No doubt jealous of all the high-visibility media Fred Phelps has been hogging with threats to picket the funeral of a murdered nine-year-old, “anti-abortion noisemaker” and professional terrorist enabler Randall Terry is making a show of running for President:
… [A]t a press conference held outside the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington today, Terry outlined loftier goals for his run for president, including freeing the tea party movement from leaders he says are intent on shying away from social issues and the humiliation of President Obama in Iowa, the state where his unlikely journey to the White House began in earnest back in 2008.
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“We will focus on a theocentric libertarian platform,” Terry told the crowd of maybe a couple dozen supporters and press.
I’m sure Ross Doubthat already has his credit card out, looking to make the maximum possible donation. If anything could make me feel sorry for libertarians, having Randall Terry claim their kinship would be it.
… Terry is mounting his theocratic political crusade from a Democratic ballot line, challenging Obama for the party’s nomination. As one reporter pointed out at the presser, Terry has described himself as a Republican in the past, and his theocentric libertarian message certainly sounds like it would appeal to Republican voters more than it would Democratic ones. But Terry said running as a Democrat effectively allows him to cut out the middle man when it comes to casting votes against Obama.
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“I don’t want to quarrel with Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee,” Terry said. “I want to focus on the madman, Obama. Obama is the central figure of voter rage. There are people, myself included, who loathe this presidency. By going against him in a Democratic primary, I can focus on him like a laser beam and I will.”
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In the past, Terry has thrown his support behind Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), who many social conservatives view as their 2012 choice. It’s not clear that Pence will run for the Republican nomination but if he does, Terry can steer clear of tangling with him by running on the Democratic side.
Translation: Sideshow Randy doesn’t want to threaten his permanent meal ticket by drawing untoward comparisons with the burgeoning Repub crop of fools, goons, carnie geeks and professional grifters currently jostling for media attention. As he very well knows, those folks’ supporters have hair-trigger tempers, and the hair triggers to match. (Whoops, uncivil!)
…”What you have is you have people like Dick Armey and Newt Gingrich trying to steal — literally buy and steal — the tea party movement,” Terry told me in an interview after the press conference. “And they’re corrupting a few select people to say, ‘Oh, stay away from the social issues, they’re too controversial, we want to focus on money.’ Baloney. Human rights, the right to life, civil liberty — those are the foundations of this republic.”
Shorter Terry: How dare these soft-handed K Street johnnys-come-lately try to poach my simple flock! I’ve been milking these earnest morans since long before Jeb Bush and Tom DeLay could dry-hump Terri Shiavo’s memory in the public legislatures!
This is good news for the Democrats (seriously). In a decent society, Randall Terry would be serving multiple life sentences for fraud, extortion, and terrorism — and the most “dedicated” of his supporters would have access to the mental health services they so desperately need. But if this monster is sniffing around the Democratic caucuses, it’s evidence that even a bottom-feeding sociopath has stopped taking the current crop of Republican “contenders” seriously.
(via Evan McMorris-Santoro at TPMDC)
Ash Can
I don’t know who he thinks he’s kidding.
Keith G
Isn’t there a bit of a logic problem with the above phrase?
Andrew M
@Keith G: @Keith G: Not to mention this one:
But why are we debating whether the likes of Randall Terry see the world in a logical manner?
Andre
@Keith G:
Logic has never been a strong point for either theocrats or libertarians.
Nikki
Doesn’t Terry have an Abramoff problem?
Southern Beale
Yes this is exactly what the Tea Party needs! I am intrigued by his ideas and would like to subscribe to his newsletter!
Brian S (formerly Incertus)
@Nikki:
I think his problems go way beyond Abramoff.
Ija
No doubt all the teeming masses of anti abortion liberals that William Saletan and Ross Douthat assure us exist and are being ignored by the NARAL-beholden Democratic party are lining up as we speak to vote for Terry. Douthat might need to get in line to give donation. Terry is the savior that anti abortion Democrats have been looking for all this time.
