Friday, July 14, 2006 | 7:39 a.m.
"It's only a flesh wound."
Those words keep ringing in my ears because they were among the last ones Kathy Augustine spoke to me. The late controller had called me only days before she collapsed to respond to a column I had written comparing her to the hilarious knight in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" who keeps on fighting even as his limbs are lopped off. More than indomitable, the knight kept taunting his foe even as he was chopped down to a mere torso.
That line Augustine repeated from the scene - and she went on to tell me that she loved the metaphor because "Holy Grail" was one of her favorite movies - strikes me now as emblematic of the woman herself, finally felled during her bid for redemption that was disguised as a run for state treasurer.
I can hear her now: When asked about being the only constitutional officer in history to be impeached and convicted by the Legislature, Augustine might have responded, "It's only a flesh wound."
I come not to lionize Augustine, but to refuse to allow anybody to forget just how resilient and relentless she was.
Nothing fazed her - at least not for long - and that was both an admirable trait and a disturbing flaw.
During her career, Augustine used some of the more vile campaign tactics in a vile universe. She was willing to fan the flames of racism and anti-Semitism, and Augustine once conscripted some of her colleagues to lie for her about an opponent. In the world of campaigns, where almost anything is fair game, Augustine saw no rules and therefore followed none.
Her style and prickliness, though, explain more why she was impeached and convicted than the seriousness of her offenses did. Augustine was in the docks for what many other pols have done - use their offices for campaign purposes, even importuning employees to the cause. But because she had few friends and had made so many enemies, no tears were shed, no quarter was given and impeachment was a fait accompli.
Despite her unofficial new first name - Impeached Controller - Augustine was making a strong attempt to win another constitutional office, despite attempts by state GOP Chairman Paul Adams to have her excommunicated from the party. The black knight of Nevada politics was back, fighting without any arms or legs, bereft of money or support.
But she treated it all like a flesh wound, acting as if she had been nicked and nothing more. It almost seems fitting, albeit unsettling, that police are investigating whether Augustine really died of cardiac arrest.
There are many criticisms to be leveled at the late controller, even post-mortem, for some of her behavior. But considering that she kept on coming despite adversity that would have killed others, it's hard to conclude that she didn't have heart.
Augustine addendum: Imagine, for the sake of this argument, that the governor were a Democrat. Confronted with the unfortunate task of appointing a replacement for a deceased controller, the governor would have to decide whether to choose an office caretaker or the party's leading candidate.
Test your political IQ: Which one would party leaders be urging him to select?
I ask this question because of the pathetic outrage by the state Democratic Party and its anointed controller contender, Kim Wallin, over Gov. Kenny Guinn's appointment of GOP hopeful Steve Martin to replace Augustine. The Democrats are simply apoplectic that Guinn made what they called a "political" choice and tried to help "a Republican running for office."
No! Really? A political choice during a campaign season. A Republican governor tries to help a Republican candidate.
This is a scandal of mammoth proportions.
This would have been a good time for the Democrats to shut up. I can only eagerly await the next time a Democratic governor is charged with such an appointment and makes a political choice.
That is, if we ever have another Democratic governor
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