Pardon my oversight, but I got swept away in river of macaca hoots and grunts over at the George Allen campaign yesterday, and so I neglected to mention the results of this year’s congressional primaries in Nevada.

Jack Carter won the Democratic Senate nomination. In the 2nd congressional district, Jill Derby won the Democratic nomination against Asimo Sondra “Silver” Lawlor, a woman who claims to be the sole legitimate heir to the Russian monarchy, and has the fur coats to prove it. In the 3rd district, Tessa Hafen won the nomination against a whole slew of Democratic rivals. In the first congressional district, Shelley Berkeley will defend her seat in Congress.

So now these Democrats are set to take on the Republicans, right? Well, actually, it’s not quite that simple. In the Senate race, and in every Nevada race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, there are candidates from the Libertarian Party and the Independent American Party as well as Republicans and Democrats.

The Libertarian position is pretty well known to most people. But what is the Independent American Party? It will help you to understand the Independent American Party to know that it is affiliated with the Constitution Party, that ultra-right-wing organization that seriously considered running Alabama’s Ten Commandments judge Roy Moore for President.

Perhaps you’re asking yourself, “Why have an Independent American Party? Didn’t America achieve indendence over 200 years ago?” Well, yes, but the Independent American Party claims that the United States is being invaded by foreign forces. The IAP people are among those anti-immigrant groups who freak out at the idea of anybody not speaking English.

Above all else, the Independent American Party is a Christian political party. The IAP claims that, in spite of the clear historical evidence that the Constitution of the United States was written by human beings, the Constitution is, like the Christian Bible, a prophetic document created by God. The IAP platform states: “The Independent American Party was formed within the teachings of primitive Christianity with the goal of bringing our government to the full realization of its origin.” Yup, the Independent American Party is yet another right wing group seeking to establish a Christian theocracy in the place of the current democratic government of the USA.

With the Libertarian Party and the Republican Party, that makes three political parties in Nevada competing for the votes of right wingers. That’s got to be counted as good news for the Nevada Democrats – but it also ought to serve as a warning that any Nevada Democrat who thinks that there are votes to be gained by leaning toward the right will be working in very crowded territory.

Tags: bizarre