You would have thought any Republican politician who was paying attention would have been scared straight by what happened to Rudy Giuliani. In the case of the contentiously-divorcing Governor of Nevada, you would have been wrong.

There was a time when Gov. Jim Gibbons had the support of his party (and his wife). Remember back before he was elected, when he was accused of molesting a cocktail waitress younger than his weekend shorts in a parking garage?

The sexual-assault scandal surrounding the GOP’s Nevada gubernatorial candidate is gaining a level of complexity seen only in tawdry television drama series and particularly sinister small-town conspiracies.

A judge yesterday ordered mysteriously disappearing and reappearing surveillance tapes released, that could prove who’s lying about the late-night encounter between Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) and his accuser, Chrissy Mazzeo.

…

- Just about every player in the drama (aside from Mazzeo) is connected to Gibbons. Through himself, his counsel and advisers, the accused is closely tied to the local sheriff whose force is investigating the assault charges against him; at least one of the two local newspapers covering the scandal; a key judge; the owners of the surveillance tape; and nearly everyone else in his drinking party that fateful night (i.e., witnesses). For starters.

- While the tapes could have been the most important piece of evidence to determine Gibbons’ guilt or innocence, they may be useless if they can’t be authenticated and their whereabouts established for the past two weeks they’ve been missing.

- Police finally admitted that there was a fourth 9-1-1 call from that night, from the accuser’s sister. Since the incident over two weeks ago, the police have denied they had any record of that call.

Well, sadly for the Governor, things haven’t gone as smoothly since the election

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.

and unfortunately for the Governor, Mrs. Gibbons (who he’s trying to have evicted from the marital home) is seriously pissed

Gibbons’ wife, Dawn, is asking the court to reject her husband’s efforts to seal their divorce proceedings. In filings and comments, she and her lawyer make veiled and not-so-veiled suggestions that his transgressions go beyond typical marital infidelity –- and that she may have information which confirms earlier criminal allegations Gibbons has denied.

One example: One night just prior to Nevada’s 2006 gubernatorial election, Gibbons, then a congressman, was accused of drunkenly assaulting a cocktail waitress in a parking garage. Gibbons denied the accusation, surveillance tapes disappeared, and Gibbons’ campaign spun the story into a he-said, she-said zone.

In her recent filing, Dawn Gibbons said that the public was "misled" about the incident by Gibbons’ "handlers, spinmeisters and staff," who "trashed" the victim in public.

"[S]he never had the opportunity of having a Public hearing with attendant cross-examination of this man so the truth would be told," Dawn Gibbons said in her filing.

It has also been reported that Gibbons has been the subject of a bribery investigation, for allegedly taking cash and gifts as a congressman in exchange for defense contracts. Gibbons has denied the allegations. But his wife might have more on the topic, her lawyer appeared to insinuate in comments to the New York Times yesterday.

"You’d have to be a dummy to realize that there aren’t implications beyond the divorce itself for her and for him," said Dawn Gibbons’ attorney, Charles Dunlap.

but, you know, Gibbons was up for the fight, dammit, until he all of a sudden got all reasonable

Gibbons filed for divorce last month, saying he and Dawn were incompatible. Since then, the first couple has brawled over custody of the 23-room governor’s mansion. (Dawn finally agreed to sleep in the guesthouse.) She has accused him of cheating. He says "absolutely not."

Gibbons, 63, lacks the looks and charm of a Gavin Newsom or Antonio Villaraigosa — yet the governor is now trailed like a club-hopping starlet.

The Republican governor has been spotted with his alleged paramour, according to published reports, at a sushi bar and at her daughter’s high school play. He escorted another woman to the movie "Sex and the City." A Las Vegas paper posted video of him chatting with a dark-haired woman whose face is mostly obscured. The headline: "Video of governor with ‘other woman’ surfaces."

Nevada’s top drama is even featured in the current issue of People magazine. "She Won’t Move Out!" a headline exclaims.

"You’d like to think," blogged Jon Ralston, a Las Vegas Sun political columnist, "this is the nadir."

On Monday, the couple’s lawyers announced the Gibbonses would pause their court battle and try to negotiate.

although I can’t imagine why

Gov. Jim Gibbons of Nevada, a first-term Republican, had hoped to minimize the publicity surrounding his divorce from Dawn, his wife of 22 years, by convincing a Reno judge to seal the records per a state law that allows either party to do so.

