Nevada Republicans going lean

Last week in Denver, Nevada's Democratic delegates trickled down each morning to a breakfast just for them, with tote bags and other giveaways provided by sponsoring Nevada corporations like Newmont Mining and Sierra Pacific Resources.

An unseemly parade of corporate influence, perhaps. But it beats what Republicans are getting in St. Paul this week: Nothing.

The Nevada Republican Party, riven by internal disputes in a year when Republicans across the country have few reasons to smile, was unable to secure sponsors for the traditional delegation breakfasts, and so there are none, according to sources with the party.

Instead, Nevada delegates can choose to join the Arizona delegation, which is staying in the same glamorous downtown hotel in St. Paul, for a $25 fee for its breakfasts.

There will be a Nevada luncheon today, sponsored in part by Guaranteed Tax Relief, according to the schedule. That's if it's not canceled out of deference to Hurricane Gustav, as practically all the other events of this convention have been.

SHOOTING FROM THE LIP

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie aroused outrage last week with comments that seemed to suggest she thought Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shouldn't run for vice president given her family responsibilities.

"I'm kind of surprised that a woman with such young children, especially one with a baby with Down syndrome who lives in Alaska, would jump into the fray of a grueling national campaign," the Reno Democrat told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "As a woman and a mother I don't understand that."

Palin has five children; the youngest was born in April with the genetic disorder.

Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden issued a statement blasting the remark, saying, "Working moms all across Nevada should find the idea that a working mom can't be considered for our nation's highest office insulting. Would Sheila say the same if it was a man on the ticket with a young child?"

Leslie said she regretted the comment, which she called "insensitive." She said she had just learned that fact about Palin and was astonished by the amount of responsibility the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket would be shouldering.

"It was meant to be an empathetic remark," Leslie said. "I think it's going to be incredibly difficult for her, but it's her choice and I don't mean to disparage it. Women have to make hard choices every day."

PORTER AID

Rep. Jon Porter will be getting substantial help from his party as the Republican seeks to keep his suburban Las Vegas House seat. But not as much as his opponent will be getting from hers.

The National Republican Congressional Committee has reserved $590,000 worth of local television ad time to air pro-Porter commercials. The amount was reported by the Web site Talking Points Memo last week and confirmed by sources.

In contrast, it's been disclosed that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee plans to spend $916,000 on behalf of Porter's Democratic opponent, state Sen. Dina Titus.

TPM noted that of the 14 districts the NRCC put money into, 11 are Republican-held, signaling that the committee, which was depleted by an embezzling scandal earlier in the year that only exacerbated an already difficult GOP fundraising landscape, will devote most of its resources to trying to hang on to current Republican-held seats. There just isn't cash to go after a lot of Democrats.

Titus campaign spokesman Andrew Stoddard said the NRCC ad buy proved that Republicans know they have a fight on their hands.

"The NRCC's support for Jon Porter is further evidence that Republicans are increasingly concerned about this race and Dina Titus' message of change that is resonating with voters across the 3rd District," Stoddard said.

DEMOCRATS' DINNER

The Clark County Democratic Party has announced that Robert Kennedy Jr. will be the "guest of honor" at its annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner, scheduled for Sept. 13.

That's after the party previously suggested, in a passive-aggressive maneuver, that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama would come and speak, based on its claim that he had agreed to do so at last year's dinner.

Last year's dinner was held the night of a presidential debate in Las Vegas and was attended by the eight Democratic candidates who were then in the running. It was marred by logistical problems but raised huge amounts of cash for the party.

Kennedy Jr., the third of Bobby Kennedy's 11 children, is an environmental lawyer and activist.

Contact political reporter Molly Ball at 387-2919 or MBall@reviewjournal.com.