Porter, Heller skipping GOP bash

There will be at least two empty seats in Nevada's delegation to the Republican National Convention next month.

Reps. Jon Porter and Dean Heller are passing up the formal nomination of John McCain for the presidency to remain at home and campaign to keep their seats in Congress.

"My first priority is the campaign," Porter said in an interview last week. Aide Matt Leffingwell added, "In an election year like this, (the convention) is just not a productive use of time for him."

Porter did not attend the 2004 national convention in New York but did go to Philadelphia for the 2000 event.

Heller attended the 2004 political convention as a delegate and Nevada's secretary of state. But now, as a freshman House member, he plans to remain in his district for that week, spokesman Stewart Bybee said.

Michael Green, a history professor at the College of Southern Nevada, said it was probably a smart move for both lawmakers.

"If I were in their positions, I would probably do what they are doing," Green said. "They don't want to give up four days that could be spent pumping the hands of people who might vote for them."

There is a flip side, Green added. With a who's who of Republicans all gathered in St. Paul, Minn., people might wonder whether the Nevadans aren't important enough to be there. "It could be a two-edged sword," he said.

The convention is Sept. 1-4. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., will be there as an enthusiastic participant, his spokesman said.

"He has generally gone in the past and considers it an enjoyable event," Tory Mazzola said. As chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Ensign will be raising money and promoting the party's candidates below McCain on the ticket.

Also planning to attend is Gov. Jim Gibbons, spokesman Ben Kieckhefer said.

Gibbons was present at a Lake Tahoe fundraiser for McCain on the candidate's visit to Northern Nevada last week. According to the Wall Street Journal, McCain had kind words for Gibbons at the event, calling him "our great governor."

Both Democrats in Nevada's congressional delegation, Rep. Shelley Berkley and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, plan to attend their party's convention in Denver at the end of this month. Members of Congress and other top elected Democrats are automatic convention delegates, or superdelegates, whereas elected Republicans are not.

GIBBONS-BASHING

Nevada Democrats have been convinced for a while now that Gibbons is superlatively bad. Now they're making the case to the public with a new Web site: www.AmericasWorstGovernor.com.

The site, which went up last week, features a surfable timeline of Gibbons missteps and a compendium of memorable quotes complete with an animated Gibbons photo, all set to a jaunty, clarinet jazz track. Readers are invited to submit mock "text messages" and tips about Gibbons' whereabouts.

"He's had so many missteps that it's probably difficult even for him to keep track of them," Nevada Democratic Party Executive Director Travis Brock told reporters during a conference call announcing the site last week. "We're not just talking about a couple of scandals. We're talking about fumble after fumble after fumble."

Brock said the site was aimed at branding Gibbons with the "America's Worst" label both in advance of his own prospective re-election bid in 2010 and with an eye toward the current election year, when Gibbons isn't running but other Republicans are.

"He is the face of the Republican Party in Nevada," Brock said. "It really ties all of those folks to him." However, as liberal blogger Hugh Jackson noted on his site, the Las Vegas Gleaner, the site doesn't mention other Republicans, just Gibbons.

Gibbons spokesman Ben Kieckhefer said it is Democrats who have failed to show leadership in state government.

"If they think so poorly of him, why are they following him in lockstep when it comes to solving the worst budget crisis in the history of the state?" he said. "They've offered zero solutions. If he's the worst, what does that make them?"

National political expert Larry Sabato, author of a book on 20th century state governors, noted that the type of designation the Democrats would like to pin Gibbons with is purely subjective and that governors historically have been involved in plenty of bad behavior, some of it carrying jail time.

"Gibbons is one of the least successful and most scandal-prone of the current crop of governors -- easily in the bottom two or three," was Sabato's judgment.

It was a banner week for snarky Democratic Web sites with a Nevada flavor. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last week rolled out therealfreedomswatch.com, a site aimed at pinning the work of Freedom's Watch on its major benefactor, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson.

The site features a parody of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign, a casino-style marquee and a spinning roulette wheel, along with the slogan, "Gambling Away Americas' (sic) Future," one of many problematic apostrophes in the site's difficult-to-read text.

HEY, BIG SPENDER

Just two months into the general election, the two presidential campaigns have poured nearly $2 million into television ads in Nevada, according to the nonpartisan Wisconsin Advertising Project.

McCain's campaign has spent more on ads in the Silver State, the analysis found, purchasing $1.1 million in television time compared with Obama's $630,000. The analysis covered the period from June 3, when the primaries ended, to July 26.

McCain went up on television in Nevada on June 7, while Obama didn't take to the airwaves until June 20. Nevada is one of 14 states where both candidates have aired ads, according to the group.

Nationally, the study found, television spending in the 2008 campaign already has exceeded $50 million.

The Republican National Committee has boosted McCain with $3.6 million in spending, none of it in Nevada, while the Democratic National Committee hasn't aired any ads yet.

While the Obama campaign had spent more overall on ads, $27 million to McCain's $21 million, McCain was spending more in most of the states where both campaigns are on the air, while Obama was paying to air ads in several states where McCain isn't on TV.

The top targets of campaign advertising by state were Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. By city, the Philadelphia media market got the most ad-blitzed. Las Vegas was the No. 9 market, with 2,390 total campaign spots, while Reno was No. 19 with 2,031.

MUCHO DINERO

If you've heard that Nevada is a battleground state, you've probably also heard -- several times -- that the Hispanic vote is this campaign's coveted demographic in these parts.

Last week, the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee announced what they said was a "bold and unprecedented" plan to mobilize Latino voters, particularly in Nevada, Colorado, Florida and New Mexico.

The $20 million initiative is "of a size and scope that has never been undertaken in the history of presidential politics," said Frank Sanchez, chairman of Obama's National Hispanic Leadership Council.

According to a study by the Johns Hopkins Voter Project, the total amount spent targeting Hispanics in the 2004 election, by both major parties and third-party groups combined, was $8.7 million.

Both Obama and McCain have been trying to reach Nevada's Hispanic voters with ads on Spanish-language radio. A recent national poll by the Pew Hispanic Center showed Obama taking a commanding two-thirds of the Hispanic vote, while 23 percent supported McCain.

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.