The latest ad from Gabrielle Giffords' campaign for Congress, titled "Blocked," is being aired on broadcast and cable stations throughout the Tucson media market.

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Today: We look at an ad for Democrat Gabrielle Giffords.

The race: Congressional District 8 Democratic primary

The medium: A 30-second television ad.

The message: Viewers see the state Capitol at night, through what appears to be night vision goggles. A group of men, who are assumed to be legislators, are seen sneaking into the building. Giffords appears in an office, turning on a lamp.

Giffords says:

"Nightime. Sometimes politicians think it's the right time to do the wrong things. Like when they tried to sneak through cuts to care for seniors and kick thousands off health care.

"I blocked that late-night vote, forced budget talks out in the open to protect our families. I'm Gabrielle Giffords. I approve this message because Washington's been keeping us in the dark for too long, and change can't wait."

The intent: To portray Giffords as a leader in the state Senate, looking out for the needs of the people.

Fact check: Giffords never blocked a vote on the bill she's citing. She missed a vote that would have killed the legislation.

On May 12, 2003, Republicans attempted to introduce five budget bills, one of which would have eliminated coverage for parents of children enrolled in the state children's health-insurance pro- gram. At the time, more than 9,000 parents qualified.

When Senate leaders went to introduce the bill, Giffords requested a quorum call. Lacking a quorum, the introduction was delayed until the next day.

Contrary to what the ad portrays, Giffords' call for a quorum was not for a "late-night vote." It was just the introduction of the bill, a standard legislative procedure.

By delaying the introduction, Giffords says she "forced budget talks." Actually, the bill was assigned the following day to the Appropriations Committee, on which Giffords sat, just as it would have been the prior evening.

But in a May 12 memorandum from Giffords to Senate President Ken Bennett, Giffords asked to be excused for the duration of the week to attend a Democratic Leadership Council meeting in Washington, D.C., followed by America's Young Elected Leaders conference in New Jersey. Bennett excused her, records show.

While Giffords was absent, the Appropriations Committee voted to advance four of the five bills — including the one addressing health care.

If Giffords had been present to vote — and voted against the bills — she would have created a tie, killing the bills in committee.

Without her vote, the bill went to the floor for debate and amendments but never went up for a full vote since the House had already passed budget bills.

Sources: The Associated Press; Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System's KidsCare Enrollment Index, 2003; Arizona Legislature. archives (www.azleg.state.az. us); Capitol Media Services; Journal of the Senate; Office of the President of the Senate; and U.S. Naval Observatory data (www.usno.navy.mil).