Flaps
[reprinted from the Thursday, March 12, 1998 Las Vegas Review-Journal]
Check the political guidebook and you'll find this cardinal rule: If an opponent does something really dumb, make sure you take maximum advantage.
So when U.S. Sen. Harry Reid experienced brain-lock this week, the man who covets his seat, Rep. John Ensign, was quick to apply the hammer. And in so doing, Ensign pounded home an issue that makes the senior senator appear willing to put politics above statesmanship, and -- here's a bonus -- allows the southern congressman to court a northern constituency crucial to his senatorial bid. Or so he hopes.
The story revolves around Reid inexplicably barring a couple of Ensign staffers from a meeting in the senator's office where the rest of the four-person Nevada delegation was represented.
On Tuesday, a meeting took place in Reid's office about mitigating transportation problems in Reno caused by a railroad merger. In attendance were Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, Sen. Richard Bryan, Rep. Jim Gibbons, Reno Mayor Jeff Griffin, gaming lobbyist Harvey Whittemore and various staffers.
Ensign was on a plane when the meeting occurred, but his office had been informed of the sit-down by the city of Reno. And, Ensign press secretary Jack Finn said, when Ensign staffers called Slater's office, they were told that two of the congressman's aides, Brooke Allmon and Windsor Laing, were on the list of attendees. When Allmon and Laing arrived at Reid's office, however, they were turned away.
That was Tuesday. On Wednesday, the letter arrived from Ensign to Reid, a beautiful execution of that cardinal political rule, designed as much for media consumption as the senator's reading displeasure. Here are some snippets (the italics are my comments): "I was surprised and disappointed to hear of your decision to bar two of my staff members from a Tuesday meeting at your office where an issue of considerable importance to our state was being discussed," the missive began. "A small state like ours cannot afford to be divided by personal and political interests when it comes time to fight for the people of our great state." (No, I'm not referring to my running against you -- that would be the exception to this rule.) Ensign wrote that he has been working on the issue for more than a year because Reno officials had asked him to help secure the appropriation in the House. "I'm troubled (and yet, now, strangely excited) by the decision to exclude my staff from a meeting attended by all other members of the Nevada delegation," the congressman wrote. "I sincerely hope that your decision to turn my staff members away from Tuesday's meeting was an unfortunate lapse in judgment that will not be repeated." (Please, please, don't throw me in the briar patch, again.) The question, of course, is why in the world Reid would give Ensign this opportunity to bludgeon him? Why not let Allmon and Laing into the meeting? What harm could there be? Late Wednesday, Reid responded with a letter in which he pointedly referred to Ensign's interest "in this issue outside of your congressional district." He also wrote that he was "perplexed by your interest because ... (I have) never been aware of your involvement, either through the news media, the administration or the public record."
Touché.
Reid's explanation of why he didn't allow Allmon and Laing into the meeting, however, was weaker: "The unannounced arrival of your staff did not give my staff adequate time to accommodate them." Please.
For the moment, Reid has given the impression of a siege mentality, a campaign culture of paranoia and pettiness that does not bode well. Then again, the real explanation may be that this is symbolic of nothing and merely a silly mistake early in this chess game that allows Ensign to take only a pawn.