Heller, Amodei have let us down

James Geffert, Las Vegas

Friday, Oct. 25, 2013 | 2:02 a.m.

At the eleventh hour, the Senate and the House voted to open the government and to avoid a default by the United States. This was, finally, a responsible thing to do after weeks of goofiness.

But even as the adults in the Senate and House voted to avoid catastrophe, Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., voted to keep our government closed and our financial affairs in jeopardy. He was joined in the House by Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., who also voted to keep the uproar going.

When I joined the Republican Party in my early 20s, the “R” behind a senator’s or representative’s name stood not only for Republican but also for responsible and reasonable. Sadly, that Republican “R” has come to equate with reckless.

The voters of Nevada sent Heller and Amodei to Washington trusting that they could act like reasonable adults. Instead they have shown us that, like teenagers getting the keys to the family car for the first time, they just couldn’t resist playing chicken with it to show off for their buddies.

Watching the United States — my country, your country, our country — being subjected to comic opera farce at the hands of swaggering adolescents makes me sick.

Our country is not some tin-pot Banana Republic but the greatest nation on earth. We deserve better from you.