As we all know, Repubs in Nevada are running scared that a third-party candidacy by a candidate running under the "Tea Party of Nevada" banner could actually hand Harry Reid another term. Now several Repubs are hurling a very serious charge at Jon Scott Ashjian--Reid's people put him up to running.
It's a grass-roots protest movement composed of the newly politicized and people distrustful of hierarchy. So how is it possible to be an illegitimate Tea Party member?
Ask Republicans in Nevada. Some are accusing Jon Scott Ashjian, a new Tea Party candidate running for U.S. Senate, of being a fake. The allegation? He was put in the race by agents of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to siphon votes from the GOP.
The front-runner in the Repub primary, Sue Lowden--a self-proclaimed teabagger--claims she's never even heard of Ashjian. Another Repub candidate, Danny Tarkanian, even suggests that Reid's people picked Ashjian because he's an Armenian as well. Others point out that the secretary of Ashjian's third party is a registered Dem.
None of this even comes close to the kind of evidence you'd require to back up such a serious charge.
Ashjian, for his part, blows off these charges.
"I have never met Harry Reid, do not agree at all with any of his political values," Ashjian said, adding that he's not the kind of guy "who would follow or be told what to do."
He says he's fielded endless calls from Republicans trying to strong-arm him to leave the race, and he resents it: "I don't think Republicans own the Tea Party," Ashjian said. "In fact, I know they don't in Nevada, because I do. That's what's really got them in an uproar."
He appears to be in it for the long haul, even though the Tea Party Express doesn't view him as a serious candidate. If the Repubs are willing to play this kind of hardball, they'd better be willing to step up to the plate.
The only time I can ever recall a "false flag" candidacy in recent memory happened in 2002, in Minnesota. It's how John Kline ended up in Congress--because Bill Luther was stupid enough to have one of his supporters run as a third-party candidate.
Update: Calvino Partigani mentions more proof that Ashjian isn't a Reid plant in the comments. Seems that Ashjian has some um, issues:
The State Contractors Board has received five complaints that Ashjian's business owes more than $36,000 on various materials in which at least one check was written with insufficient funds. As a result, one of his contractor licenses has been suspended since Feb. 3. And according to the county recorder, Ashjian owes more than $200,000 in back taxes on his property.