CAMPAIGN AD REALITY CHECK

Saturday, Sept. 23, 2006 | 7:37 a.m.

What the ad says

Announcer: Congressman Gibbons just doesn't get it. Billions of dollars in tax breaks for corporate giants, then borrow from China to pay for it. No balanced budget, just Washington waste. Congressman Gibbons is not on our side.

What the ad's trying to do

Dina Titus has chosen one of the most poll-tested issues in the country that Democrats use against Republicans: that they represent corporate interests and not the public interest.

Blaming Gibbons for the unbalanced budget and calling it Washington waste are standard rhetorical devices. And potentially effective, too. If he is seen as part of the Beltway elite and not on our side, that will help Titus. And as we've learned from her other ads, Titus wants you to know she's on our side.

What's accurate

Has Gibbons voted for tax breaks for corporations? Yes. He voted for a comprehensive corporate tax bill more than two years ago that was criticized by Democrats for what they called special-interest giveaways. Republicans argued that they were needed incentives. One note on that bill: It also had a provision that allows Nevadans to deduct sales taxes from their federal income taxes. But Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley still opposed the measure because she said it was bloated with special-interest tax breaks.

What's wrong or misleading

The line about China refers to some of America's debt being held by foreign entities. Drawing a nexus between the national debt and those tax breaks, however, is a stretch.