I wonder if Terry would be denied a speaking slot at the Democratic convention because he’s anti abortion/because he wants to give an anti abortion speech.
aimai
Oh man. Now “Democrats are the real libertarian theocrats” is going to be the new “Democrats are the real racists.”
aimai
Southern Beale
Yes and all these wackadoodles will have to register as Democrats to vote for Terry in a primary.
That will make it all the more fun to pick them out when Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin cause the next incident of right wing rage. “But he was a registered Democrat!” they will say.
Sweet.
Ash Can
@aimai: LOL! I’d love to see them push that line. The head explosions would be a wonder to behold.
Ron
How long before we see references to “Democrat Randall Terry” when he says or does something completely offensive to just about everyone.
LGRooney
@Keith G: Putting the ‘moron’ in ‘oxymoronic.’
YellowDog
I don’t think Terry has given up on the Republicans so much as he has given up any hope of being heard. As recently as three years ago, he was at the extreme fringe of the Republican party. Now, he is almost middle-of-the road; he’s just another Dominionist among many. It’s analogous to what has happened to Howard Stern. On terrestrial radio, he was always pushing the boundaries and making news. When Stern moved to Sirius, where there were no clearly defined boundaries, he disappeared. Terry is a professional provocateur and, to get attention, he will annoy the Democrats until the money runs out.
Ron
I actually met him once. When I was in grad school he was running for Congress on the RtL line. The campus greens hosted a debate. The dem incumbent showed up and Terry showed up. The GOP candidate did not. Watching Terry during that in front of a very leftwing audience was just awesome.
Exurban Mom
@Keith G: Exactly my thoughts when I read that. WTF?
13th Generation
@Ron:
@Southern Beale:
When I read your predictions I just shake my head, because I know how prescient they are.
eemom
the letters on my keyboard that spell “You can’t make this shit up” are worn down to little nubs and need to be replaced. Again.
New Yorker
George Orwell just flipped around in his grave a few times…
Anyway, it will be fun to see this lunatic in the Democratic debates. How many votes do you think he’ll get in New Hampshire? 10?
cckids
Wasn’t he denied a visa to England due to being, essentially, a terrorist?
And, I know it’s been said, but WTF is it with all the guano loco non choice uterus-challenged types? Did their mothers hate them? I know there are lots of anti-choice women out there, too, but they do not seem to be so crazy, and they sure don’t get the press.
daveNYC
Well if their mothers didn’t hate them before, I’m sure they do now. I can only imagine how much fun it must be to have Douthat showing up for Chrismas dinner every year.
TR
I look forward to “Fred Phelps is a Democrat!” being replaced by “Randall Terry is a Democrat!” from here on.
ETA: Southern Beale beat me to it.
TR
@New Yorker:
You think there are going to be Democratic debates?
Southern Beale
@cckids:
Zey vere denied zee breast…
/Dr. Freud
Southern Beale
@TR:
Eggggg-zackly. Is feature, not bug!
shortstop
Do I sound considerably older, crankier and get-off-my-lawnier than I am when I say that I am effing sick and tired of this endless freak show of winger politicians? Look, I’m not a bigot. I don’t care what consenting adults do in their own homes, but must they force their perverse political beliefs down our throats all the time?
shortstop
@cckids: All the major anti-choice outfits are male-led. Hell, even Concerned Women for America, which has wider interests than abortion but is certainly anti-choice, had a guy on top at one point. I found that hilarious at the time.
"Fair and Balanced" Dave
It took a while but there’s finally someone even loonier than Lyndon LaRouche running for President as a Democrat.
shortstop
@shortstop: Gotta correct myself. I was “certain” that CWA had once had a male president, but now I can’t find any confirmation of that.
Ija
@TR:
I thought the FDL, Kos etc crowd is going to support a primary challenger to force Obama to move to the left. Surely they will be Democratic debates? How else is Obama supposed to prove to these people that he is sorry for being a traitorous sellout?
Michael
@shortstop:
Peter LaBarbera, or something like that, if memory serves. He’s always been the wingnut’s wingnut.
