Nutty and nuttier

There's an interesting GOP primary battle going on in North Carolina to see who gets to take on the incumbent Democratic for a house seat. Tim D'Annunzio is a Tea Party favorite and is currently leading in the polls. The GOP establishment is mounting a furious campaign against him.

Here are some of the reasons why. He has claimed to be the Messiah, tried to raise his stepfather from the dead, believed God would drop a 1,000-mile high pyramid as the New Jerusalem on Greenland, and found the Ark of the Covenant in Arizona. I can believe the Ark story but the rest of his claims are a little sketchy.

In his divorce case a doctor wrote in the custody proceedings that D'Annunzio told him he had once received treatment for heroin dependence, and was jailed three times for offenses that included burglary and assaulting a police officer. I can't imagine why his wife wanted out.

I assume the above is not much of a deterrent for Tea Party enthusiasts. The race is providing an interesting snapshot of the GOP establishment's ability to control the election and marginalize the lunatic fringe. This is only a taste of the insanity that will be in full flow as the November mid-term elections get closer.