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Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons’ run-ins with the FBI, a cocktail waitress, the Wall Street Journal and most recently his state’s legislature, have gotten the new governor’s tenure off to a “rocky start” The New York Times reports.

It looks like the Republican governor’s involvement in myriad scandals might be catching up with him. A recent Mason-Dixon poll cited by the Times showed Gibbons, who was sworn into office 12 seconds after midnight on New Year’s Eve (because of security concerns related to the execution of Saddam Hussein…), garners support from only 28% of voters.

Lately, Gibbons, under investigation for allegedly taking bribes while a member of the House, has taken heat for causing a state government shutdown. Gibbons threatened to veto the state’s $7 billion budget after the legislature denied his request for half a million dollars for an anti-terrorism hub in Carson City that would duplicate work already being done in Reno and Las Vegas.

In another unpopular move, Gibbons backed a tax program meant to encourage green buildings, but turned out to be so generous that companies could actually turn a profit. He later ended the program (except for four companies), just before telling the local editorial board he could not pronounce the name of his “Indian” energy adviser (she is Turkish).

Besides outlining Gibbons’ ongoing saga of scandal The New York Times also revisited how he defeated State Senator Dina Titus and got into office in the first place:

He took few strong policy positions in that campaign, and instead continually derided Ms. Titus — already an object of suspicion thanks to her Southern accent and tough-edged persona — as tax happy.

Among the more memorable campaign remarks made by Mr. Gibbons, a former combat pilot and veteran of both the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, was his suggestion that “liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippie, tie-dyed liberals” ought to be used as human shields in Iraq. It all played well with Mr. Gibbons’s base of voters in rural and Northern Nevada.

Similar tactics worked well for another fighter pilot turned politician, Duke Cunningham. And Cunningham, like Gibbons, enjoyed cozy relationships with defense contractors who he rewarded millions of dollars in classified contracts. You can bet Gibbons hopes the similiarities end here.

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