The gods are merciful.
They've brought supercharged right-wing nutter Roy Moore, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, back from the political dead to run for Governor as a Republican.
Roy-boy, you may remember, was kicked off the Supreme Court in 2003 by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, for failing to comply with a federal judge's order to remove the Ten Commandments from the lobby of the state judicial building.
You might think this would make him a populist hero among conservative Alabamians, but Moore was positively hammered in his last bid for office, losing the Republican primary for Governor in 2006 by over 30 point to incumbent Bob Riley.
But you can't keep a good radical down:
"Right now I'm very inclined to enter. I feel there is a need, and I feel I'm well qualified for the position," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Even before he gets in, our man Moore is breaking out the dog-whistles for future usage:
Moore said he hasn't decided on a theme if he runs, but he said he's thinking along the lines of: "It's time to stand up for Alabama. We have serious threats from Washington, D.C. - serious threats on our rights and liberties."
If that sounds familiar, it's because Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace built his long career with the slogan "Stand Up for Alabama" and coupled it with harsh criticism of the federal government.
Yeah, that George Wallace. You stay classy, Royboy.
Greenville businessman Tim James is running for the GOP; he may be joined by state treasurer Kay Ivey, attorney Luther Strange, or community college Chancellor Bradley Byrne. Or all of them.
If Moore gets into a big pool like this, he could potentially win the primary with 30% of the vote. If he did win the primary, he'd almost certainly be destroyed in a general election bid against the Democratic nominee (either Rep. Artur Davis, Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, or possibly State Sen. Roger Bedford if he gets in).
We can only hope. Moore is cannon fodder if he wins the primary.