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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Politics Vegas style | Politics Vegas style |
| (about 24 hours later) | |
| A POINT OF VIEW By Tim Egan | A POINT OF VIEW By Tim Egan |
| Las Vegas isn't just about showbiz and sleaze. It's going to be a bellwether for political campaigning across the United States, says Tim Egan, who takes on the broadcasting slot. | Las Vegas isn't just about showbiz and sleaze. It's going to be a bellwether for political campaigning across the United States, says Tim Egan, who takes on the broadcasting slot. |
| Las Vegas: political wheels turn as well as roulette wheels | Las Vegas: political wheels turn as well as roulette wheels |
| In search of sanity during the high season in American politics, I went to Las Vegas not long ago. Ah...Vegas, where the weird are normal, and the normal are frightening, especially in daylight. | In search of sanity during the high season in American politics, I went to Las Vegas not long ago. Ah...Vegas, where the weird are normal, and the normal are frightening, especially in daylight. |
| Bugsy Siegel and the early mobsters are long gone, leaving behind few artefacts from a time when Vegas was a dust-choked mirage in the Mojave desert born of greed, lust and low-rent politicians. | Bugsy Siegel and the early mobsters are long gone, leaving behind few artefacts from a time when Vegas was a dust-choked mirage in the Mojave desert born of greed, lust and low-rent politicians. |
| The Sands Hotel, where the Rat Pack of Dino, Sammy and Frank nested for many a year, was imploded with dynamite several years ago. I watched that. At the time, it was said to be the largest non-nuclear explosion in Nevada history and there was a civic party not unlike a Fourth of July bash. | The Sands Hotel, where the Rat Pack of Dino, Sammy and Frank nested for many a year, was imploded with dynamite several years ago. I watched that. At the time, it was said to be the largest non-nuclear explosion in Nevada history and there was a civic party not unlike a Fourth of July bash. |
| BBC NEWS: AUDIO Hear A Point of View in the BBC Radio Player | BBC NEWS: AUDIO Hear A Point of View in the BBC Radio Player |
| Then there was Howard Hughes, the germ-phobic billionaire, who made Vegas his home for a while, arriving by ambulance in the dead of night and departing nine years later, having never opened the drapes of his suite. | Then there was Howard Hughes, the germ-phobic billionaire, who made Vegas his home for a while, arriving by ambulance in the dead of night and departing nine years later, having never opened the drapes of his suite. |
| But he at least left something - a gated residential community on 26,000 acres, all of it sealed off from the world of random encounters. | But he at least left something - a gated residential community on 26,000 acres, all of it sealed off from the world of random encounters. |
| The Beatles are there now, in the form of an elaborate multi-media show selling out on The Strip. It seems right at home. Las Vegas, after all, is the city that God would have made if he had the money, as the casino entrepreneur Steve Winn once said. | The Beatles are there now, in the form of an elaborate multi-media show selling out on The Strip. It seems right at home. Las Vegas, after all, is the city that God would have made if he had the money, as the casino entrepreneur Steve Winn once said. |
| Ghosts of dreamers | Ghosts of dreamers |
| But for all the lights, all the exposed flesh, the 140,000 slot machines, the sea of new homes named for things they have displaced, the ghosts of distant schemers and distant dreamers, the Impressionists gallery at the Bellagio Hotel and the recreated Fab Four - these are the surface draws, all heat and light. | But for all the lights, all the exposed flesh, the 140,000 slot machines, the sea of new homes named for things they have displaced, the ghosts of distant schemers and distant dreamers, the Impressionists gallery at the Bellagio Hotel and the recreated Fab Four - these are the surface draws, all heat and light. |
| TIM EGAN Reporter with the New York Times for 17 yearsWon Pulitzer Prize as part of a team who did a series on race in the USAuthor of five booksGraduate of the University of WashingtonLives in Seattle with his wife, Joni Balter, and two children | TIM EGAN Reporter with the New York Times for 17 yearsWon Pulitzer Prize as part of a team who did a series on race in the USAuthor of five booksGraduate of the University of WashingtonLives in Seattle with his wife, Joni Balter, and two children |
| The real power in Las Vegas, people in the know will tell you, can be found among the army of workers who service the Strip. They are nearly invisible. The bed-changers, the dish-washers, floor-polishers - they could fill a stadium, and they often do during their union rallies. | The real power in Las Vegas, people in the know will tell you, can be found among the army of workers who service the Strip. They are nearly invisible. The bed-changers, the dish-washers, floor-polishers - they could fill a stadium, and they often do during their union rallies. |
