Beat Harry Reid In Nevada In 2010

By Raymond Pratt
BeatReid.com
Wednesday, June 18, 2009

Nevada Senator John Ensign (R) announced Tuesday that he had an affair with a campaign staffer back in 2007-08. Marital indiscretions make the news in Washington fairly often, so there’s nothing shocking or unusual about the announcement (unless you happen to be Mrs. John Ensign).   There is some speculation that the late-coming announcement came as a result of blackmail, but both John Ensign and Cindy Hampton (along with husband Douglas Hampton) are keeping quiet on the issue.

More disconcerting is the affect the news could have on ensign’s home state of Nevada. He isn’t up for re-election until 2012, so there’s some time for things to simmer down before he starts campaigning.  He won’t slip through this as cleanly as his democratic colleagues (due to the GOP’s stance on family values), but three years might be enough time for America to “forget”. But, senate majority leader Harry Reid (D), also from Nevada, is running in the 2010 mid-term election.  Reid hopes to score his third term as Nevada Senator, and the GOP is in need of a strong candidate to run against him.

John Ensign has been on a meteoric ride within the Republican Party. He had some recent speaking engagements Iowa, raising speculation he might consider a run for the GOP presidential nomination.   In 2008, Ensign led the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), in charge of electing Republican candidates.  On Wednesday, he stepped down from his recent post as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee.  That position gave Ensign the 4th highest ranking in the Senate GOP leadership.

The controversy surrounding the Ensign affair won’t help the GOP gain any seats in the Senate, where it controls 40 out of 100.  Also, the news could impact the Republican Party’s ability to get rid of Harry Reid in 2010.  The press is already doing what they do best:  Raking as much muck and grime as possible in hopes to spill some on anyone they don’t like.  The Washington Post went after ensign’s “girlfriend”, Cindy Hampton, by insinuating she double-billed the Ensign campaign in her roll as a consultant and accountant.

“Cindy Hampton, Ensign’s girlfriend, got paid about $2,000 by the senator’s campaign in 2008–$1,000 for consulting, $1,041.95 for accounting, and $41.95 for “payment of utilities” (given the repetition of the $41.95 figure, you have to wonder if she didn’t double-bill on utilities. …) “ –The Washington Post

Another interesting point is that both Harry Reid and John Ensign came out in support of the newly proposed DesertXpress. a conventional diesel-electric train that would run from Victorville, CA to Las Vegas, NV.  Another more modern train has also been in the news lately, a magnetic levitation supertrain that would whisk passengers from Anaheim, CA (far more convenient) to Las Vegas at 300 MPH  ( http://www.beatreid.com/2009/06/reid-roglich-railroad-the-maglev/).  One can’t help wonder whether Harry Reid will distance himself from the issue to avoid any negative association with Ensign.

Let’s hope that these “scandals”, as they’ve been labeled by the press, have a limited impact on the party.  We should work toward the common goal of replacing Harry Reid in the 2010 election.

Sources:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/06/17/1967828.aspx

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/06/17/ensign-quits-leadership-post-in-wake-of-extramarital-affair/

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/17/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5093547.shtml

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23841.html=