Opinions rushing in to Nevada delegates

WASHINGTON -- Thousands of Nevadans are flooding the phone lines, transmitting e-mails and sending letters to lawmakers demanding President Clinton resign or be impeached for having a lurid affair with Monica S. Lewinsky.

Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., said his Las Vegas office alone received 769 calls on Monday and Tuesday from constituents saying Clinton should step down. Only 146 people called to express support for the president during this same time period.

Ensign said his office is not alone in receiving a high volume of telephone calls from constituents calling for Clinton's dismissal.

"I have talked to a lot of different members of Congress -- even Democrats -- and they are getting two-thirds of their calls for impeachment or resignation," Ensign said. "No question the honorable thing for him to do is resign."

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., has received between 500 and 600 calls about Clinton since Friday, said his Chief of Staff Jean Neal.

"It is definitely stronger in the impeachment or wish-he-would-resign category," she said. "It is clear a lot of people that are calling are disgusted with the president's behavior."

But Neal said the Clinton calls have not dominated the phone lines. People concerned with pending legislation are outnumbering calls regarding Clinton.

"We have gotten far more calls on Social Security and Medicare during this time period," Neal said.

The Las Vegas and Reno offices of Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., received about 1,000 calls Monday and Tuesday demanding Clinton resign or be removed from office, said his Chief of Staff Mike Dean. In retrospect, only 73 callers said they supported Clinton.

"Our staff has all been answering calls all day," Dean said. "It is taking up a majority of the staff's time."

Gibbons' office normally receives between 80-100 e-mails a day, but on Monday and Tuesday the number jumped to 1,500 -- almost all of them are negative regarding Clinton, Dean said.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has received about 1,500 calls since the report was released, said his spokeswoman Nancy Campanella. About one half of them are angry with the president's conduct and are divided over whether he should resign or face Congressional censure. The other 750 said they support Clinton and want the issue to be over, she said.

Frequently congressional offices are inundated with correspondence from groups or individuals who are lobbying a lawmaker on a particular issue or piece of legislation. The aides to the members of the Nevada delegation said it does not appear any one group orchestrated the anti-Clinton campaign.

But Dr. Jerry Simich, a UNLV political science professor, cautioned that people shouldn't use constituent reaction to measure the opinion of all Nevada residents.

"I wouldn't trust calls from a constituent to the congressional delegation," Simich said. "Those calls represent people who are extremely interested and would make the call. I am not sure if the callers are representing the views of all people."

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