DEMOCRACY IN PERIL

Thursday, May 01, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Democracy in Peril

By Steve Sebelius

SAY WHAT?: We were contemplating Mayor Oscar Goodman's lament that we media types had been really, really mean when writing about downtown, including the Neonopolis project. (Two things: One, Goodman used to criticize Neonopolis constantly, too, and two, who told Goodman it's the media's job to promote downtown?) But perhaps the mayor has a point, we thought.

Hold up, what's this? Why, it's a little yellow card advertising the "Last Chance Sale!" at Zinc, a Neonopolis store. "Zinc has closed its doors. Everything half price! All merchandise must go!" the card announces. Hmmm. Maybe the mayor doesn't have a point after all.

WE KNEW IT!: The recent revelation that lettuce tested in Northern California contained the toxic rocket fuel component perchlorate confirmed what we have long suspected: Vegetables are bad for you! We long ago gave up things like lettuce, which is utterly inedible unless lightly seasoned with a quart of some kind of dressing. But just to be on the safe side, this story has convinced us to give up other green, leafy vegetables as well, such as spinach, asparagus, Brussels sprouts and collard greens.

You've heard of vegans, those ultra-vegetarians who will consume no meat or even animal byproducts like cheese, eggs or milk? Well, just call us "megans," as in "meat and nothing else." After all, we get more than our daily dose of perchlorate in our drinking water here in Las Vegas.

MIXED MESSAGES: Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., didn't want to be interviewed about the foot-in-mouth disease afflicting Republican leadership, which most recently manifested itself in Sen. Rick Santorum's comparison of homosexuality to bigamy, polygamy, incest and adultery. Back when Sen. Trent Lott publicly longed for the days of segregation, Ensign's varied statements made us wonder if he had a bunch of well-tanned Saddam-like body doubles running around Washington, D.C., all giving different answers.

But resorting to the old written statement standby didn't really help matters, either. Santorum's remarks, Ensign reportedly said, "...have been misconstrued and used in an attempt to damage him politically." Misconstrued? Is he serious? How can you misconstrue this statement:

"If the Supreme Court says you have the right to consensual [gay] sex in your home, then you have the right to bigamy. You have the right to polygamy. You have the right to incest. You have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything."

It seems to us that Ensign's exactly wrong: The statement has been construed precisely as Santorum intended it, which is that he doesn't like gay people much. Any damage to Santorum's political career is self-inflicted. The worst wounds in politics always are.

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.reviewjournal.com/ebriefing.