| For some time now Las Vegas has been the quintessential American city. It is the fastest growing in the nation, a metro area of well past a million people in a place that did not even have a paved street just 70 years ago. | For some time now Las Vegas has been the quintessential American city. It is the fastest growing in the nation, a metro area of well past a million people in a place that did not even have a paved street just 70 years ago. |
| It is the most-visited place, drawing upwards of 40 million people a year. And it is a trendsetter. | It is the most-visited place, drawing upwards of 40 million people a year. And it is a trendsetter. |
| This year, in matters of class and politics, Vegas may well be a bellwether of a different sort. We are less than 40 days from the mid-term American elections, when all 435 members of Congress, and about a third of the Senate seats, are up for grabs. This year's election is a referendum on Republicans who control all branches of government. | This year, in matters of class and politics, Vegas may well be a bellwether of a different sort. We are less than 40 days from the mid-term American elections, when all 435 members of Congress, and about a third of the Senate seats, are up for grabs. This year's election is a referendum on Republicans who control all branches of government. |
| Also on the ballot, here in Nevada, a state that is basically without consistent political loyalties, is a proposal that will ask voters if they want to raise the minimum wage to six dollars and fifteen cents an hour. | Also on the ballot, here in Nevada, a state that is basically without consistent political loyalties, is a proposal that will ask voters if they want to raise the minimum wage to six dollars and fifteen cents an hour. |
| 'Three Gs strategy' | 'Three Gs strategy' |
| The federal minimum, which hasn't been raised in nearly a decade, is five dollars and 15 cents an hour - less than three pounds an hour. | The federal minimum, which hasn't been raised in nearly a decade, is five dollars and 15 cents an hour - less than three pounds an hour. |
| New York protestors in run up to next month's elections | New York protestors in run up to next month's elections |
| This measure will pass overwhelming, the polls show. But that's almost beside the point. Only about six million workers nationwide would benefit directly from a raise in the minimum wage. And certainly, most workers in Las Vegas make well above that level. | This measure will pass overwhelming, the polls show. But that's almost beside the point. Only about six million workers nationwide would benefit directly from a raise in the minimum wage. And certainly, most workers in Las Vegas make well above that level. |
| What matters is that giving people a chance to vote on something that directly and instantly changes their lives is a surefire way to get them to participate in democracy. At best, barely half of all Americans who are eligible to vote actually do vote. Poor people, in particular, vote in very low numbers. | What matters is that giving people a chance to vote on something that directly and instantly changes their lives is a surefire way to get them to participate in democracy. At best, barely half of all Americans who are eligible to vote actually do vote. Poor people, in particular, vote in very low numbers. |
| Having tried for years to pass a minimum wage bill in Congress, Democrats are now taking the fight directly to the people in places like Las Vegas. And here, they have borrowed from the Republican playbook. | Having tried for years to pass a minimum wage bill in Congress, Democrats are now taking the fight directly to the people in places like Las Vegas. And here, they have borrowed from the Republican playbook. |
| Now remember during the last election, there were numerous measures on the ballot across the country in places like Kansas where voters were asked whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry. | Now remember during the last election, there were numerous measures on the ballot across the country in places like Kansas where voters were asked whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry. |
| Of course, gay marriage was not even being considered in the Heartland. But by merely posing the question, Republicans were able to rouse their Christian conservative base and get people who might otherwise never vote to turn out. | Of course, gay marriage was not even being considered in the Heartland. But by merely posing the question, Republicans were able to rouse their Christian conservative base and get people who might otherwise never vote to turn out. |
| For Republicans, this is known as the three Gs strategy - Gays, Guns and God. They've done it for years, and it certainly works, as cultural issues will often trump dismal economic news or distant, drawn-out and now unpopular wars. | For Republicans, this is known as the three Gs strategy - Gays, Guns and God. They've done it for years, and it certainly works, as cultural issues will often trump dismal economic news or distant, drawn-out and now unpopular wars. |
