Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle won the Republican Party primary in Nevada on Tuesday.
Even among the nation’s most febrile political contests, few choices are as stark as the one Nevada voters will make between a circumspect four-term senator, one of the most visible emblems of Democratic power in Washington, and a largely unknown former state lawmaker with 10 grandchildren, whose fondness for weightlifting and for her .44 Magnum won the ardor of the Republican Party base.
Angle's extreme positions are well-documented and widely disavowed, even by Republicans. In other words, she is a typical Tea Party member, blessed with a big mouth, powerful convictions and an abundance of ignorance.
My favorite comment about her was from Dick Polman at American Debate:
Whenever she articulates her positions on issues, the propeller atop her head begins to twirl.
Yet she has devoted followers. "She is a godly woman, "one of them gushes, "She has all the attributes of Jesus."
Hmmm. I can't quite imagine Jesus of Nazareth packing a .44 Magnum. I don't recall him preaching the virtues of being armed with a deadly weapon; one might be tempted to use it rather than turn the other cheek.
And let's be realistic: No one in modern politics has the attributes of Jesus. The odious personal attributes necessary to win a political primary in America are incompatible with everything Jesus ever preached.
Every time I think the country has gone completely mad, it gets a little crazier out there.