Miller punches back with ad

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller is striking back against an ad that falsely implies he’s living the high life at taxpayer expense, with an ad of his own that calls into question to shadowy motives of the group that attacked him.

(Actual motive: To keep Miller from being elected attorney general, so he won’t later be in a position to run for governor.)

“This group you’ve never heard of wants to choose Nevada’s attorney general,” the ad begins. (The group, the State Government Leadership Foundation, is a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” corporation, which is legally allowed to keep its donors secret. It’s affiliated with the Republican State Leadership Committee, and was started with at least $1.3 million in corporate donations.)

“Using secret money to evade the law and attack Ross Miller with ads that are flat out untrue,” the ad continues, using political commentator Jon Ralston as a celebrity spokesmodel.

In fact, state law requires groups such as the State Government Leadership Foundation to register with the secretary of state’s office prior to spending money in races, which hasn’t happened. That spurred a group calling itself Nevadans for a Brighter Future (headed by former Miller aide Matt Griffin) to file a complaint with the secretary of state’s office. (That complaint appears below.)

“Police officers and prosecutors across Nevada endorse Miller, because Miller has prosecuted murderers and violent criminals and cracked down on fraud,” the ad says. “Dark money attacks can’t change this fact. Nevada cops trust Ross Miller for attorney general.”

It’s interesting that Miller’s ad fails to address the allegations of the State Government Leadership Foundation’s attack, including that he accepted (legal, and fully disclosed) gifts, that he has traveled to foreign locales on official business, or that he has been seen in the company of “Girls Next Door” star Holly Madison. Instead, Miller takes advantage of the (sadly, also legal) secrecy afforded the State Government Leadership Foundation to imply there’s something nefarious about attacking a guy that cops love as much as, well, Holly Madison.

But unlike the foundation, which told viewers to call Ross Miller and tell him to stop living the high life “at your expense,” (which he’s not), Miller’s response ad is entirely true: The State Government Leadership Foundation is using secret money, it has failed to register as required by law, and police officers and prosecutors have endorsed Miller.