| Fantasy millionaires | Fantasy millionaires |
| The Democrats now have their counter move. They will play their class card. But it's a tricky card to play. Because, in American elections, you can't just come out and say "Those Republican tax cuts will only help the rich," as John Kerry, the loser from two years ago, tried to do. | The Democrats now have their counter move. They will play their class card. But it's a tricky card to play. Because, in American elections, you can't just come out and say "Those Republican tax cuts will only help the rich," as John Kerry, the loser from two years ago, tried to do. |
| For the resident workers, Las Vegas is more than all-night wedding chapels | For the resident workers, Las Vegas is more than all-night wedding chapels |
| Of course, it didn't help that Kerry had four homes and spent his leisure time wind-surfing off Cape Cod. | Of course, it didn't help that Kerry had four homes and spent his leisure time wind-surfing off Cape Cod. |
| There are roughly 2.5 million people who are worth at least $1m in the United States. Millionaires make up just under 1% of the population. Thus, you would think that it would be an easy task to rally people against tax cuts that favour that 1%. But no. It isn't. The reason is: they hope to one day be rich themselves - by winning the lottery, or some other fantasy. | There are roughly 2.5 million people who are worth at least $1m in the United States. Millionaires make up just under 1% of the population. Thus, you would think that it would be an easy task to rally people against tax cuts that favour that 1%. But no. It isn't. The reason is: they hope to one day be rich themselves - by winning the lottery, or some other fantasy. |
| So... the way to play the class card is to say the rich man is getting his break - fine and dandy. But that rich guy won't give the same break to the poor schlub in the form of a higher minimum wage. | So... the way to play the class card is to say the rich man is getting his break - fine and dandy. But that rich guy won't give the same break to the poor schlub in the form of a higher minimum wage. |
| In Iowa I saw a political attack ad precisely along these lines this week. It criticised a Republican running for congress, a millionaire. The ad showed a couple of hard-faced working men, staring into the TV camera. They looked angry as they said, "Who could be against raising the minimum wage? Jeff Lamberti is. He's a millionaire politician." | In Iowa I saw a political attack ad precisely along these lines this week. It criticised a Republican running for congress, a millionaire. The ad showed a couple of hard-faced working men, staring into the TV camera. They looked angry as they said, "Who could be against raising the minimum wage? Jeff Lamberti is. He's a millionaire politician." |
| And that's where Las Vegas is on to something. | And that's where Las Vegas is on to something. |
| Worker's paradise | Worker's paradise |
| Vegas, you may not know, is a worker's paradise, of sorts. A pot-scrubber, newly arrived from Mexico, can get three weeks of paid vacation and health insurance - which is no small thing in a nation where 47 million people have no health care benefits. | Vegas, you may not know, is a worker's paradise, of sorts. A pot-scrubber, newly arrived from Mexico, can get three weeks of paid vacation and health insurance - which is no small thing in a nation where 47 million people have no health care benefits. |
| Las Vegas 1958: The city still continues to grow rapidly | Las Vegas 1958: The city still continues to grow rapidly |
| Years ago, the hotel and culinary workers in Vegas bonded together and became a huge force in Nevada. Most of the casinos fell in line and offered them union contracts. | Years ago, the hotel and culinary workers in Vegas bonded together and became a huge force in Nevada. Most of the casinos fell in line and offered them union contracts. |
| But there was one holdout - the Frontier Casino. The hotel workers went on a six year strike, and in the end, they won. Nobody has dared to challenge them since. | But there was one holdout - the Frontier Casino. The hotel workers went on a six year strike, and in the end, they won. Nobody has dared to challenge them since. |
| A few years ago I was in a football stadium in Vegas while the hotel workers rallied - it was a rare chance to see the people who keep Los Vegas together all in one place. | A few years ago I was in a football stadium in Vegas while the hotel workers rallied - it was a rare chance to see the people who keep Los Vegas together all in one place. |
