EPISCOPALIANS, “God’s frozen people,” are little given to flam- boyant displays of religiosity. But Albert Pollard, Anglican communicant, surely raised his hands skyward and whooped, “Thank you, Sweet Lord!” when news came last weekend that Republicans had named Catherine Crabill to challenge him in the 99th House District. Not every day does an incumbent get an opponent who calls the U.S. government “domestic terrorists.”
Ms. Crabill, a fan of the militia movement whose members scan the horizon for black helicopters, joins that peculiar pantheon of local GOP politicos given to excessive fervor and insights withheld from the rest of us. One thinks of the county supervisor, given to pious utterance, who left her husband to take up part-time residence in a government office (“He[God]’s not real happy with me right now,” she ruefully acknowledged, a big iron with bullets at her side), not to mention the supervisor candidate who declared public schools unconstitutional.
The weekend GOP convention in Montross might have named no one to take on Mr. Pollard, and should have. He will win hands-down; the nomination of Ms. Crabill, the sole GOP candidate, serves chiefly to bolster the entire party’s kook image. Moderate Republicans, who know the difference between a principle and a fetish, behold the party’s standard in the hands of a Catherine Crabill and lose much complexion (see photo below).
Democrats, of course, are often no summer on the Riviera themselves. But in the 99th, the uncomfortably familiar question once again arises for sensible Republicans: Where do we get these people?
Nice to see that this intrepid hate-blog gives them something to write about…