Are we expecting too much out of politics? Have years of observing cynical gamesmanship driven our standards so high that no real life, flesh-and-blood human being could possibly fulfill them? Is that it?

Or have the Democrats once again capitalized on an opportunity to send yet another Republican majority back to Carson City?

Yeah, we’re thinking it’s the latter.

Monday night’s debate at the Flamingo Library (shout out to sponsor Congregation Ner Tamid!) was, at times, physically painful for us to watch, and not just because our ample ass had trouble squeezing into the pint-sized library seat. Democratic state Senate challengers Shirley Breeden and Allison Copening turned in two of the worst performances we’ve ever seen in covering politics. Sadly, their opponents were pretty much right on the money, if not the issues.

As far as we’re concerned, the Democratic Party owes it to voters to field qualified people for public office. That means people who know about the office they’re seeking, and other relevant facts about the state (say, the amount of the budget, the money Nevada spends per student on education, how a bill becomes a law, etc.). Because you know what? The Republicans know those things. And when you don’t know them, you look stupid, and unworthy of office.

And that means there really isn’t a fair contest for the only two state Senate seats that could throw the balance of power to the Democrats. And that is an offense to the party, to the system and to the voters, one that has real consequences for a progressive agenda for Nevada.

Enough ranting. Let’s take a look at the carnage, shall we?

Breeden (running against incumbent Republican Dr. Joe Heck scored twice in her portion of the debate, moderated by my colleague Jon Ralston. First, she correctly identified Gov. Jim Gibbons as the worst governor ever, and two, she correctly upbraided a physician for opposing the concept of forcing insurance companies to actually cover treating diseases. Other than that, put this in the “total disaster” file.

Heck shot back that he opposed Gibbons’s mindless across-the-board budget cutting, and was the first state official to respond to the hepatitis C crisis, even while the governor was still lying about what caused it. (We’re supplying some background information there that Heck omitted, you understand.) The kicker? Heck was in Iraq serving a tour of duty commanding a medical unit when he upstaged the not-ready-for-prime-time governor on the crisis.

When Ralston pressed Breeden on her remark that Gibbons had “acted unilaterally” in making budget cuts, she stammered on for awhile, saying lots of words but making no sense, especially after Ralston noted that the entire Legislature went to a special session in Carson City and rubber-stamped a plan worked out with hardly any gubernatorial input. (Possible alternative answer in case it comes up again: In the early stages of the budget shortfall, Gibbons simply ordered cuts without seeking legislative input. It was only later that he roped the Legislature in his pathetic rodeo of cuts.)

And while Breeden was adamant that we should “work together,” “prioritize” state spending and sure that we “can’t just keep cutting,” she had no answer for where to get new revenue. But she did know where we shouldn’t get it: taxes. At least that’s what she said only seconds before citing an increase in room taxes as one way to go. Seriously.

For his part, Heck found the two most oft-cited examples of government waste that could easily be privatized: the state printing office and the state motor pool. (People have been saying that for years, doc.) He noted he’d voted against pork projects, but even with all of that put together, there’s still a looming deficit. (Needless to say, the Republican is also against raising taxes.)

Education? You guessed it: Breeden wants to work with the superintendent(s) to prioritize what needs to be done. She wants to set short term goals, and long-term goals. “We can always use more funding,” she said.

It was at this point that we wanted to jab our Waterman rollerball directly into our brain, and we were only stayed by the drama on the stage, when Heck went for the jugular, asking Breeden what the state’s per-pupil expenditure was. She looked back with a blank stare, until Ralston intervened. Since she didn’t know, she couldn’t possibly have known that Heck’s figures were inflated by including school construction costs, which some analysts don’t believe should be included. (For the record, we asked, and he had the non-construction sums, too.)

“I think if you’re going to talk about an issue, you need to know what you’re talking about,” he said. Amen to that. Unfortunately, he said he had the endorsement of Breeden’s union, but in fact, he only had the endorsement of the Nevada State Education Association, not the administrator’s union.

(BTW, school district administrators are ineligible to serve in the state Senate, or so says the state constitution. Courts and attorneys general have since disagreed, but they are, plainly, wrong. Remind us to ask Breeden if she intends to resign her job — not take a leave of absence, but resign — should she win the seat.)

Oh, but wait, there’s more.

State Sen. Bob Beers took the stage to declare “this is the funnest job I’ve ever had.” Why? “Occasionally, you get to do good things.” Awwwww.

Copening admitted she was a newcomer to politics, which is probably why she didn’t see the opening when Beers declared government “is not very efficient. It’s not very effective.” Oh, but the private sector is? Sure, Enron, WorldCom, Countrywide, American Airlines, Ford, Chevy, Starbucks — those companies are damn efficient, all right! And effective, too. No layoffs, deficits or investor scandals there. Hell, anybody who works or has worked for a private company knows all about waste and inefficiency every bit as bad as the worst examples in government.

But when Beers suggested a zero-based budget for the state, Copening agreed, just as she did with several other Beers suggestions. Now, we submit that Beers is handsome and charming, but agreeing with your opponent too much makes the audience wonder why you’re running in the first place. Probably to “work across the aisle” or something like that.

“I think at this point, everything needs to be on the table,” Copening said. Everything? Really? Including taxes?

“I’m adamantly opposed to taxes at this time,” she said later. Oh, so everything’s not on the table? So what’s on the table?

A lottery. An idea that’s been proposed unsuccessfully 25 times in the state Legislature since 1975, when Gerald Ford was president and our long national nightmare was over. But 26th time is the charm! Alas, much like Heck’s privatized print shop and motor pool, the lottery would bring in a paltry sum in a state budget that stretches to nearly $7 billion.

Beers, of course, is opposed. Lawmakers would just steal money out the back door once a lottery was in place, and government shouldn’t compete with the private sector (i.e. casinos). But why not? If government is so goddamn inefficient, the private sector has nothing to worry about, right? (That’s what we’re saying, unfortunately, not what Copening said.)

Copening and Beers also disagreed on the ridiculous mandate-on-insurance issue, with her in the right and him with insurance companies, which gave rise to her best line of the night: “The bottom line is he doesn’t work well with others. He doesn’t play well with others.”

Says who? Ralston asked.

Well, ask any Democratic leader, Copening said. And there you go, the revelation of the evening: Democrats don’t like Bob Beers!

Beers defended his 2003 obstinacy against an $833 million tax plan, and said economic recovery was sluggish because of it. Another great issue upon which to make hay, but as you’ll recall, Copening agrees 100 percent that now is not the time to raise taxes.

We’re prepared to submit that both Copening and Breeden are nice, well-intentioned people. We give them major props for having the guts to put their names out there and take the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism from bloggers such as us. But if our brief survey of peeps-in-the-know afterward was any indication, Heck and Beers are headed back to Carson City in February. Granted, there’s still two months  to go, but the two Republicans are not going to get any dumber or less well-prepared, which means a couple of Democrats have their work seriously cut out for them.