Obama Has His Fingers Crossed for Harry Reid

By Joe Guzzardi
September 13, 2010

On November 2, election night, President Barack Obama’s focus will be on Nevada. That’s where Senator Harry Reid, one of the biggest advocates of the president’s agenda, is in the political fight of his life against Republican challenger Sharron Angle. The outcome will send Obama a strong message about his 2012 future.

On the surface, Reid’s challenge to win reelection for a fifth term is imposing. In addition being a vocal and highly visible supporter of Obama’s most controversial programs like TARP and health care, Reid also pushed for unpopular comprehensive immigration reform.

Reid made a bold and possibly fatal move when he announced this week that he would try to amend the Defense Authorization bill by tacking on DREAM Act legislation. Angle immediately pounced and in an ad called Reid “the best friend an illegal alien ever had.” Nevada’s 14.2 unemployment rate, the nation’s highest and a full point greater than Michigan, severely hampers Reid’s reelection prospects. The Silver State’s foreclosure rate, which for the second straight year exceeds new home construction, is 3.5 times the national average.

The gaming industry, Nevada’s bread and butter, is in the tank. Analysts predict that even when the economy recovers, tourism revenues will lag other industries. Construction of houses, casinos, shops, restaurants and offices have come to a standstill. As a glaring reminder to Nevada voters of how dire the state’s situation has become is the Lake Las Vegas Ritz-Carlton which closed in May and prompted concerns of a ripple effect on other luxury hotels and service related businesses.

During the final years of Reid’s current term, Nevada’s quality of life has deteriorated deeply. Between 2000 and 2008, it’s population mushroomed 30 percent compared to 8 percent nationwide. That growth has been fueled in part by illegal immigration. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics make up 25 percent of Nevada’s population.

Because of the corresponding increase in non-English speaking K-12 students, most of whom need special language classes, Education Week places Nevada schools next to last among the fifty states in scholastic achievement.

Reid campaigns on what he likes to call his influence as Senate majority leader and argues that Nevada needs his clout. But Reid’s Senate record proves otherwise. Nevada’s record unemployment rate is still climbing. And Nevada stands at the bottom of the rung in federal tax dollars returned and stimulus dollars received per capita.

Two other issues dog Reid. First, Nevadans are disgusted that Reid’s Washington, D.C. home-away-from home is a plush Ritz-Carlton condominium for which he paid cash several years ago. And this year Reid’s son Rory is the Democratic candidate for Nevada governor leading many to complain of too many Reids for too long. The senator has been on the Nevada ballot running for different state and federal offices for 40 years.

Given Nevada’s abysmal economic health and the anti-incumbent mood raging through other key state and federal elections, Angle should be a shoo-in.

But, surprisingly, she’s not.

Despite Angle’s popular platform that the best way to improve Nevada’s economy is to decrease regulations and cut taxes to allow private businesses to create jobs, she finds herself trailing Reid by two points 46-44 in the latest polling conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Reid has used his multimillion dollar funding advantage with some success to paint Angle as a Tea Party-backed extremist. A tougher sell to voters is Reid’s argument that that Republicans, specifically former President George W. Bush, are the source of Nevada’s woes. With early voting starting in five weeks, the nonpartisan swing voters hold the key to the Nevada outcome. Among independents, Angle leads Reid, 42-33, with 11 percent undecided.

For the White House, a Nevada victory is crucial. Since the president not only stumped with Reid this summer but also carried Nevada in 2008 by a 55-43 margin, a Reid defeat would represent a powerful indictment against Obama and his Democratic agenda.

Joe Guzzardi has written editorial columns—mostly about immigration and related social issues – since 1990. He is a senior writing fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) and his columns have frequently been syndicated in various U.S. newspapers and websites. He can be reached at [email protected].