Overcompensating in Nevada

Overcompensating in Nevada

Posted on March 9th, 2010 by Sean Cunningham

I spent much of my childhood in the Silver State and love it still, which is why I’m proud it can offer a pair of leaders to rival New York’s dynamically dysfunctional duo of Spitzer and Paterson. The more famous is Senator John Ensign, whose prospects of becoming the Republican party’s next Palin dimmed significantly when it was revealed he’d been boinking an aide’s wife. This was bad, not because it showed Ensign’s spouse couldn’t trust him — that’s to be expected in politics — but his own staff couldn’t either…and if they can’t, good luck to folk not on his payroll. It soon got worse, with the FBI investigating how Ensign used his power to help the career of the angry spouse of his former bed mate…and then got kind of goofy, with Ensign admitting he had his parents pay the woman nearly $100,000, because even an elected official in his 50s sometimes needs a hand from Mom and Dad.

With Ensign’s recent run, it was understandable fellow Republican and Nevada governor Jim Gibbons would want to put the matter to rest quickly when he got his own sex scandal (in his case, allegedly shoving and threatening a cocktail waitress in a parking garage when she turned down his advances). Gibbons may have overdone it, however, when he not only insisted he did not want to have sexual relations with that woman, but he did not want to have sexual relations with any woman (or, to the best of my knowledge, man). Gibbons declared in a deposition he’s been celibate for the last 15 years. This would be an odd admission for any guy who’s apparently in good health, but particularly so in view of the fact Gibbons had been married since 1985 (he filed for divorce in mid-2008 and completed it days before the end of 2009), and the couple presumably were interested in doing it at some point, as they have a child. All quite weird, but then again this is the man who’s been known to assist the federal government’s efforts to bring nuclear waste to his home state, so can’t say it’s surprising.

Best part? While Spitzer resigned and Paterson may yet have to pull the plug early, Ensign and Gibbons both remain in office and have a great shot at reelection. Miss you, Nevada.