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Democracy in Peril

By Steve Sebelius

JUST SPECULATING: It was sad to see Las Vegas Councilwoman Janet Moncrief's swearing-in ceremony tainted by allegations from Las Vegas gadflies who claim she conspired to violate election laws by allowing them to work on and send out supposedly "independent" fliers that helped Moncrief's bid to unseat Michael McDonald. We're inclined to put some credibility in the explanation of political consultant Jim Ferrence, who worked for McDonald. Ferrence suspects Moncrief's accusers--former Councilman Steve Miller and activist Peter "Chris" Christoff--were promised some role in government if Moncrief got elected, and then concluded they were had. Moncrief's non-denial denials seem to buttress that conclusion.

The fact is, during the campaign, both Miller and Christoff denied they were engaged in any kind of conspiracy on behalf of Moncrief. Now they want everyone to believe they are suddenly telling the truth, allegedly because Moncrief is using the services of mayoral adviser Tom Letizia, who also does advertising for topless club owner Rick Rizzolo.

But why should we believe them? It's clear that some shenanigans may have taken place during the McDonald-Moncrief race. (Ferrence says Moncrief's reported expenditures couldn't possibly cover all the fliers she sent out during the race.) A complaint filed with Secretary of State Dean Heller's office should provide the vehicle to get to the bottom of the matter. In the meantime, Moncrief's accusers haven't earned enough credibility for their allegations to be taken seriously, until they can be independently confirmed.

IT'S CALLED 'THE CONSTITUTION': Sen. Harry Reid wants teachers to be better at teaching history, civics and stuff like that. As a result, he's introduced the American History and Civics Education Act, along with Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. The bill would create two-week academies for teachers to review those subjects and find better ways of teaching them.

"Our children are our future, and we need to give them the tools to be great leaders," Reid said in a statement. "We need to reaffirm the importance of learning American history and maintaining civic understanding. This legislation would provide tools and resources to America's finest teachers to help inspire today's best and brightest students to become tomorrow's leaders."

According to a course schedule secretly obtained by Democracy in Peril, one of the chapters in the two-week course is about the historical imperative in filibustering federal judges who are secretly right-wing kooks, and another centers on the anti-democratic nature of libertarian editorial pages. Sign us up!

Steve Sebelius writes a daily e-mail newsletter, the E-Briefing, from which "Democracy in Peril" is excerpted. Reach him at 383-0283 or by e-mail at ssebelius@reviewjournal.com. To subscribe to the E-Briefing at a Mercury reader special price of $20 per year, go to www.lasvegasmercury.com/ebriefing.