The citizens of Nevada will be delighted to know that their governor went on a national cable TV news program Friday and said the problem with dumping nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain isn't that there's something wrong with the Department of Energy's science. It's just that a nuke dump would look bad.
From MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:
Matthews: What's your fear of having the dump here?
Gibbons: Well, the first part is, as you look at Nevada, we're a tourism-based economy. It isn't that, uh, the science isn't good. When we talk about this, what happens is a perception is that this is a dumping ground and any problem in the rest of any other state is going to be looked at as being solved by dumping it somewhere in Nevada.
In fairness, it should be pointed out that Gibbons is a tongue-tied doofus under normal conditions, and perhaps fearing that a line of questioning involving single moms and hotel keys was about to come his way on a national cable news network, the worst governor in America may have been particularly off his game. One of the advantages of being Jim Gibbons, after all, is that claiming that you misunderstood something or simply misspoke is almost always a plausible excuse.
And it better be. His excuse, that is. Because the alternative is that Gibbons actually believes that the Department of Energy, on behalf of the nuclear power industry, is trying to force a nuclear waste dump on his state based on what Gibbons' beloved president, in a cruel hoax, likes to call "sound science." Such a position would not only put Gibbons at odds with Nevada's congressional delegation, of which he used to be a member (albeit a fantastically obscure one), but also undermine official positions Nevada has taken in court challenging the quality, reliability and even authenticity of scientific documents supporting the DOE's Yucca license application.
Note to the Gibbons brain trust, assuming there is such a thing: The blunderlicious performance with regard to the state budget, and the overall pointlessness of Gibbons' governorship, really isn't much of a surprise, and can in fact be quite amusing. But fergawdsake, keep him off of national TV.
That video was brutal. It was almost like with each question Matthews asked, he was really thinking, "are you really this incompetent."
How the hell did we get stuck with this guy for Governor?
Posted by: Pedro | 01/26/2007 at 04:43 PM
Oh. My. Gawd.
Posted by: cls | 01/26/2007 at 04:54 PM
We got stuck with this guy for governor because he was elected by the people of Nevada, and there are more doofuses here per capita than any other state, especially up in Hee-Haw No. Nevada/Elkoland, where I'm sure they love 'em like they do George W.
Posted by: VegasFirst | 01/26/2007 at 05:05 PM
Succession. It's the only answer. Welcome to South Nevada!
Posted by: | 01/26/2007 at 05:15 PM
Two seconds on google will bring up the Gibster attacking DOE's science. All together now: AWG!
Posted by: Nevada Scandalmonger | 01/26/2007 at 05:15 PM
Jesus Christ! This guy makes Kenny Guinn sound literate!
Posted by: Paine | 01/26/2007 at 05:32 PM
Jim Gibbons on Hardball- "What goes on in Las Vegas stays in Vegas..."
Really?
Posted by: JWH | 01/26/2007 at 05:52 PM
Hey Anon 5:15-What will South Nevada drink?
Sand?
Posted by: CollegeStudent | 01/26/2007 at 06:20 PM
Vomit. One would think that his big head would be a perfect candidate to have a brain placed in it. Apparently that's asking too much.
Posted by: UNLVStud | 01/26/2007 at 07:39 PM
5:15, Are you Jim Gibbons? Did you mean 'secession'? Jim, dear boy, I know you would like southern Nevada to leave you alone to piddle around in your mansion and collect a paycheck, but if the state did split, where would your wife go shopping with the Congressional paycheck you took from the taxpayers without doing a freakin' thing? Obviously you were NOT trying to figure out the budget or plan for new education ideas.
Posted by: lisa | 01/26/2007 at 07:39 PM
i want to huddle in a corner and cry until this horrible nightmare is over. in the minds of the rest of the country we may actually replace west virginia as the stupidest. state. ever.
Posted by: | 01/26/2007 at 07:43 PM
Yes, please "succeed" from the north. Go ahead and secede from reality while you're at it. This state has plenty of idiots in the north and south - you take your gangbangers and corrupt councilmen/women, we'll take our rednecks and bumbling governors.
Posted by: nonsense | 01/26/2007 at 07:43 PM
Vegasfirst, I beg to respectfully disagree. Texas is the doofus epicenter of the universe. Need I offer more proof than the psychident in the White House? Of course he's not a real Texan but they allow it.
Then Montana, then Alaska, then New Mexico, and THEN Nevada. But Nevada is moving up fast. Only when gibberdagrabber sits in the Oval Office can Nevada claim #1.
Posted by: texex | 01/26/2007 at 08:03 PM
I HOPE EVERYONE WILL REMEMBER THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TOO MANY PEOPLE DO NOT VOLUNTEER AND NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE DO VOLUNTEER TO GET OUT THE VOTE!
The Republicans beat us at our own game - well, lazy get's us second place - AGAIN!
Posted by: Johnathan L. Abbinett | 01/26/2007 at 08:51 PM
This is what you get when you hire someone who has been drinking the koolaid too long! And just think, it began at seconds after midnight when he got sworn in for national security reasons....shit
Posted by: | 01/26/2007 at 08:56 PM
When Hizzoner sounds more articulate than the Governor, we're in real trouble. Gibbons made Goodman sound positively intelligent.
Posted by: Desert Beacon | 01/27/2007 at 08:05 AM
JLA, the Repubs beat us because they dumped a million on TV in the last week, stop blaming laziness and the Dem party.
Now on to really really important matters...the one with all the hype...the one that left us wanting more...sexy Dawn and that dress...God, she loooked like the mother of the bride who picked up that bulky post-givin-birth dress at the dress barn. The Kid fron Vegas believes that if you're gonna spend that kind of money you better not look like the hostess at Denny's. Dawn you should know better...get a stylist girl, and while you're at it...
Get your husband a clue...
Posted by: KidFromVegas | 01/27/2007 at 09:36 AM
I can't help but feel Dina Titus is partially to blame. She was absolutely dormant during the general.
You can't blame the Dem party; we won nearly every election accept Gov and Lt Gov. The blame has to fall on those candidates and their campaign teams.
Posted by: Pedro | 01/27/2007 at 10:46 AM
P.S. we won every other election without a strong candidate on the top of the ticket.
Posted by: Pedro | 01/27/2007 at 10:48 AM
Hello. Pedro, I felt compelled to chime in here. I wrote a widely unread piece that ran on Nevada Today pointing out that we were lucky to win those statewide races. In each case, it was what most voters consider a minor office or the Republican had serious campaign problems. Not that the Democratic winners weren't good and attractive candidates but, as Senator Schumer would say at the national level, we were very lucky, indeed.
I also would add that dormancy on a candidate's part often has a great deal to do with money. Gibbons had it coming from every direction, especially casino executives who thought they could buy the governor's mansion and appear to have done so. That Titus didn't get much money from them was striking, since she certainly is not anti-gaming, but that goes back to my point: it's hard to be out in front when you don't have the money to put you there.
Posted by: Michael Green | 01/27/2007 at 11:17 AM
I think that is a great point Michael. I know the subject matter tends to bring out some pretty strong emotions on this site and I appreciate your level headed insights, to which I fully understand and somewhat agree with.
Let me preface with two points; I have never really commented on this site until recently, but I tuned in sporadically throughout the election season and I was quite amused with the commentary from every camp, i.e Gibbons, Titus, & Gibson. Also, I voted for Gibson in the primary and Titus in the General, but have no inside affiliation with either of those campaigns, and I liked both candidates equally for slightly different reasons. I came to Vegas to attend UNLV law school but I am originally from the San Diego area, so I have very limited knowledge of Nevada's political history.
It was noted frequently on this site that Titus is a master of free media, again, a point to which I agree. She was out spent in the primary, but that didn't stop her from communicating an effective and cohesive message through both paid and free mediums. My question is, where was that cohesive and well developed message in the general election?
She was up against an accused sexual predator, member of the Bush rubber stamp congress, and complete moron. And yet she lost.
I know gamming plays a huge role in this city, but in my opinion, Gibbons' gamming money certainly should not have prevented her from composing an effective and well placed message in the general election, the same way she did in he primary.
In other words, chalking up the Titus dormancy in the general to a lack of money, seems slightly disingenuous.
Posted by: Pedro | 01/27/2007 at 11:59 AM
Pedro, I don't dispute all that you say, and I do think that after the primary, the Titus campaign tried to keep going but suffered from some problems here and there. My point is that if 48 percent of Nevadans still would vote for Jim Gibbons after all that, we were swimming upstream in the first place, and the gaming money is what was pouring down.
Posted by: Michael Green | 01/27/2007 at 01:12 PM
Thankyou Dr. Green for clarifying the factual reality.
The Democratic Party SHOULD have raised more money and needs to stop using "we don't have enough money" as an excuse!
Who was responsible for raising money for the Democratic Party - Tom Collins! Who was responsible for Clark County - Liz Foley! That's why I've publicly called for their resignations - it's "time for a change" as WE have been saying!
Also, citing not enough smart and hard work is a legitimate criticism. We should have had far greater success in voter registration (though we made some progress) and we had too few volunteers, and we failed to GOTV (Get Out The Vote)! That is the bottom line, and the only way we will ever overcome the financial advantage of our opponents!
Giving due credit to the Republicans for THEIR victory is NOT taking responsibility for OUR failure! Yeah, they beat us! We all know that!
Losing has become a bad habit for the NSDP and I don't blame the staff - the responsibility falls squarely on losing so-called "leaders!"
Posted by: Johnathan L. Abbinett | 01/27/2007 at 07:20 PM
Thankyou Dr. Green for clarifying the factual reality.
The Democratic Party SHOULD have raised more money and needs to stop using "we don't have enough money" as an excuse!
Who was responsible for raising money for the Democratic Party - Tom Collins! Who was responsible for Clark County - Liz Foley! That's why I've publicly called for their resignations - it's "time for a change" as WE have been saying!
Also, citing not enough smart and hard work is a legitimate criticism. We should have had far greater success in voter registration (though we made some progress) and we had too few volunteers, and we failed to GOTV (Get Out The Vote)! That is the bottom line, and the only way we will ever overcome the financial advantage of our opponents!
Giving due credit to the Republicans for THEIR victory is NOT taking responsibility for OUR failure! Yeah, they beat us! We all know that!
Losing has become a bad habit for the NSDP and I don't blame the staff - the responsibility falls squarely on losing so-called "leaders!"
Posted by: Johnathan L. Abbinett | 01/27/2007 at 07:21 PM
Oooops, sorry for the accidental double-post!
Posted by: Johnathan L. Abbinett | 01/27/2007 at 07:24 PM