SHERMAN FREDERICK: Shall we give Harry the boot? Or give him a free pass?

[darrels joy]

SHERMAN FREDERICK: Shall we give Harry the boot?

Or give him a free pass?

SHERMAN FREDERICK
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Dined with two savvy Nevadans recently -- one Democrat and one Republican. This husband and wife couple could not be more hooked into the economic, political and social issues facing Las Vegas and the state.
If I told you who they were, you'd agree. But I won't tell because, first, it's not a key to this morning's story and, second, if I did so what kind of dinner companion would I be?

Between drinks and dinner, the conversation turned to politics, and around these parts that means it turned immediately to the big political question of the new year: Should Nevadans give Harry Reid the boot in 2010, or not?

Just about everyone has a strong opinion on this. According to the latest polling, 47 percent of voting Nevadans have an unfavorable opinion of Harry. It's probably higher now that Harry's taken the lead in crafting the trillion-dollar spending bill that Democrats desperately want people to refer to as the "economic recovery and stabilization bill," which I will not.

Anyway, as we contemplated the "to boot or not to boot" question, the corollary question arose: "Why should Nevada throw away that kind of power?" Harry Reid is, after all, the Senate majority leader. He's a big shot inside the Beltway and arguably the most influential politician ever to hail from the Silver State.

But Harry's length of service and accumulated power isn't the question.

The question, if I may be so impertinent, boils down to this: "So what?"
Think about it this way: On Aug. 16, 2005, Harry Reid suffered a mild stroke. He recovered, thank God. But what if, as a result of that stroke, Harry had been forced to leave office? How would Nevada be different today?

Forgive me if this sounds morbid, but it gets to the heart of the dilemma facing Nevadans in 21 months. For all the power and prestige that Harry has earned, how has that translated into a better Nevada today?

My dinner companions and I paused for a long while and finally, we agreed, "That is the question."

If the primary reason to retain Harry Reid is not to throw away his seniority and power (and I'm not saying that's not a good reason, by the way), then we must also articulate how that power and seniority has translated to the betterment of lives of Nevadans.

And that will be Harry Reid's big 2010 burden. We, for example, could not immediately come up with one item. Yes, he's funded a stray building and an isolated program here and there. He's helped get BLM land transferred to private hands as well as protect sensitive public lands. He brought the presidential debate to UNLV and moved Nevada to an earlier position in the primaries.

But, all things considered, his Nevada accomplishments do not seem to match his Washington power.

The really big things that might have diversified our economy -- the life-improving things -- the things a powerful advocate in Washington, D.C., might have brought home to Nevada, have slipped away to other states.

Some people say Harry Reid should get a free pass to another term simply because he's achieved much power inside the Beltway. But after years of buying that rationale, Nevadans will rightly say, "So what? What good is a friend in a high place without tangible results?"

Maybe I'm missing something. But if Harry Reid can't make a better case for himself than my dinner companions and I could, he very well may get the boot in 2010.

Sherman Frederick (sfrederick@reviewjournal.com) is publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and president of Stephens Media

http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/39633332.html