Update 4/28/08 8:28 PM: For some reason, this post is currently showing up when you go to www.brendan-nyhan.com. If you’re looking for my main page, please click here.

Last year I blogged frequently about the innovative protest campaign of the “Pirate Captain” for NC State student body president. Here he is in action during the campaign:

The Captain won a runoff and promptly declared “The Year of the Pirate.”

However, Ken Waight of Lying in Ponds alerts us that, as the NC State newspaper puts it, “Pirate Captain ventures into rough water.” Here’s the lede from their story:

Today in its biweekly meeting, the Student Senate will at last address explicit complaints expressed by several of its members about the actions of Student Body President Whil Piavis when it hears new legislation that calls for his impeachment.

The bill, which is sponsored by 10 senators, cites 21 specific illegal or unethical actions committed by the president over the course of his term.

An ally blames the move on a cultural mismatch between the Captain and the senators:

Director of Executive Management Jason Mo, a senior in business management, said the Senate is trying to “blow the issue out of proportion” and has been looking for mistakes in Piavis’ performance since the beginning of the year. Mo said Piavis has done a lot in terms of getting students involved in the SG this year and that the record turnout in student body elections last spring serves as evidence.

“Whil is not someone who fits into their culture,” Mo said, pointing to the Senate culture as being dictated by formality.

It’s not unlike the Washington establishment’s reaction to Bill Clinton, as summarized by David Broder: “He came in here and he trashed the place, and it’s not his place.”