I tell ya, it ain’t easy being me.
In Sunday’s column I asked for your ideas for new slogans to hang above the door of Gov. Jim Gibbons’ office, and you responded like lounge comics. In short, you made with the Rodney Dangerfield treatment: no respect, no respect at all.
It was reported last week that Gibbons, perhaps out of frustration and an attempt to bolster the morale of his beleaguered troops, had a banner placed above the door of his office at the Capitol in Carson City. The current banner reads, “The people of the state of Nevada deserve a government that works for them, not against them.”
Coming, as it does, direct from the office of the man who captains the ship of the state, it’s an intriguing message. It’s the kind of glib one-liner usually uttered by political outsiders and candidates on the stump. It almost makes the governor sound like he believes he is not a key part of the system.
Sensing the governor needed all the help we can give him, I asked for your own banner ideas. The outpouring of sentiment was voluminous and varied. Critics from throughout the political spectrum weighed in.
Here is a sample of the many responses:
From Gerald R. Carrick: “If you cannot add or subtract, you’re Legislature ready”; “Welfare first, workers go to Hell”; “Our Governor is considered a dummy, but the loser is in Congress” and “We have the largest wind farm in the USA. A.K.A., the Legislature.”
From Jim Quirk: “NV Government: The only place in the State where “Gaming” means childish play and not gambling.”
From Len Bollmann: “Governor’s office — Out To Lunch”; “Governor Gibbons’ Office — Monkeys on Display” and “Vote for me: I’m in favor of higher texting.”
From Norm Nusbaum: “And you thought I did a lousy job helping that woman find her car.”
From Terry Cox: “Gov. Jim Gibbons: He can’t even pretend to care”; “Gov. Jim Gibbons: Just say no to taxes on adultery”; “Nevada: No taxes, No Services, No Problem”; “Nevada: We Don’t Need No Stinking Taxes”; “Nevada State Legislature: Little Talk, Less Action” and “Nevada: We’re Broke, But What the Hell.”
From John Kobberoe: “If one leans too far left, in a right environment, he will for certain fall.”
From Lance Hendrickson: “What, me worry?”
From Lance Schefflein: “Mission Accomplished.”
Sorry, Lance, but I think that one’s been taken.
From Terry Rhyne: “State of Nevada energy savings policy: Elect a dim bulb Governor.”
From Ed Vovsi (with a tip of the cap to Rabelais): “Somebody loves me, I wonder who?”; “Love me or leave me”; “I came, I saw, I quit” and “I owe much. I have nothing. The rest I leave to the poor.”
From Betty Majalik and Bill Kepner: “The people of the state of Nevada deserve a Governor that works for them, not against them.”
From Rob the Realtor: “Same Sex Marriage Destroyed Mine.”
From Anonymous: “Help Nevada contribute to Gibbons’ early retirement.”
From the prolific Jon Becker: “Nevada deserves a Governor who speaks to the people, not recording devices”; “Nevada deserves a Governor who knows that education, financial security, medical and health care are not luxuries”; “Nevada deserves a Governor who treats Nevada as a place to live, not a tax dodge for outside or inside special interests”; “Nevada deserves a Governor that knows this State is neither Wyoming or Montana”; “Nevada deserves a Governor who treats the Citizens as good as he treats his own staff” and “Nevada deserves a Governor who can solve problems innovatively rather then spending time hanging slogans to fly above his door.”
Ouch. Give this man anger management lessons without delay.
I had to cut Becker off. His response was longer than the original column.
But as you can see, the governor gets hit from all sides in this banner banter. Nothing is sacred. Not his governing style, not his divorce litigation.
Just when I started feeling I was going to escape unscathed, along came a heckler in the form of Patrick Sharp. He wrote, “Lord, protect us from incompetent columnists who stoop to ridicule instead of factual, honest policy debates.”
I tell ya, I get no respect — no respect at all.
John L. Smith’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith/.
