Races of the week: Ensign vs. Bernstein

Nevada's U. S. Senate Race

When a candidate loses a race for office by one-tenth of one per cent of the vote, a lot goes through his mind. If only one of a dozen little things in the campaign had gone differently-say, an earlier endorsement or a slightly larger mailing to supporters-the toast of the evening might be champagne instead of the loser's bitter cup. And then the speculation ends with the inevitable, "If I only had a second chance, I would. . . ."

So it was for John Ensign on Dec. 3, 1998, when a recount of Nevada's U.S. Senate race confirmed that the conservative Republican House member had lost to Senate Democratic Whip Harry Reid by a margin of 428 votes out of more than 417,000 cast-the closest race for any federal or statewide office that year and, in fact, the third-closest contest for a Senate seat anywhere since popular election of senators began.

The heartbreaking news seemed to bring the curtain down on one of the classiest acts in contemporary conservative politics. In a year when many on the right shied and even ran away from hard-core ideology, two-term Rep. Ensign (lifetime American Conservative Union rating: 96%) stood firm. Solidly pro-- life, he campaigned on a manifesto of across-the-board tax cuts, eventual privatization of Social Security, and abolition of the Department of Education.

Ensign's agenda of liberty was nicely complemented by a friendly face and an engaging personality, and his reputation as a respected veterinarian in Las Vegas made his unabashedly conservative message easier to sell. Flanked by his four-legged patients in TV spots, at parades and state conventions, he seemed to be Dr. Doolittle come to life.

The sad irony of John Ensign's fadeout last year was that the candidate who never wavered in trumpeting his good-as-- Goldwater conservatism was actually fatally hurt by the actions-or lack of action-- among his natural constituency. Disgusted at what they felt was the Republican Congress's surrender to Bill Clinton on the budget, thousands of voters in Nevada's most reliably Republican turf stayed home-and, by not voting, spelling the slim demise of a candidate who held firm on principle.

Following a concession speech that even political enemies praised for its grace and dignity, Ensign returned to the House for what he called "my last and most important vote": to impeach Clinton-and, Ensign says, in contrast to the reelected Reid, "I would have voted to convict him had I been in the Senate."

So Ensign returned home, able to spend more time with wife Darlene and their three children and be with his beloved constituency of dachshunds, sheepdogs and papillons. He also could resume the regimen of golf and basketball that had been so reduced by his statewide race, and settle down to a comfortable sabbatical from politics.

Then, on March 19 of last year, John Ensign's life changed dramatically when the Silver State's seemingly unbeatable senior senator, Democrat Richard Bryan, stunned Nevadans by announcing his retirement. Within hours, Ensign's office was overwhelmed with telephone calls, as past volunteers and contributors eagerly offered to help again if he would only run once more. After a few days and a family conference, Ensign agreed to make the plunge back into politics. He announced his candidacy for the Senate and, after less than a month, the other Republican possibilities had cheerfully rallied behind him and he was effectively the GOP nominee.

The nature of politics and what to say and not to say on the campaign trail may have changed somewhat in two years, but John Ensign hasn't. As in '98, he still- speaks eagerly of his commitment to life and to across-the-board tax cuts. Asked repeatedly by reporters if he still favors abolishing the Department of Education, he replies without hesitation: `Absolutely. But I also recognize that we don't yet have the votes in Congress to do this, so we should work toward cutting as much federal bureaucracy out of the way to put the most responsibility in the hands of state and local school officials and parents."

Does he support George W Bush's plan for streamlining Social Security? Of course, replies the Nevadan with a smile, "since before it was George W. Bush's plan, it was John Ensign's."

And, yes, the dogs are back on the trail with him. One TV spot features Dr. Ensign treating a chocolate Labrador while the dog's owner, a little girl, holds its paw.

Ensign's Democratic opponent this year is millionaire trial lawyer Edward Bernstein, whose past clients include houses of prostitution and who actually argued the constitutionality of paid escort services before the Nevada Supreme Court (Eaves v. Board of Clark County Commissioners, Sept. 9, 1980). Bernstein has so far spent more than $900,000 of his personal wealth on his campaign, but his controversial clients appear better known than his specific issue stands, although lately he has been slamming his GOP opponent for the Republican-controlled Congress's refusal to enact the Democrat-crafted big-spend prescription drug plan. "That means he can read and recite the Democratic playbook like any other Democratic Senate candidate this year," snapped Ensign campaign manager Mike Slanker, adding that his candidate offered his own free-market-based prescription drug plan long ago.