Rep. Jim Gibbons had just won a fifth term in Congress and was considering whether to run for governor of Nevada in early 2005 when he was interviewed for the "NBC Nightly News." It was prized TV real estate, rare national exposure for the Reno Republican.
He was asked whether it was appropriate for official Washington to be having $40 million worth of corporate-backed inaugural parties, a question thought especially relevant by critics, given the Iraq war.
Gibbons' response: "Anybody who is against that obviously is a communist."
It was an act that probably would have gone over great in an officers club or corporate boardroom circa 1985, but at the time it seemed dated and downright strange.
For his fans, it was classic Gibbons: a blunt finger in the eye to the namby-pamby liberals.
To his foes, it was classic Gibbons: a boorish non sequitur.
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2006/nov/03/566681877.html
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