But what they meant to say was …

By J. Patrick Coolican (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008 | 2 a.m.

You ever get so angry, so sputtering mad, that you say the opposite of what you meant to say?

Sure you have.

Now, have you ever done so in a glossy, expensive, mass-produced piece of mail sent in the middle of a political campaign?

Probably not.

But Nevada Democrats have, in a move reminiscent of Larry David’s botched obituary for his wife’s “beloved aunt.” (See “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Season 1, Episode 8.)

Democrats are engaged in a tough and costly campaign to beat Republican state Sen. Joe Heck. Democratic political neophyte Shirley Breeden is running against him with control of the state Senate hanging in the balance, given that Republicans have a one-seat majority.

The past round of mail pieces showed sick women in hospitals and said Heck, a physician, doesn’t care about women’s health issues. (As the Sun reported last week, the accusation was misleading.) This time the mailer meant to say: Heck favors price gouging! He’s a tool of the oil companies!

Here’s the headline that appeared, as first noted by Sun columnist Jon Ralston: Sen. Joe Heck “is Against Price Gouging at the Pump.”

Arrrr!