Dean Heller has lowest rating by League of Conservation Voters

Photo: Las Vegas Sun, CATHLEEN ALLISON / NEVADA APPEAL

Dean Heller, Republican Congressman for Nevada's Congressional District #2 (which includes Nye County) has the lowest rating of the League of Conservation Voters of Nevada's five members of Congress. [Las Vegas Sun]

Heller voted against ending the $18 billion tax incentive for big oil companies. The reason, as I understand it, is that removal of the incentives is essentially a tax hike on the oil companies that will discourage them from exploring for more oil reserves, which in turn, he thinks will lead to higher gas prices. Besides, his constituents, he surmises, drive pick-up trucks.

No Dean, the current thinking is to "end the addiction" to oil, go solar, wind, geothermal, and for alternative fuels to run vehicles. Get with it man

Heller "Could not be Reached for Comment" - Again

Everytime there is a sticky subject and reporters are trying to get in touch with Heller you can be sure to read one line in the paper: "Heller could not be reached for comment." The latest example is today's Las Vegas Sun article on Jon Porter's (R - Henderson) assertion that it's time for Attorney General Gonzales to resign:

Nevada's other Republican congressman, Dean Heller, could not be reached for comment.

This is not an isolated incident. The Desert Beacon has noticed this in early February:

"Rep. Dean Heller could not be reached for comment." [LVSun] This is getting to be a pattern? When the President announced his Surge for Iraq, Mr. Heller could not be found for comment. [DB] Now, there's another hot-button issue and Rep. Heller is yet again AWOL.

Soon, we'll need to start a count. And this is not just an issue with the Las Vegas Sun. Another example from the Las Vegas Review Journal:

Calls to Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., were not returned.

UPDATE:

It ain't just the Las Vegas Sun. This tidbit from today's Las Vegas Review Journal article on the same subject is better and and clearly portrays Molly Ball's frustration:

Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., did not respond to multiple requests for comment Friday.

Heller must have been AWOL again. Who'd have thought it.

Las Vegas Sun on Anti-Heller Ad and the Launch of Helluva Heller

The Las Vegas Sun's Lisa Mascaro published an article today headlined "Heller hears it from every side and now in ads, too" regarding the ad campaign by Americans United for Change which will start to air on Reno stations today:

Today a national progressive group, Americans United for Change, will begin running television ads in Heller's Reno district , targeting six lawmakers whose war votes it hopes to change. Congress is preparing to vote on final passage of the Democratic timetable for troop withdrawal, which Bush has promised to veto. Heller voted against the plan last month.

[...]

The organization's spokesman Jeremy Funk said, "These particular folks, we felt holding them accountable in public, they could be convinced to change their own course and do the right thing." Even in Nevada's relatively conservative 2nd Congressional District, Heller "made the wrong decision to support the president and the war in Iraq." Americans United hopes that as a freshman, Heller is not too beholden to his party's leadership to change his vote.

Heller's already hearing about it from his constituents. Nevadans don't like the war any more than people in the rest of the country:

Heller returns to Washington this week after hearing deep opposition to the war from constituents in Nevada during spring recess. He said he heard similar sentiments in private conversations, in grocery stores and in homes from "some of my friends, neighbors, colleagues."

Heller came away believing that two of every three Nevadans oppose the war - on par with national polls.

Well, at least Heller isn't deaf. With enough pressure put upon him he might just be forced to change his attitude towards the war and vote accordingly, or as Heller calls it "reassess my positon."

There's much more in the article. Read it here.

BTW, "Helluva Heller" got its first mention in this report:

The Americans United campaign has encouraged the early launch of a Web site by a blogger in Germany, Sven Stromann. A former exchange student in Nevada, Stromann hopes to contribute to Heller's defeat in 2008 through the site: helluvaheller.blogspot.com.

And what do Republicans say when the topic of a possible Heller defeat in 2008 is brought up?

[Republican political strategist Ryan]Erwin noted that Heller is in a relatively safe district where he can, as a freshman, massage his views on the war in either direction and still find support.

"As long as he's explaining to his constituents, he can support what he wants to support," Erwin said.

Well, you might want to watch that ad again: