Democrats’ strategy: Tie every Republican to Gibbons

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.

Discussion: 5 comments so far…

By Taxpayersrant

8/17/08 at 9:07 a.m.

Suggest removal

Go ahead and keep drooling Buckley, your time is coming and it won't be pretty. Word on the street? Voters SUPPORT Jim Gibbons no new taxes
pledge. The primary where more Republicans turned out than Democrats despite their registration advantage shows it. We're taking our
Battle Born state back from the Californicators.
GO JIM GIBBONS!!!!
By Taxpayersrant

8/17/08 at 9:13 a.m.

Suggest removal

One more thing. We have a veto proof majority
of 2/3 to keep new taxes off the agenda with
Raggio winning reelection with his no new taxes pledge. I'm all for reworking the budget. Let's start with adding vouchers, more charter school and tax credits for home schooling and take that money away from the government employee unions and the teachers union. Let's get rid of blowhard Jim Rogers and send him packing back to his socialist television station. The legislature
expanded so called higher education to accommodate the millenium scholarhip students who
proved too stupid to be in college.
By texexnv

8/17/08 at 10:15 a.m.

Suggest removal

I'm completely underwhelmed. With three months to go to the election, the Dems - or at least Buckley - comes up with a paradigm that should have been self evident to a first grader (not that I'm putting down first graders here).

The above commenter has it right though - the Dems are simply not GOTV which has been their problem since dirt was new.

Not much will change this election as Nevada Dems again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

http://texex-xpress.blogspot.com/
By Oliver07

8/17/08 at 6:30 p.m.

Suggest removal

Unfortunately, Nevada just doesn't have a corner on the bad governor market. During 15 years in AZ we impeached one governor and sent another one to jail. I'm sure there are many other states that have lived through having lousy governors.

And hopefully Buckley will lose her interest in being governor and/or the electorate will lose it for her. She's been in the legistature for how many years?? And, only now, when she wants to be governor, because she is going to be term limited, and won't have a political job in a couple of years.... does she bother to start talking about reforming the tax base and trying to make it look like she is doing something about it. What a joke. If she were a true leader, she would have been having town meetings long before this and been trying to get the state as a whole to pull together on a broad tax base measure. Her motives are so obvious its ridiculous.
By neiman1

8/18/08 at 9:59 p.m.

Suggest removal

I thought the plan was to tie every Republican to George Bush. They would tie them to Pres. Hoover if anyone still remembered him. All we can tie the Dem's to is John Edwards, Bill Clinton, Elliott Spitzer and those other Super Delegates that aren't welcome in Denver, oh, don't forget Mayor Kilpartick. People will vote Republican becaue they cannot afford to be Democrats like the $8 million dollar givers in San Fransisco Nancy Pelosi lined up for dinner with Obama.