She didn’t say ‘please’!

“Sit your ass down!” — Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, R-Las Vegas

The most surprising thing about the angry outburst from Assemblywoman Michele Fiore during a marathon, deadline-day floor session last week wasn’t what she actually said. It was that so many people were surprised that she said it.

Gasps, shouts and demands for “point of order” rang out in the Assembly, as if to punctuate the fact that there are still some rules that apply in Carson City, no matter who’s in charge or how ungainly the proceedings may have become.

But if there was any doubt as to Fiore’s remorse, it was removed shortly thereafter, when she rose to apologize to “my esteemed colleagues” for her outburst, then shrugged like a petulant 14-year-old forced to make nice with the neighbor girl, as if to say, “Good enough, mom and dad?”

Again, no surprise. This is the woman, after all, who posed during Halloween next to a coffin purporting to contain the body of her general election opponent, who calls duly appointed federal law enforcement agents “thugs,” who referred to a black Assembly colleague (in a nice way) as “a colored man,” and whose brash repertoire of insults made this week’s remark seem tame. It’s part of her charm. (And, it must be said, she was slowly and repeatedly provoked during the course of debate over several bills by her interlocutor, Assemblyman Chris Edwards, R-Las Vegas.)

But none of us should be surprised. Fiore is merely the latest in a long string of people whose hatred of the government and disrespect of its institutions are hallmarks of their campaigns or style of governance. Remember Sharron Angle and “Man up, Harry Reid”? Or Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. and “You lie!”? This is no different, and, frankly, no more damaging than graffiti sprayed on the wall of the chamber, ugly at the time, but easy enough to ignore.

Sadly, it gets worse than mere words. When Republicans invited a foreign leader to give a speech designed to boost his electoral fortunes at home while simultaneously embarrassing a president they hate, the institution of the House of Representatives is degraded. When they signed a letter addressed to the mullahs who run Iran’s theocracy, threatening to undo a deal they dislike, they assault the American system. And when they design to shut down the government if they can’t get their way, they betray their oaths and demonstrate their unsuitably for the job in the first place.

The barbarians are inside the gates. And their table manners are just as advertised.

Back to Fiore on the Assembly floor. It should not be forgotten that the argument erupted over her Assembly Bill 408, which had the unique distinction in its original form of being the only bill (out of 1,064 bills and resolutions introduced in the 2015 Legislature as of Friday morning) of being publicly declared unconstitutional by the Legislature’s own chief lawyer! The bill would have essentially declared state ownership and control over federal land.

This, said Legislative Counsel Brenda Erdoes, you cannot do. Fiore — back in 14-year-old mode — responded that she “100 percent” disagreed. Why? Because of … reasons.

In the end, the bill was mostly gutted, along with any good reason to support it. But Never-Say-Die Fiore pushed ahead anyway, in the end valiantly persuading no fewer than seven of her colleagues to vote aye. Sadly for her, it takes a lot more than that to win.

But never mind effectiveness or constitutionality! By her intemperate outburst and her willingness to fight for a conservative cause, Fiore has no doubt assured her re-election, since the voters who go in for that sort of thing care little for the opinion of legal scholars and more for flashing anger against the system. They too often misinterpret that anger for integrity and resolve, when it’s really just a tantrum. “Sit your ass down!” will shortly appear on T-shirts, the modern unlettered version of what they vaguely suspect “Don’t tread on me” might have meant back in the day.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist who blogs at SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.