U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons both deserve to be returned to office by Nevada voters, even though they have quite different viewpoints and come from different ends of the political spectrum on many issues.
Reid, a Democrat, and Gibbons, a Republican, do share the fact they are incumbents - though that alone isn't reason enough to warrant support. The more compelling similarity is that they have been effective on behalf of Nevadans.
Reid's considerable clout in the Senate has made him the state's No. 1 defense against imposition of a nuclear-waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Not only has he used every tactic available to question and stall the project, he offers the practical alternative of storing nuclear waste on site, where reactors already require high security.
His actions on behalf of Lake Tahoe, his efforts to settle long-standing disputes such as compensation for the Western Shoshone lands, and his advocacy for workers exposed to silica dust at Yucca Mountain are a few examples of his wide-ranging effectiveness.
The Republican candidate for Senate, Richard Ziser, has never held public office. The U.S. Senate is not the place to start on-the-job training.
Gibbons, far more conservative than Reid, has taken on intelligence and Homeland Security at the top of his national agenda and, for one example, keeping the sage grouse off the endangered species list (in order to let state-conceived conservation plans do their work) as a Nevada issue.
Meanwhile, Gibbons, who supports Republican programs across the board, has kept up the battle against Yucca Mountain during the Bush administration.
The Libertarian candidate in the District 2 race, Brandan Trainor of Reno, may actually have a better chance than the Democrat, Angie Cochran of Pahrump, who favors Yucca Mountain and has run unsuccessfully for city council and county commission.
There are many tough races on the November ballot, but Reid and Gibbons are easy choices for Nevadans. They have earned our support.
