Sun editorial:

False and misleading ads

If Porter had any decency, he would stop spreading lies about Titus on television

Friday, Oct. 24, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

When a congressman is as closely aligned with President Bush as is Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., it has to be difficult to run on a voting record that has resulted in a dysfunctional economy and a treacherous foreign policy. Since Porter has nothing good to say about his three terms in Washington, he has resorted to spreading lies about Dina Titus, his Democratic opponent in the 3rd Congressional District race.

Porter has bombarded television airwaves with false ads that accuse Titus, the outgoing state Senate minority leader, of “double dipping” during her time in the Nevada Legislature. The implication is that Titus simultaneously drew salaries from the Legislature and from UNLV, where she is a political science professor. We challenge Porter to produce the evidence that Titus was “caught” drawing the two salaries at once, as his ads allege, because all available public records and news clippings indicate she never took university pay while serving in Carson City. Titus sacrificed more than $200,000 in UNLV salary and benefits to serve her constituents.

We expect, of course, that Porter won’t accept our challenge, which says a lot about his lack of character. If he had any decency, he would take the ads down.

Porter also stated in his ads that to help pay for her state salaries, Titus backed “25 painful tax hikes on Nevada families.” This, too, is misleading because the state tax hikes that Titus voted for in 1991 and 2003 received broad bipartisan support — the latter set of taxes was endorsed by then-Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn — and was followed soon after by robust economies in Southern Nevada. There have been only two major tax hikes since Titus has been in office, not 25, and those increases were hardly painful. Instead, they were necessary to help pay for education, health care and other vital state services.

It wasn’t until Porter and his friends in the White House turned their backs on warning signs of serious problems in the banking industry and the housing market that the economy went south. If voters are looking for a “painful” record that has done nothing but harm to the 3rd Congressional District, they should blame the congressman.

Discussion: 6 comments so far…

By jfnance32

10/24/08 at 2:09 a.m.

Suggest removal

Ms Taxus will be a Pelosi puppy.

Pelosi will say, "Raise taxes" and Ms. Taxus will reply, "How high?"
By KDR81

10/24/08 at 11:54 a.m.

Suggest removal

speaking of false and misleading, I'm tired of the Obama ads.

WE ALREADY PAY TAXES ON THE INCOME WE EARN THAT IS USED TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE!

http://npri.org/blog/obamas-misleading-a...
By KDR81

10/24/08 at 2:20 p.m.

Suggest removal

Also, wasnt Joe Biden one of the deregulators that you like to blame for the economic crisis.

Yes, he was...
By LasVegasRocks

10/24/08 at 2:49 p.m.

Suggest removal

Porter hasn't changed his campaign policies for any election: refuse to talk about his own record (Porter has voted almost exclusively for the failed policies of Bush) but come as close as possible to slander the record of my opponent. He is a perfect example of sleazy republican campaigning.

Porter needs to be sent packing.
By Future2012

10/24/08 at 4:24 p.m.

Suggest removal

I am really concerned that Dina Titus has been unable to rewrite history,

If she could change history, JP could not tell the real truth about her.
By azsk8fan

10/24/08 at 6:13 p.m.

Suggest removal

Porter's a real piece of work - anyone who votes to reelect him has just gotta be plain stupid.