DEMOCRACY IN PERIL

Thursday, May 08, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Democracy in Peril

By Steve Sebelius

BETWEEN THE LINES: In politics, nuance is everything. That's why when a member of the House of Representatives starts putting out statements about goings-on in the Senate, we start to wonder: Is this guy planning to run for Senate?

Rep. Jim Gibbons released a statement last week about Democratic filibustering of Republican judge nominees, which is odd, since the House doesn't confirm judges. But then again, one of the chief filibusterers is Sen. Harry Reid, against whom a Gibbons run has been long rumored.

"It is appalling that liberals in the U.S. Senate continue to bow to extreme, left-wing interest groups when it comes to approving judicial nominees to the federal bench," Gibbons said in a statement. "While the backlog of cases continues to pile up, the president's judicial nominees face unprecedented actions of obstruction from the most liberal wing of the Senate."

Oh, yeah, baby. That's red-meat campaign commercial material if we've ever seen it. And here's a little more for you: "Nevadans are fed up with a U.S. Senate that refuses to approve well-qualified, highly experienced and principled justices. This is not a record to hang your hat on, and I hope the Senate obstructionists will put America first, rather than left-wing special interests."

Hmmm. Is this guy running for the Senate or something?

TOP FIVE: You don't have to travel to Carson City to make fun of the goings-on there! Which brings us to the Top Five Things Overheard in Assemblyman Mark Manendo's Office:

5. Has anyone seen my copy of Packwood's diary?

4. Please remove yourself from...your dress!

3. Barbara Buckley just took me to the woodshed. Man, she's cute when she's angry!

2. I've gotten more rejections on accident than Bill Clinton ever did on purpose.

1. I conduct myself as a gentleman. Always have, always will. And you know what? I'm not wearing underwear!

HOT AS FISH GREASE: Mayor Oscar Goodman displayed his trademark temper at his news conference last week, railing against writer James McManus, whose new book Positively Fifth Street contains unkind depictions of the mayor. The tome is really about the World Series of Poker. But when asked about the book by a reporter, Goodman refused to answer.

"I'm not even going to answer a question [about] a guy who writes a book and doesn't even call me. He's an idiot!" Goodman said angrily. Later, he referred to McManus as "the biggest jerk to ever visit Las Vegas." Well, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham is probably glad he's not topping the mayoral list of visiting jerks anymore.

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.