A bad deal all around

The Clark County Democratic Party will get to use UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center at just about no cost for its "do-over" presidential nominating convention April 12.

The university is waiving the normal $60,000, two-day rental fee for the 18,000-seat arena -- as required by a state law that also allowed the party to use hundreds of public schools for its Jan. 19 presidential caucuses.

"I just think it's a bad state law for us to be using public facilities for political parties," says Regent Mark Alden.

Yes, it is. And it's as bad for the parties themselves as it is for the budget-conscious managers of these facilities.

American political parties are not and were never intended to be agencies of the state. Handing free ballot access to the candidates and financing party primaries with tax dollars for the two major parties -- while struggling third-party challengers are kept at the margins -- was bad enough.

But for state lawmakers to order state facilities opened free to charge to private organizations to which they belong not only sets a bad fiduciary precedent. It also hastens the day when the major parties will lose what remains of their independence of action.