Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL O'LEARY Parting Shot swing set A RARE SWING STATE IN THE WEST, NEVADA BASKS IN THE ATTENTIONS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES—BUT ARE THOSE BRIGHT LIGHTS BLINDING US FROM THE REAL ISSUES? BY J. PATRICK COOLICAN T his presidential election doesn't have quite the excitement of 2008's (when Nevada swung Democrat for the first time since Clinton, by 12.5 percentage points) or the charged, wartime intensity of 2004. But it's certainly entertaining—if you like a cer- tain amount of mud slinging, which is what we get from our vantage point as one of only three swing states west of the Mississippi (Colorado and Iowa are the other battlegrounds). The two major-party candidates are both wickedly smart, polished, wealthy, and master manipulators. They've climbed the pyramid of the country's meritocracy, with Mitt Romney earning tens of millions of dollars in business, and President Barack Obama entering the Oval Office as a relatively young man. By the time Election Day rolls around, both will have raised close to a billion dollars or more for their national campaigns. And both players love to spend time in Nevada—especially President Obama, who has about two dozen campaign offices in the state (that's four per electoral vote), and whose candidacy runs here have included a visit to struggling Lake Las Vegas and enough late- night pizza deliveries in Summerlin to give both Due Forni and Dom DeMarco's claims to fame. Romney slammed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid during a late-summer North Las Vegas rally and campaigned here again in late September; his event at Trump International Hotel Las Vegas a few months prior to that was one of the only times either candidate dared to step on the Strip. While the DNC was going on in Charlotte in September, Romney even dispatched his youngest son, Craig—fluent in Spanish thanks to Mormon missionary work in Costa Rica— to Las Vegas to woo Latino voters, among whom Obama holds a significant edge. Obama has in fact led in nearly every poll of Nevadans this year—despite two big local gets for the red ticket: Sheldon Adelson's millions and Jenna Jameson's endorsement. All of this political razzle-dazzle and basking in the national spotlight, however, takes attention away from focusing closer to home. The presidency is less important to Nevada's long-term future than Carson City, the county buildings, and city halls. Don't get me wrong. Washington will play a big role on issues such as online gaming, defense spending at our military installations, and federal support—or lack thereof—for renewable energy. But if we're to accelerate our lackluster economic recovery, we'll need to diversify our economy and either recruit or grow our own innovators and productive firms and workers, especially off the Strip. We've made some gains in fits and starts, but when it comes to better schools, parks and cultural amenities, we still have a ways to go compared to other western cities such as Phoenix, Denver, and Salt Lake City. Obviously there are sharp disagreements about the best way to proceed: higher taxes and public investment, or the unfettered free market to attract new businesses. The electile dysfunction and drama of the presidential campaign in and around Las Vegas may be more exciting, but the real fight for our battleground state's future will be among the citizen legislators who meet every other year for 120 days, almost 450 miles away from Sin City. V Only in Vegas! 128 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM