the whispers: She was frightened off by The Reid Machine (Rory for governor and Harry for reelection). They must have found her a job or an appointment. Curse the good old boys — they win again.

But that is insipid nonsense.

Few know just how badly Buckley wanted to run for governor — and once you realize she believed she could win, Occam’s razor applies. Indeed, Buckley has mused about running for governor for many years. In preparation, she methodically engrossed herself in the Legislature, amassing a career marked as much by substantial policy accomplishments as remarkable political abilities. It is not ironic that the woman who declined to run for governor because she thought first of her child’s welfare has done so much for child welfare in this state. It is, instead, fitting.

Don’t misunderstand: I know the political side of Barbara Buckley, too. She can be brusque, dismissive, ruthless, even vindictive — just ask some of the capital lobbying corps. But like great lawmakers before her, politics was not just a game to Buckley but a means to an end, usually one involving legislation that would endear her to no special interest but would make a difference in lives.

I thought it was her political side that was most operative during the difficult 2009 session, when I thought she did less on tax policy so she could do more later as governor. I thought she might have compromised too much because she was concerned with her political viability in the governor’s race.

Perhaps that was true, or perhaps, as she would argue, Madame Speaker simply was being practical because even if she could play Count to 28 in the Assembly for more sweeping changes, Majority Leader Steven Horsford could not Count to 14 in the Senate. But even if Buckley was keeping one eye on the governor’s race during Session ’09, she also couldn’t help but miss Aiden, sitting languidly in her office as she negotiated some deal or wondering plaintively on the phone when she would come home.

I think Buckley knew shortly after the session concluded that she would not run. She knew the math was there for her to win — she had polls months ago showing her crushing County Commission Chairman Rory Reid in the Democratic primary. But she was considering another equation — her son had just turned 10 and if she ran for governor and presumed (as they all do) two terms and eight years, she would miss half of middle school, all of high school, and then Aiden would be in college.

I don’t think Buckley could justify the race when she did that math. The poll results a couple of weeks ago showing her with that big lead might have made her stop and think, especially after calls of support poured in. But any call to duty to save the Democratic Party from Reid the Younger’s negatives were blunted by her higher calling as a mother.

So she is out, although this is not a eulogy — Buckley is young and could return. But an opportunity like this may never come her way again, and she knows that.

I’d love to talk about the politics of her decision — for instance, how other prominent Democrats might consider getting in the governor’s race if Reid the Elder’s shadow doesn’t scare them away. But that is for another day.

Today’s story, shockingly, is about putting family over politics. And with all the chatter that having two Reids on the ballot hurts both of them, I can’t help but think that Reid the Elder is wondering if Reid the Younger gets the point.

Jon Ralston hosts the news discussion program “Face to Face With Jon Ralston” on Las Vegas ONE and publishes the daily e-mail newsletter “RalstonFlash.com.” His column for the Las Vegas Sun appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.