Let me preface this by saying the just-passed health care reform law provokes strong opinions on both sides, and I’m not going to attempt in this post to pass judgement one way or the other.
But it seems very clear that embattled Gov. Jim Gibbons is trying to use this issue to boost his reelection chances, to the detriment of the state.
Gibbons is trying to force Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to join the 13-or-so other states in filing suit against the health care reform law. The AG is skeptical that there are logical grounds to sue, and is said to be looking into the matter before firing off a lawsuit.
But that’s not OK with Gibbons. He’s threatening to file suit next week without the AG if she fails to act.
So let’s get this straight. The State of Nevada doesn’t have any money, but Gibbons wants to use what resources we have to file a rush-job lawsuit that is already being contested by multiple states, and has a pretty slim chance of being successful.
The reality here is that if any of these states suits are successful, it will apply to all states. So unless Gibbons has some super-secret legal strategy that isn’t being pursued elsewhere, perhaps it would be better to spend the time and money working on more important state issues.
Of course, that won’t happen. Gibbons has done everything possible to make this a very public spat, complete with his typical threats issued via press release. He is essentially using state resources for campaign purposes, to supplement his dismal fundraising.
Gibbons is more concerned with political survival than effective governing. He knows his only chance to avoid becoming the first sitting governor to lose a primary is to jump head first into the Tea Party’s pot of political fury, and hope they ignore all the baggage he brings with him.
I suspect there will be more of these incidents as Gibbons’ desperation grows over the next couple of months. Let’s hope he doesn’t cause too much collateral damage along the way.
