Nothing funny about it

Metro Police determined in JulyÊ1981 that Harry Reid was the victim of an attempted homicide after bomb squad investigators found a wire that ran from the distributor of his Oldsmobile station wagon to its fuel tank. Having just served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, Reid had plenty of unsavory enemies.

Somebody wanted him dead and might have succeeded had the car not experienced an electrical malfunction. After police responded, they reported that the wire job was more sophisticated than one that had been attempted earlier on a vehicle owned by another Nevada Gaming Commission member.

This was what life was like in the early 1980s in Las Vegas for those who dared to take on organized crime. Reid, who had been the stateÕs lieutenant governor before joining the Nevada Gaming Commission, was one of those individuals. The Las Vegas media obviously found that it was newsworthy, reporting on the bombing attempt when it occurred.

Now, 28 years later, conservative radio commentator Heidi Harris of KDWN is sharing on-air laughs as she questions the veracity of the attempted bombing. This past week Republican Senate candidate Sue Lowden and Gov. Jim Gibbons joined Harris in their attempts to trash Reid, a Nevada Democrat who is the U.S. Senate majority leader.

Reid, who noted the bomb scare in a campaign ad, is running for reelection next year. Potential challenger Lowden, a former state senator and ex-television newswoman, is showing early signs that she is not ready for prime time. Instead of doing any research, as one would expect from politicians and journalists, Lowden, Harris and Gibbons questioned the story as though Reid made it up.

Gibbons made an idiotic remark by stating his understanding that the car bomb was actually Òa telephone book and a shoe box.Ó

There is no room in politics for the rumormongering fueled by Harris, Lowden and Gibbons. They owe Reid and all other Nevadans an apology for this character assassination.