What he may not have expected was that Mrs. Gibbons, 54, would file her own 33-page motion to draw attention to longstanding rumors: that she believes the governor is having an extramarital relationship with the wife of a Reno podiatrist. [Full text available here as a pdf document.]

“Despite his disingenuous, shallow and transparent protestations that his relationship with another man’s wife is a mere friendship, his infatuation and involvement with the other woman is the real, concealed and undisclosed reason for his voluntary departure from the marriage and from the mansion where he occasionally resides,” read the filing, written by Mrs. Gibbons’ attorney, Calvin Dunlap.

but… but… He said he didn’t

While Gov. Jim Gibbons of Nevada most certainly had textual relations with that woman, none of the 867 mobile text messages between them over six weeks were “love notes,” the governor told reporters on Wednesday.

The tally, which emerged in divorce proceedings, provides a titillating sideshow to what the governor calls “the worst fiscal crisis in the state’s history.” But Mr. Gibbons refused to provide further details on the text traffic between him and a married Reno podiatrist who he says is a close friend. “I’m not going to talk about it, because they do relate directly to the divorce,” he said, according to CNN.

At Wednesday’s news conference, Mr. Gibbons faced some sharp questions from reporters as he tried to deflate the controversy — which earned a snappy name in The Las Vegas Sun, “Governor’s textual misconduct.” Here’s a back-and-forth between the governor and Cy Ryan, the reporter who prompted the governor’s no-love-notes declaration, by way of The Sun’s quote-rich article:

“How many times did you sleep with her?”

“None.”

“How could so many text messages not be a distraction?”

“I’m a person who sleeps very little. I probably get two or three hours of sleep a night. So I’m constantly sitting there, with my mind turning, thinking about issues, and will text people at 1, 2, 4 in the morning.”

“Can you name one policy she advised you on?”

“Taxation.”

“In what way?” Ryan prodded. “You said no new taxes.”

“That’s true, but there’s a number of things, heck, even personnel management things … how to structure an office.”

At the heart of the issue remain the raw numbers — on one occasion, the two texters exchanged 91 messages in a two-hour period from midnight to 2 a.m. There was even a question about whether he had time for his day job, given all the text chatter.

“You all do texts,” the governor said, trying to find some common ground with the reporters. “It takes like point-six seconds to respond to something.” Politics and divorce proceedings aside, another reporter was simply in awe: “You must be quick on that thing.”

That would be the 867 messages in six weeks he had to reimburse the state for because he used his official phone.

Gov. Jim Gibbons, seeking a divorce from first lady Dawn Gibbons, apologized Wednesday for using a state-owned cell phone to send more than 860 text messages over several weeks last year to a woman he says is a longtime friend.

Gibbons also said "no" when asked whether the messages were "love notes" to the estranged wife of a Reno doctor. He has been seen in Reno several times with the woman since his martial troubles with Dawn Gibbons became public.

The first-term Republican governor said Wednesday he doesn’t see the woman anymore "simply because of the stress and all of this. The media has put a tremendous burden on her."

"I do not see her. I do not text," he said during a brief news conference.

In describing the messages, Gibbons said they ranged from discussions of state matters to "what’s happening with her to her kids, what the latest issue is with her dog." He also said most of the messages were sent after his usual office hours.

His party, of course, knowing what an honorable guy he is, still supports him

Although the sentiment has been building quietly for months, explosive court papers filed by his estranged wife Wednesday gave party regulars freedom to speak openly about the governor’s future, saying he would be pressured into not seeking reelection or face a primary challenge.

“Is he viable? Who’s going to prop him up? Not the party,” said Steve Wark, a longtime activist. “Does he have the money to be a viable candidate? Certainly not.” Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Henderson, said he continues to support and respect the governor and wishes him well during a trying time. But he also said party activists have approached him about running for governor in 2010, which can be taken only as a sign of frustration among the Republican rank and file. (Hardy said he has no interest and wouldn’t consider running against Gibbons.)

At the Republican state convention in Reno recently, Gibbons said he will seek reelection. The decision may no longer be his…

A helpful timeline of Gov. Gibbons’ misbehavior here.

I’m guessing Gov. Gibbons’ help will not be required by – or helpful to – Sen. McCain in the fall.

Somehow I’m sure this is good for the Republicans.