Columnist Jeff German: Ensign yet to prove a change is needed

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. His column appears on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at german@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4067.

NEVADA'S RACE for the U.S. Senate this year should go down as the costliest and hardest fought of all time here.

There's a lot at stake, as both national parties have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the state to influence the race.

On Tuesday, Nevadans have a clear choice.

We have the battle-hardened Democratic incumbent, Harry Reid, a 58-year-old veteran of two terms in the Senate and a rising leader on Capitol Hill. Reid, a lawyer, has been described as a moderate who has devoted a lifetime of public service to Nevada. Before joining the Senate, he served in the House. He also is a former lieutenant governor and top Nevada gaming regulator.

Then there's the Republican challenger, 40-year-old John Ensign, a youthful two-term congressman who swept into office in 1994 during the Newt Gingrich revolution. Ensign, a veterinarian, is regarded as an ultra-conservative with strong gaming ties. He's a newcomer to politics, having spent only the last four years on the Hill.

For months now, both candidates have been attacking each other's records with tenacity over the television airwaves. One has the feeling they dislike each other.

But when you cut through the rhetoric and the nastiness, the storyline in this election is whether Ensign can persuade the voters that they need a change in Washington.

The one thing Reid has that Ensign doesn't is seniority, which means everything in the Senate. It also means a lot to a small state like Nevada that doesn't have the clout of New York or California.

Though Republicans control the Senate, Reid is in line to become the Democratic Party's whip, the No. 2 leadership position. That would make him the highest ranking senator in Nevada history.

But just as important, Reid is a senior member of the influential Appropriations Committee, the panel that controls the nation's purse strings. There is no more important committee in the Senate.

Reid already has proven that he knows how to put his seniority to work for Nevada. He has brought hundreds of millions of dollars in highway funds to the state over the last several years.

Ensign sits on the House's equivalent to appropriations, the Ways and Means Committee. He's done a good job on the panel. But he's giving up his seat to pursue his dream of becoming a U.S. senator.

If Ensign wins on Tuesday, Nevada could lose its seats on both committees, which many believe would set back efforts to protect the casino industry from persistent threats of taxation.

Equally important to Nevadans is the fight against the high-level nuclear waste dump. Nevadans have told Washington that they don't want the nation's deadly nuclear garbage stored in their back yard.

No one, other than Reid's Democratic colleague, Sen. Richard Bryan, has fought harder on the Hill to stop the dump from coming here. Reid was leading the charge long before Ensign even decided to go into politics.

Ensign's enthusiasm in the fight remains high, but it has been tempered by his desire to remain loyal to his party and his conservative ideology.

That explains why he scheduled (but later canceled) a campaign fund-raiser in Las Vegas two weeks before the election with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, the two men pushing the hardest to make Nevada a radioactive wasteland.

Then there's another obstacle Ensign must overcome to convince voters that a change is needed.

Over the last several years, Reid has developed a close working relationship with the Clinton administration. It's a relationship that has benefited Nevada time and again in a pinch.

Reid's popularity with the administration was demonstrated in this race, when nearly every Cabinet member, including his good friend, Vice President Al Gore, visited the state campaigning for the senator.

Sure, there was good reason to keep the president and his personal problems away from the campaign. But the strong presence of the Clinton Cabinet here should tell the voters that the administration considers Reid a valued member of Congress.

So when we go to the polls on Tuesday, we should remember that these are the things that really matter in this race.

Whether Harry Reid has voted for too many tax bills, or whether John Ensign can be trusted to protect our environment doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

We should ask ourselves whether Ensign has made a strong case for a change. And we should remember that there's a lot at stake in this race.

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