Citizen_X
HAH! “Theocentric libertarianism!” You like that, libertarians? Your movement has been coopted by theocratic assholes. And here, we find that the Tea Party–oh, not focused on social issues, no, not at all!–is pissing all over the idea of ending the War on Drugs. Why do libertarian ideals get dragged through the slime by people calling themselves “libertarian?” Because you’ve been willing to whore libertarianism out to the rich and powerful all along, that’s why. Now you find that the word means absolutely nothing. Happy?
(Sorry for being, ah, uncivil.)
Allan
OK, let’s get real for a moment.
First, he has to get on the ballots. Rules are all over the map and in some states its probably relatively easy, but in many states the parties have pretty total control over their primaries, and they have practices that help to keep stunt candidates off the ballot, especially ones with no prior relationship to their party.
Second of all, he’s hoping to embarrass Obama by getting a big percentage of the Iowa vote. This would entail getting large numbers of Iowa pro-lifers and teatards to participate in the Democratic caucuses rather than those for the GOP.
But the GOP should have a wide field with lots and lots of candidates all vying for support, and do you think they’re going to want to see any caucus-goers give up their chance to pick the GOPer they truly want to win the nomination so they can go fuck with the Dems.
And again, this is Iowa, its a caucus state, this is not anonymous voting in a booth. You stand up in front of your friends and neighbors in your small town and declare your allegiances. If I were in my Dem Caucus and my Teatard neighbor was there to support Terry, I’d get up in his face and call him a fraud who should be ashamed of himself, and my neighbors would join me in hounding him until he left the room and went back to the GOP one where he belonged.
kansi
@Allan: Thanks, I can breathe again.
feebog
@ Allan:
Actually, if Terry runs as a Democrat in the Iowa caucus’ it is highly doubtful he would gain a single delegate. If you are in a Democratic caucus in Iowa you are not going to run across any Teatards, they will be busy in the Republican caucus’ trying to push their candidate(s) of choice. Terry obviously does not understand the first thing about how the Iowa caucus’ are run if he is planning to enter as a Democrat. In fact, let me change “highly doubtful to “next to impossible”.
asiangrrlMN
No. Sorry. Closing the big-ass tent before Randall Terry (whom I always want to call Terry Randall for some reason) steps into it. We are a diverse community, but not that diverse. Though, I would love to see the ‘primary Obama’ crowd get behind this nutjob.
@shortstop: I less than three you for this comment. And, yes, it has always
pissed me the fuck offamused me that the most strident, vocal, and fucked up of the pro-birth movement are male–but it doesn’t surprise me in the least that they think it’s their right to control the bodies of women.KRK
Terry evinces so little understanding of how the Democratic caucus and primary system works, one can only conclude that he’s hired Mark Penn as a consultant.
goatchowder
A terrorist is running for president. In America.
A domestic terrorist. Running for the office of PRESIDENT.
Just…. let that sink in for a minute.
This place is going fucking crazy.
Mike Kay
I’m surprised one of the bloggers who hates obama hasn’t jumped into the race.
actually I’m surprised leading bloggers have never run for any office, not even city council.
Chet
@Keith G:
Dominionist “libertarianism” is a short-term tactic, a means to an end. I quote Terry’s fellow would-be theocrat Gary North:
“As a tactic for a short-run defense of the independent Christian school movement, the appeal to religious liberty is legitimate. Everyone who is attempting to impose a world-and-life view on a majority (or on a ruling minority) always uses some version of the liberty doctrine to buy himself and his movement some time, some organizational freedom, and some power. Still, nobody really believes in the whole idea. Politics always involves establishing one view of the ‘holy commonwealth,’ and excluding all other rival views. The Communist Party uses the right of free association to get an opportunity to create a society in which all such rights are illegal. The major churches of any society are all maneuvering for power, so that their idea of lawful legislation will become predominant. They are all perfectly willing to use the ideal of religious liberty as a device to gain power, until the day comes that abortion is legalized (denying the right of life to infants) or prohibited (denying the ‘right of control over her own body,’ after conception, to each woman). Everyone talks about religious liberty, but no one believes it.
“So let us be blunt about it: we must use the doctrine of religious liberty to gain independence for Christian schools until we train up a generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government. Then they will get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political, and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God.”