Gibbons, Nixon - Is There a Difference?

Is Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons now channeling Richard Milhous Nixon?

Is Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons in the same league with those who believe Elvis was abducted by Aliens?

Is Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons America's nutty Governor?

The answer to all of the above is probably yes. Here's why:

Is there really a conspiracy between Democrats and the Wall Street Journal? are Democrats in fact paying the WSJ to get Gibbons?

Jim Gibbons seems to believe so. Asked by the Reno Gazette-Journal's Ray Hagar whether he heard conspiracy rumors Gibbons replies:

“I have heard that the Democrats have paid to have these Wall Street Journal articles written,” Gibbons said. The Journal has reported that Gibbons is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly accepting unreported gifts or payments from a Reno company that was awarded secret military contracts when Gibbons was in the U.S. House.

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“When I met this guy, (Wilke), he was brought to Elko by the Dina Titus campaign and that is where I met him. So I don’t know what his agenda is, but there is nothing there with any of these allegations.”

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Gibbons said the ties between the Democrats and the Wall Street Journal are about politics.

“What this is about, I believe, is that this is about the 2008 election,” Gibbons said. “And it has very little to do with me. It is just that they want to deal with what their interests are in 2008.”

Yup, Gibbons seems to believe the "rumors." And one has to wonder where these rumors are coming from. Here's Gibbons' spokeswoman's take:

“We believe that there is a significant effort on behalf of the Democratic Party to aggressively attack my boss’ legislative agenda and provide further distraction, not allowing us to move forward leading the state,” Melissa Subbotin said. “As far as the Wall Street Journal story goes, we don’t know. We don’t know who is providing it but we do hear rumors just like you do.

But getting back to reality for a second. Here's the response of Senate Minority Leader and frm gubernatorial candidate Dina Titus:

“I think the stress is getting to the governor. Now he’s looking for a conspiracy,” Titus said.

“I have never met this (reporter),” Titus said. “I’ve never talked to him. He has never asked me for a comment. I have no connection to him whatsoever.”

More voices from the reality-based community:

“I find it hard to imagine that anyone paid the Wall Street Journal to fabricate stories about the governor,” Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas said. “The Wall Street Journal is generally considered a conservative newspaper, perhaps run by Republicans and not Democrats.”

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“The very idea that a newspaper of that caliber is going to accept money to make up stories about a governor is far-fetched, to say the least,” Buckley said.

“We don’t have that much juice,” added Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas and the chair of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Of course, this whole rumor deal doesn't explain why the Governor is under investigation by the FBI. Are Dems now paying the FBI as well? You only really grasp the craziness of the whole deal when you listen to the first part of the conversation between Ray Hagar and Jim Gibbons. Yup, there is a tape. This really is like Nixon reloaded. Listen to it here.

There have been so many stories involving Gibbons in the past year that it's really hard to keep track. The WSJ is trying to and in Nevada local blog Vote Gibbons Out is really doing the best job. He posted a timeline on Jim Gibbons and his wife Dawn and their involvement with the Defense Department contractor and their holiday trips with the owners of said company.

All this leaves only one question: when will Gibbons be recalled. Nevada law only allows for a recall after the Governor has been in office for six months, so proceedings could start in July and Nevada bloggers and activists are gearing up for it.

Here's a petition for you to sign.

PS: Conveniantly, this story has already been picked up by the AP. Hope it'll spread far and wide.