Democrats’ strategy: Tie every Republican to Gibbons

By Jon Ralston

Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008 | 2:02 a.m.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley’s eyes fairly twinkled and I thought I could hear her salivary glands starting up as she answered the question of whether Democrats planned to tie the Jim Gibbons albatross around the neck of every GOP candidate in the coming 80 days.

“Absolutely. Jim Gibbons is the worst public official I’ve ever seen,” she declared on “Face to Face,” making what would be a dramatic statement except that few members of either party would disagree.

She went on: “His gaffe after gaffe after gaffe. This latest thing about him getting a tax break on his land. I think he’s in real trouble.”

And that’s just the way Buckley and the Democrats like it in this toss-up state in the presidential race, in this state where the Democrats have a chance to take over the Legislature and in this state where the Democrats hope to erase all Republicans from the most influential body in Nevada, the Clark County Commission.

The Democrats are positively gleeful that McCain not only can’t get any help from a Republican governor in a state considered one of the most critical in the White House sweepstakes, but that Gibbons may be their silver bullet to turn the state blue. That’s why they have erected a Web site labeling Gibbons “America’s worst governor” and that’s why they filed that ethics complaint on the Lamoille tax break. They just want to make sure the Gibbons brand remains even more toxic than the already-noxious GOP brand.

This is a classic case of executing the old axiom “If you can’t kick a man when he’s down, when can you kick him?” It’s all about reminding voters that Gibbons is the titular head here of a national GOP helmed by John McCain, who chose Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki as his campaign chairman.

When I recently asked the presumptive GOP nominee why he had bypassed Gibbons, McCain comically portrayed Krolicki as some crony of 15 years and later, at a fundraiser, surely elicited giggles even from the GOP faithful when he tried to make up for that by calling Gibbons “a great governor” (coming to an Obama ad on your TV set soon).

Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden, playing the role of good soldier and stand-up comedian to perfection, was paraphrased in The Washington Post last week as having “insisted that Gibbons has been actively campaigning and effectively fundraising on behalf of state and local GOP candidates.”

Beyond the unusual use of the word “effective” in the same sentence with the governor’s name — sans a prefix or the word “not” — Lowden’s stiff upper lip must have been quivering as she said those patently ridiculous words. Anyone who has a pulse and has lived here since Gibbons was secretly sworn in last year when the clock struck midnight, literally and metaphorically for Nevada, must have been incredulous. Republican candidates see Gibbons as a kiss of death and will run from him as the governor does from responsibility.

Last week’s interview with Buckley also might as well have served as the de facto kickoff of her gubernatorial campaign, because the contrast with Gibbons could not have been clearer. Buckley cagily said she was “interested” in the race and had not made up her mind. But Madame Speaker added that she would soon, along with Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford, begin a series of town hall meetings throughout the state to talk about restructuring Nevada’s financial system.

The contrast with Gibbons, who may not even be on the ballot in 2010 if the Republicans are lucky, could not have been clearer. Buckley has begun to prepare a Power Point presentation laden with substance — facts and historical comparisons as opposed to simplistic declarations of taxaphobia. And even though she dances around whether “restructuring” is code for new taxes, and even though it’s clear she has instructed her candidates to follow her lead, at least Buckley is laying the groundwork for a substantive discussion.

She also seemed to be laying the groundwork for her gubernatorial race — a northern and rural tour of town halls, right into the heart of Gibbons Country. Buckley obviously believes that outside of the blind no-new-taxes faithful, the majority of Nevadans are more thoughtful about fixing the state’s problems than the governor — a low bar to surmount, to be sure.

But until Election Day comes, the speaker and other Democrats will happily focus on a simpler task: reminding voters who Jim Gibbons is and what party he helms in Nevada. The governor’s not on the ballot this year but if the Democrats have their way, voters will be thinking a lot about him on Nov. 4.