Friday, May 26, 2006 | 7:17 a.m.
Jon Porter has President Bush and the popular GOP Congress, and Tessa Hafen has ...
It's no surprise that former Harry Reid press secretary Hafen can round up prominent Democrats to help her raise money to bridge the money chasm (about seven figures) between her and Rep. Porter. But just who those Democrats are - at least some of them - reveals a list that is impressive and interesting.
There are some expected suspects on the letterhead for her June 6 event.
Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid, the senator's son - Dad would kill Reid the Younger if he didn't.
Henderson Councilman Andy Hafen - daughter would kill Hafen the Elder if he didn't. And Tom and Mary Gallagher - the ex-gaming executive would like to have killed Porter, but he didn't.
But some of the other names are fascinating for different reasons:
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman - he hates to raise money for anyone other than himself and almost never takes up another candidate's cause. But perhaps they enticed him by agreeing to list him first.
Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson and state Sen. Dina Titus - see, they can agree on something. It just has to have nothing to do with the governor's race.
Chancellor Jim Rogers - the event is at his car museum and the deep-pocketed education advocate is an old Friend of Harry. He could really help Hafen. I understand he also owns a TV station or two.
Phillip and Maureen Peckman - he's an executive with the Greenspun Corp., which owns this newspaper and this columnist. She's a former Porter lieutenant who was ousted and risibly claimed recently she and the congressman remain friends. Looks like they are out to kill him now.
There are a few other names on the invite, including business power couple Michael and Jenna Morton (more money), state Sen. John Lee (who cares?) and County Commissioner Tom Collins, who coincidentally is the chairman of the Democratic Party.
It's doubtful that even this eclectic group can bring in close to the $400,000 Bush brought in for Porter. But Hafen could get to six figures from this event and maybe Rogers will auction off a car or two to double the take.
They don't call it the silly season for nothing: Why debate education or health care or the state budget when you can imply someone is a racist or consorts with crooks?
Such is the high level the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates reached Thursday with dueling press releases that would have to be upgraded to be classified as pathetic.
First, Titus sent out a release lambasting Gibson for having a Web toon on his site that "portrays Latinos as fearful of the 'chupacabra,' Spanish for 'goat-sucker,' and suggests that electronic 'chupacabras' - which 'feast on the blood of goats and maybe the occasional human' - could be posted on the U.S.-Mexico border as a 'silver bullet solution' to illegal immigration."
The cartoon is obnoxious and offensive, but does not appear on Gibson's site. Gibson's site has had a link to a site - www.campaigntoons.com - where a Gibson campaign Web toon about Titus also is posted. But Titus must know Gibson had nothing to do with the latter, even though she excoriates him:
"It's insensitive, it degrades an entire people and culture, and it makes a joke of the political process in this country. Jim Gibson either needs to get serious about this campaign or get out of it."
Gibson pointed out the Web site's ownership in a response sent out later Thursday but couldn't resist using the convictions of Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, too, to resurrect a nonissue about Titus taking money from the company five years ago. Titus was just making the ludicrous attack to "cover her real problems," the Gibson release claims. And then this:
"Enron conspired to cheat this country, and its terrible actions led to soaring energy bills in Nevada and throughout America," Gibson said. "I find it reprehensible that Dina Titus still doesn't think enough of the people of Nevada to do the right thing and account for the tainted money."
Oh, please. Titus has about as many ties to Enron as Gibson does to white supremacists. But maybe Titus can solidify the Hispanic vote and maybe Gibson can inoculate himself against the inevitable attack that he took a $500,000 legal fee from Nevada Power.
Is anyone else embarrassed by this display?
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