Why Tessa Hafen was unable to unseat Porter in the nationwide anti-Republican tide is a subject of Southern Nevada punditry—Hafen was inexperienced; Porter was inoffensive; all politics is local, after all. But something about the closeness of the race indicates just how divided the country has become, and it says something about that much-vaunted paradigmatic quality of Las Vegas. The city scouts the roads the country will take this century, and its motor is the third district, powered by polarities.
I would prefer to view that affirmatively—that the poise of opposing charges produces a smoothly humming power—because I am given to finding the truth in the center of most debates. You might have noted this column's occasional longing for traditional cultural certainties, and perhaps you have found this not readily reconciled with its otherwise progressive leanings. That I value responsibility, humility and propriety in a city whose slogan promotes their inversions seems sufficiently counterintuitive. But these ideals are the essence of my politics, and they are centrist influences, pulling away from the poles. It's an old saw about politics that the extremes of the spectrum are similar expressions of excessive statism, but I see them as essentially selfish, the assertion of unreasoned certainty over sensible responsibility.
Last week's Democratic victory marked a move back to the center, and to responsibility, humility and propriety—which the Republicans of 1994 sought and then abandoned. Those qualities will never define American politics, but it's comforting to think that enough Americans value them to reject the prevailing
Chuck Twardy has written for newspapers and magazines for more than 20 years. This is his final column for Las Vegas Weekly.