Heller falsely tells conservative talker that Berkley, DNC spokesman were at Latin Chamber event he snubbed

Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 | 1:32 p.m.

Sen. Dean Heller told a conservative radio talker this week that he refused to show up last month to a Latin Chamber roundtable he had arranged because his opponent and a DNC spokesperson were there – and neither is true.

Chatting Thursday with the ever-sympathetic Heidi Harris on the same KDWN program that did so much damage to GOP Senate candidates last cycle, Heller was asked about the Oct. 25 roundtable incident and he replied:

“I had reached out…you know I reach out to all groups and organizations, and I certainly was going to reach out to the Latin Chamber. These are hard-working Americans that I think add value, and I believe fully that they add value to our communities. And unfortunately the Latin Chamber decided that they thought it was more important for my opponent to be present with a camera, a tape recorder, and I didn’t believe that was appropriate for a one-on-one discussion. This wasn’t a luncheon. This was just a one-on-one discussion.”

There is so much wrong there that I don’t know where to start.

Forget the patronizing suggestion that the Hispanic folks “add value” (or his ungrammatical use of "that" instead of "who") and his mischaracterization of the event

as a “one-on-one discussion.”

His “opponent” was not present. A staffer for Berkley – a longtime chamber member – was there and a Heller staffer demanded she be removed or the senator would not come into the room. Yes, there was a camera there – the horror!

Later, the ever-informed Harris led Heller with this: “I don’t know why the other campaigns should be able to be there, especially when you know that their allegiance probably lies with Shelley.”

Now Heller knew the Berkley staffer was a previous Latin Chamber board member, but he did not mention that. Instead, he made something up:

“Well, you know, it was their decision. It was their decision. They chose to keep her staff in there. There was a DNC spokesperson that was in the room, and, you know, we said that’s your choice. And they chose to keep them in there. So, anyway, we’ll work it out. We’ll go back. The door is always open. Always open. And I certainly will reach out again and hopefully they will be more forthcoming and willing to talk.”

DNC spokesperson? There was no such animal there. Perhaps Heller was thinking of longtime Hispanic activist Andres Ramirez who was quoted by a "newspaper" that followed up on the original story, but he was not at the event.

The final line is helpful for him, too: THEY will be more forthcoming and willing to talk? Really?

They were ready and willing, but because a U.S. senator feared an opponent’s staffer (not his opponent) and a camera, he ran away.

If this frightens Heller, I can’t imagine what the rest of the campaign will do. Get used to it, senator. Cameras are everywhere. And this was your event that you bolted, for no good reason. And with Harris, it was time for what she does best on her program: Enable fantastic GOP explanations without question.

(I have attached the audio at right. I have also reached out to Heller's folks and will post any response if they have one.)

UPDATE: Here's what a Heller spokesman says: "I think you are taking the Senator’s comments a bit too literally. The fact is that there was an individual there with a video camera and a Berkley staffer. The Chamber would not identify who that person with the video camera was or if they were a chamber member. Andres Ramirez is a Democratic operative for both the state party and the DNC."

Even if could accept the "too literally" comment on "my opponent," Heller is wrong about Ramirez and his tone with Harris cannot help his Hispanic outreach efforts, which may be essential to his re-election.