CAMPAIGN AD REALITY CHECK

Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006 | 7:37 a.m.

REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR'S RACE

What the ad says

Announcer: Jim Gibbons has voted almost 250 times to cut your taxes. He's voted against almost $24 billion in government spending. Jim Gibbons has never voted to raise his own pay. He's passionate about protecting taxpayers. Bob Beers is passionate about raising his taxpayer-funded salary. He's voted for it twice. Bob Beers voted for the largest series of spending bills in Nevada history, and he even suggested raising property taxes. Nevada families can't afford Bob Beers as governor. We need Jim Gibbons.

What the ad is trying to do

Republican gubernatorial front-runner Gibbons is trying to burnish his own credentials and diminish those of Beers, whose poll numbers have risen in recent weeks.

What's accurate

Gibbons has voted to cut spending or deny so-called funding "earmarks" and he has the votes to prove it. Gibbons is far from the most fiscally conservative member of the House. The venerable National Taxpayers Union - often cited by conservatives - consistently has ranked Gibbons in the middle or slightly in the upper half of all House members when it comes to these issues. So he's conservative - just not overly so.

Gibbons repeats the most serious and potentially damaging of the attacks from his first ad about Beers. The state senator did vote for the largest spending spree in legislative history. He says he tried to cut that budget and notes that it included a tax rebate. But that budget also clearly violates the spirit of his signature issue - the Tax and Spending Control initiative, which could be on the November ballot.

And yes, Beers once said county officials should consider raising property taxes to make up for money lost from a bill that he proposed. That measure would have taken motor vehicle taxes and helped pay for teachers' salaries.

What's wrong or misleading

That quote about Beers being passionate about raising his own pay reflects what the senator said in a story about 10 days ago. Beers was asked about the claim that Gibbons made in a previous ad and used an unfortunate choice of words ("passionate") to describe his feelings about raising legislative pay. To be fair, state lawmakers receive only $7,800 every two years and Beers merely had suggested that it be boosted to $9,000.

That concluding line - "Nevada families can't afford Bob Beers as governor" - is classic over-the-top rhetoric. Beers surely would be at least as fiscally conservative as Gibbons. But Gibbons is trying to shut the door on Beers before the senator can get over the top of the congressman, who has been leading in the polls since the race began.