MARK WAITE / PVT U.S. Rep. Dean Heller speaks at Friday's annual Republican Party Lincoln Day dinner. Advertisement

U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., told attendees at the Pahrump Valley Republican Women's 29th Annual Lincoln Day dinner Friday night, he was only one of 13 incoming freshman Republican congressman after the November 2006 election.

"To tell you how bad 13 is, after Watergate we elected 17. We have not had a class of equal size or smaller since 1914," Heller told party faithful at the Mountain Falls Golf Club.

The freshman congressman said three things happened that caused Republicans to lose control of Congress in 2006: mismanagement of the early stages of the war in Iraq, a loss of fiscal discipline by approving earmarks, and ethics and corruption problems.

Heller and Nevada Senate President Pro Tem Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, were the keynote speakers in the absence of the guest of honor, Gov. Jim Gibbons and First Lady Dawn Gibbons. Governor's spokesman Jim Denton said it was a scheduling conflict. Gibbons' son Jimmy Gibbons, was visiting Reno on leave from the Merchant Marine Academy in New York.

It had nothing to do with news reports Friday of marital difficulties between the two, Denton said.

The speaker at the ceremony for incoming Republicans, recalled Heller, was former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., the leader of a group of conservative, congressional Republicans during the Reagan administration.

"What he did say is that the probable outcome for this election in 2008 is there will be a Democratic president and that we'll lose seats in both the House and the Senate," Heller said. "But we can change probable outcomes and he gave us three ways how we can do that.

"We need to get back to what the foundation of the Republican Party always is: that's a strong family, a strong economy and strong defense."

Heller warned Republicans a Democratic takeover will have consequences.

"If you want to go back to the Jimmy Carter era, that's what you're going to get, the last time the president and both houses of Congress were controlled by Democrats. We'll move right back to the Jimmy Carter era and that will include higher taxes, bigger government, more regulation, more litigation."

Republicans need to get back to fundamentals, Heller said. They will also be assisted by the far left of the Democratic Party taking things too far, a scenario that's already happening in the 2008 election, he said.

During his Lincoln Day speech at the Mountain Falls Golf Club and a visit at the Pahrump Senior Center earlier Friday, Heller reiterated why he just voted against a bill to repeal tax breaks for oil companies. The bill, which passed the House 236 to 182, would raise $18 billion over 10 years.

Heller said the repeal of those tax breaks will cause gas prices to rise, though the Associated Press reported it would only cause gas prices to rise a penny a gallon.

"We're going to see $4 a gallon by this summer and we're going to see $5 a gallon by the following summer," Heller said.

The freshman congressman also mentioned his fight against mining reform with an 8 percent tax. That was an issue Heller mentioned when asked by President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney at an annual luncheon about their most important issue. Heller predicted mining reform won't make its way out of the U.S. Senate.

Heller said the expiration of the Protect America Act made America less secure this week. It would have allowed America to eavesdrop on conversations between terrorists around the world that may use American electronic communications or satellites, he said.

State Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, who represents Nye County, will be the third ranking senator if he's reelected in November. That could be pivotal when it comes to key issues like reapportionment, in 2010.

Nevada Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, R-Amargosa Valley, told Republicans he fought against increased taxes in his role as a member of the House transportation committee.

"All of a sudden an amendment floated out of the air and was dumped on our desks," Goedhart said. It was a tax on trucking of 75 cents to 90 cents per gallon to pay for highway improvements, he said.

Proponents said big business would pay the tax. But Goedhart said consumers would ultimately pay the tax, whether on trusses for their new home or a can of beans at the grocery store.

McGinness said while Republicans had a good turnout for the caucus in January in his home in Churchill County, Democrats did much better at getting out the vote.

While Republican speakers acknowledged U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wasn't their first choice in the presidential race, they all urged party members to get behind the senator, the apparent nominee, in his 2008 campaign.

State Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden said she often apologizes for being from Las Vegas, where Democrats comprise the majority of voters, during speeches in rural Nevada. She said without Nye County, Nevada wouldn't be a red state.

Lowden urged members of the audience to contact their state legislators about whether they want to continue holding a presidential caucus or return to the old primary system. She predicted, "it will be a lively debate in Carson City."

Lowden said she's confident McCain will win a lot of the blue states and attract independents.

"He won without a lot of money. He went out and shook hands and spoke about the issues," she said.