| Usually, these people arrive at work in the pre-dawn darkness, taking buses from cement-block neighborhoods at the desert's edge. Their union is a job factory, helping to train people, churning out legions of motivated waiters, dishwashers and room-cleaners. And everyone - on both sides - seems happy. | Usually, these people arrive at work in the pre-dawn darkness, taking buses from cement-block neighborhoods at the desert's edge. Their union is a job factory, helping to train people, churning out legions of motivated waiters, dishwashers and room-cleaners. And everyone - on both sides - seems happy. |
| "This town," said a union organiser named D. Taylor, "is the best place in America to find an any entry-level job that will eventually allow you to join the middle class." | "This town," said a union organiser named D. Taylor, "is the best place in America to find an any entry-level job that will eventually allow you to join the middle class." |
| 'Don't mess with me' | 'Don't mess with me' |
| The Vegas mayor, a former mob lawyer named Oscar Goodman, agrees with that assessment. He arrived in 1964, with $87 to his name. He made a killing representing guys with missing fingers and menacing nicknames. He often says things like... "Don't mess with me or I'll throw ya out the window." | The Vegas mayor, a former mob lawyer named Oscar Goodman, agrees with that assessment. He arrived in 1964, with $87 to his name. He made a killing representing guys with missing fingers and menacing nicknames. He often says things like... "Don't mess with me or I'll throw ya out the window." |
| Actually he doesn't use the word 'mess.' | Actually he doesn't use the word 'mess.' |
| But for all his bluster, Mayor Goodman has this grand vision for the City on Steroids, and it involves a steady, well-paid middle class - not the drunks getting married by Elvis impersonators at 4am. | But for all his bluster, Mayor Goodman has this grand vision for the City on Steroids, and it involves a steady, well-paid middle class - not the drunks getting married by Elvis impersonators at 4am. |
| "Without a healthy core," the mayor says. "The city will rot from the inside out." The key to that is the servant class, the people who keep Vegas from collapsing like one of those casinos that has outlived its theme. | "Without a healthy core," the mayor says. "The city will rot from the inside out." The key to that is the servant class, the people who keep Vegas from collapsing like one of those casinos that has outlived its theme. |
| Now when American voters go the polls on 7 November, the war in Iraq will be foremost on people's minds. Numerous scandals among Republican leadership - including the tempest this week over intimate e-mails from a conservative congressman to an underage male intern called a page - may well force a wholesale change. The old "sweep the bastards out" sentiment . | Now when American voters go the polls on 7 November, the war in Iraq will be foremost on people's minds. Numerous scandals among Republican leadership - including the tempest this week over intimate e-mails from a conservative congressman to an underage male intern called a page - may well force a wholesale change. The old "sweep the bastards out" sentiment . |
| But a persistent concern is over the economy, and over class. In polls, most Americans now say their country is going in the wrong direction. And they say their financial lives are stagnant or getting worse. | But a persistent concern is over the economy, and over class. In polls, most Americans now say their country is going in the wrong direction. And they say their financial lives are stagnant or getting worse. |
| Across the country, as the class war plays out in the things like these minimum wage ballot measures, people will be forced to think about rich and poor - at the very moment they enter the polling booth. It's the sort of national gut check that could prove to be just enough for the Democrats. | Across the country, as the class war plays out in the things like these minimum wage ballot measures, people will be forced to think about rich and poor - at the very moment they enter the polling booth. It's the sort of national gut check that could prove to be just enough for the Democrats. |
| And if that's the case, the party out of power could thank Las Vegas, in small part, for forcing the issue. Now you may know the city's chosen motto - What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas. Perhaps not this time. | And if that's the case, the party out of power could thank Las Vegas, in small part, for forcing the issue. Now you may know the city's chosen motto - What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas. Perhaps not this time. |
| Gays, Guns and God. How apt for a party that's in the closet with the first, has plenty of the second, and thinks it's the third.THR, N. Wales | |
| Is Las Vegas really what you'd call a bellwether, though? Given what you've said about the powerful Unions and strong class based element to the local politics and the comparative lack of a conservative white middle class compared to the Mid West and the Sun Belt, many of the key House and Senate races are going to be rather less clear cut than that in Vegas.David Green, Oxford, UK | |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |