Time for John Ensign to fight for his state like just Sarah Palin is fighting for hers

So John Ensign celebrated the birth of his lord and savior skinny little Jesus by exercising senatorial privilege with his best friend's wife while his best friend was in the same house. Then Ensign wrote his best friend's wife a note to remind her, in case she didn't know, that "I used you for my own pleasure" and she was merely a sexual object for Ensign to swing with at his convenience. New and improved hush money allegations abound, too. Etc., etc.

And now comes fellow holy roller, family values champion and full-on wingnut senator Tom Coburn to exercise some senatorial privilege of his own:

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Thursday said he would not testify in court or before the Ethics Committee about any advice he gave Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) on how to handle his affair with a former staffer, citing constitutional protections for communications during religious counseling, as well as the patient confidentiality privilege.

“I was counseling him as a physician and as an ordained deacon. ... That is privileged communication that I will never reveal to anybody. Not to the Ethics Committee, not to a court of law, not to anybody,” Coburn said.

However entertaining/icky the fresh and specific details and charges provided by cuckold Doug Hampton's charm offensive on Jon Ralston's TV show, and the fallout thereof such as Coburn's scurrilous and cowardly attempt to wrap himself up in a blanket of churchy nobility, it's increasingly clear that Ensign's preferred scandal management strategy -- shut up and hope it goes away -- is not going to fly.

The ethics complaints already lodged against him meant that Ensign's steadfast refusal to say another word would not be, well, the last word -- though there is always a risk that ethics complaints or even legal charges against senators will produce little more than wimpy admonitions rendered long after the fact, i.e., nothing that a narcissistic and well-funded member of one of the world's most exclusive clubs can't muddle through with an insincere apology and the heartfelt forgiveness of his cynical colleagues.

But a cuckold who is also Ensign's former co-chief of staff (even if the job was merely a sinecure, which seems to be the case) and who is willing to talk to the press, well ... the story is heating up, not cooling down.

And Cindy Hampton hasn't even come out of the woodwork yet.

Ensign has become an absurdity, a grotesque figure silently cowering in the dark shadows of the public stage. And it's going to get worse! Ah. Good times.

* * * *

So... given the chance -- a chance that seems increasingly likely by the day if not the hour -- will Ensign's kindred spirit, psychological doppelganger and fellow knee-jerk wingnut Jim Gibbons appoint himself to the Senate?

One can only hope. The national press would erupt in a magnificent orgy of playful mockery and scorn, so that would be fun. And if Gibbons managed to survive a Republican primary to win his party's nomination for the seat in a 2010 special election, the Democrats would be a lock to pick it up.

But Gibbons still has some unfinished business as governor -- after all if he's in the job long enough he's bound to do something gubernatorial someday, just by the law of averages. So instead of parachuting himself into an empty Senate seat, maybe Gibbons would appoint one of the numbnut Republican whackadoodles from the Legislature who so proudly stood by his efforts to kill old people, get children back to work in the mines where they belong and generally shut down the state of Nevada once and for all. U.S. Sen. Ty Cobb, anyone? How about John Hambrick -- he, clearly, is senatorial material.

Of course Gibbons fancies himself a maverick who likes to think out of the box. Maybe Howard Weiss, the raging paranoiac and RV dealer who doubles as a key adviser in the Gibbons brain trust, could be Nevada's next junior senator.

Then again, Gibbons also has a fond spot for the hallowed role that cronyism plays in Republican politics, a venal consideration (does Gibbons entertain any other kind?) that might launch Warren Trepp on a career in public service.

But whether it's one of the aforementioned suspects or somebody else (Bob Beers, Sue Lowden,one of disgraced former judge Jerry Carr Whitehead's cows), one thing's for sure. If Gibbons gets a chance to appoint a senator, the choice won't be the product of rational thought.

Comments

[atdleft]

Wait, so there will be a special election in 2010 if Ensign resigns & Gibbons appoints himself (or some other nutcase)? Really? If so, then I'll change my mind and wholeheartedly support Ensign's resignation! The sooner we get a functional second Senator, the better. ;-)

[ns]

No way Ensign resigns unless the DOJ agrees to take up the "criminal" part of the ethics complaint against him.

It doesn't appear to be a strong case -- using money he failed to report as a "gift" to pay his mistress. There is wiggle room there. Now we hear he also covered his ass with other big cash "gifts" to the slutty Mrs. Hampton, from his rich daddy.

It was hush money to a whore, but "gifts" just the same.

And the GOP, amazing as it may sound, does not want to lose him. What's the alternative in Nevada for Gibbons to choose? No much. Definitely not Gibbons himself, that would not fly. Dean Heller is about it.

To be sure, Heller's being discussed behind the scenes in D.C. and Carson, but it will take the promise of a criminal probe -- dropped if Ensign resigns, as part of a deal -- for the senator to bow out.

Ensign would STILL beat just about any Democrat in Nevada, save maybe Oscar Goodman. You won't see two Reids in the U.S. Senate anytime soon. And, Ensign would make mincemeat out of Shelley Berkley (lose that awful, whiney Brooklyn accent, please).

[atdleft]

ns-

Excuse me, but why is it that Cynthia Hampton is a "slutty" "whore", but John Ensign is still some golden boy? I just don't get that. And btw, let's remember that he could only muster 55% of the vote in 2006 against an underfunded challenger.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ensign#Electoral_history

For all the talk of him being "Nevada's most popular politician", "controversial" Harry Reid did far better in 2004 with George W. Bush on the ticket. Call me crazy, but I think this may make Ensign toxic enough to lose his seat either now or 2012.

[roundrobin]

I suspect that Kathy Augustine would have loved to see this day! Think about it.

[ns]

atdleft:

Did I ever say or suggest that Ensign was a "golden boy"?

I did say he used hush money.

Sorry to get your women's libber petticoats in a twist.

2012 is a LONG time from now, more than enough for this to be old news and Ensign to attract lots of money (unless a criminal part of this gets legs).