HOME PAGE
|
Wednesday, August 19, 1998
COLUMN: John L. Smith
Guinn will remind voters of long-haired Russo until primary
The close-up fills the screen with the face of a wild man wearing long hair and what appears to be a large bass lure attached to his left ear.
His clothes have a very burn-baby-burn-disco-inferno flair that defined dressing to impress circa 1975.
Wow, dude. Cool hair. Bad threads.
To the untrained eye, this is possibly a professional wrestler hyping his next big match on closed-circuit television, or a really pugnacious party crasher who just got booted from the old Studio 54. This is the uncle of "Macho Man" Savage. This is the cousin of Sam Kinison.
Hey, man, this could be your next governor.
The wild man is Aaron Russo, and, according to one poll, the Hollywood producer is within striking distance of heavily favored Kenny Guinn in the upcoming Republican primary. Thus, the recent premiere of the advertisement titled: "Who is the real Aaron Russo?"
It's a valid question, but one that, until recently, Guinn's political guides had neglected to ask either out of an abundance of patience or hubris. To the Guinn-for-governor campaign, Russo is now Mr. Embarrassing to Nevada, Mr. Dangerous as Governor, Mr. Bad Hair Day.
To the Review-Journal's latest political poll, Russo is Mr. Seven Points Back.
And so, the commercial was born.
Not out of fear, mind you, for the Guinn camp won't admit Russo gives them night sweats or is much of a factor outside Nye County and the Tobacco Road Trailer Park. Out of an abundance of caution.
The ad hits Russo where it should hurt most: He hasn't voted in a quarter century, has lived in Nevada fewer than two years, doesn't own a home here, has outstanding tax liens in other states.
Forget for a moment that Russo insists the Guinn spinners have muddled their facts, that one of those tax liens was a clerical error, that he started the Constitution Party in California as a political experiment, or that he has wheeled through more states in the past decade than many long-haul truckers.
The big story is this: For arguably the first time this campaign season, Kenny Guinn's formidable political team appears to have awakened from its slumber and is going on the offensive. That means trouble for all comers, especially Russo.
For his part, Russo says the negative ad has actually attracted supporters. We'll see about that.
For the record, Russo's polls indicate he is slightly ahead of Guinn. For the record, Guinn's polls indicate he is as much as 25 percentage points ahead of Russo.
For the record, polls don't vote.
"He puts out an ad saying I had long hair," Russo snorts. "What kind of response is that? It was silly. It was dumb. I think people resent it."
So much so, says Guinn campaign manager Pete Ernaut, that the ad will run nonstop from here until Sept. 1. Ernaut scoffs at the R-J poll, but it's obvious that the Del Ali survey combined with a series of biting Russo ads attacking Guinn have fueled the tough new approach.
"As inaccurate as it was, it scared the living daylights out of Republicans," Ernaut says. "The poll did one thing: It placed us in a position to tell the story of Aaron Russo."
And the story includes footage from Russo's "Mad as Hell" video, which outlines some of his anti-big-government philosophy in a cross between a wrestling match and the Dennis Miller Show.
Russo says the cassette has sold more than 20,000 copies. Since the attack ad has started, he reports, the sales have increased. But I'll bet his popularity has not.
Guinn's life story is not yet out on cassette, but expect his legion of credits to be rattled off ever more rapidly as the primary approaches. Guinn's supporters define their man as a solid Nevada citizen and good husband who has run the state's largest school district, largest utility, largest bank and largest university. And he's on a first-name basis with his barber.
Russo has no campaign manager, no financial chairman, no strategist. And, history notes, no shot at pulling off the upset of the century in the Silver State. Newcomers don't win high office in Nevada.
But Russo has registered new voters and continues to spend a fortune on TV ads attacking Guinn. And that hurts.
"We waited as long as possible without taking shots back," Guinn grass-roots organizer Steve Wark says. "Kenny Guinn is Gary Cooper. Aaron Russo is Alice Cooper."
From all appearances, their showdown has the makings of a bona fide bloodbath.
Or at least entertaining theater.
John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Reach him at 383-0295 or John_L._Smith@lvrj.com
Give us your FEEDBACK on this or any story.
Fill out our Online Readers' Poll
|
JOHN L. SMITH
MORE COLUMNS
|
