Democracy in Peril

By Steve Sebelius

HORRIBLE HARRIS: Say what you will about George Harris, his ability to garner media attention for his favorite subject--himself--is impressive.

Harris has been on TV and in newspapers almost nonstop since he launched a pair of initiatives through the group Nevadans for Sound Government--one to repeal taxes approved by the 2003 Legislature, the other to ban public employees from serving in the Legislature.

The only problem is, he's never really accomplished anything in Nevada politics. The deadline for the tax-repeal petition has come and gone, and the public employee effort seems destined to fail, too.

But that hasn't erased Harris' stature as a media darling. Last week's CityLife--a paper for which I used to toil--recounts Harris' failures to get elected to office, to qualify a "paycheck protection" measure and to pass either of the current initiatives. But then the paper gives credit where it's certainly not due.

"Harris, 42, has also had some success--regardless of how much his critics deny and discredit it," the story reads. "He's a scrappy son of a bitch, who stands his ground. He is an activist in a largely indifferent city and state."

As one of Harris' chief critics, I'll concede he's a "scrappy son of a bitch." But I'd still like to ask: What successes?

Unless, of course, you're talking about the relentless drive that is Harris' self-promotion.

What's the largest thing on Harris' "axe the taxes" A-frame sign? His own flannel-clad visage, of course. What was the No. 1 thing on his mind during a 2003 visit to Carson City to protest the tax plan? The fragile state of his pancake makeup, applied liberally for television audiences.

Harris' popularity even took a dent from an unlikely source on Sunday: the Review-Journal's tax-hating editorial page. Although the paper agrees with Harris' tax repeal goals, it deplores the incompetence that ultimately doomed the measure. Nevadans for Sound Government, the editorial said, tend "to trip over their own floppy shoes."

In reply, Harris sent an e-mail to followers admitting mistakes. Although it was titled "no excuses," the missive was replete with excuse-making. Activists with different agendas couldn't arrive at a single goal. The decision-making process was convoluted. Fund-raising didn't meet expectations. The economy was good, and nobody was upset about the taxes. It was football season.

Why not throw in lunar ascendancy in the house of Uranus, while we're at it?

But perhaps finally realizing that not all publicity is good publicity, and that if he's lost the R-J's editorial page, he's lost the war, Harris made a stab at admitting guilt.

"But, ultimately you either get the job done or you don't--we didn't--and the blame is ours. The R-J urges us to step aside and allow others to manage the next anti-tax petition opportunity, and we will, provided there is someone else to charge up the hill on behalf of Nevada's taxpayers. But, if no one else accepts the mission, we will try again, this time wiser and more thoughtful."

It would be difficult to be less wise or thoughtful. But the rest of us--especially the media--should now be able to see that Harris' string of failures leads to only one conclusion: His 15 minutes have long since expired.