Del. Bob Marshall May Challenge George "Macaca" Allen for Senate Bid

A story in the Washington Examiner makes the case that gay hater extraordinaire Del. Bob Marshall may be considering a primary challenge against George Allen for the GOP nomination to run for the U. S. Senate seat to be vacated by Jim Webb. I'll admit, it would be amazing entertainment to watch Marshall and Allen pummel themselves in a primary race. I suspect that Allen would prevail even though clinical insanity and a rejection of reality are increasingly a prerequisite for inclusion in the Republican Party of Virginia, so an Allen win would not be a guaranteed outcome. Here are some from the Examiner story:

Longtime Del. Bob Marshall is considering entering the race for Virginia’s open U.S. Senate seat and has gone so far as to seek legal advice from the attorney general on how to collect signatures for a statewide run.

Marshall, a Prince William Republican who narrowly missed the party’s nomination for the job in 2008, told The Washington Examiner on Tuesday that he still has people asking him to throw his hat in the ring but he didn’t have a timetable for making a decision. “Bottom line, am I serious about this prospect? Yes. Definitely,” he said. “But I’ve still got to get all these ducks in line before I set the trip wire.”

Marshall has served in the House of Delegates since the mid-1990s and has a strong record among conservatives. He is well known for circulating controversial anti-abortion bills, pushing a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions, and leading efforts to keep federal health care reform out of Virginia.

Marshall would join a crowded field of Tea Party candidates who are jockeying for the opportunity to knock off establishment-favorite George Allen for the Republican nomination.

Earlier this month, Marshall contacted Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli asking for an opinion about the state’s ballot restrictions. Candidates for statewide office must collect 10,000 signatures from registered voters, including 400 from each of 11 congressional districts — a process that has come under scrutiny from current Republican presidential contenders who failed to meet the threshold.

But the General Assembly failed to meet its constitutional duty to redraw congressional district lines by the end of the year, causing confusion as to how candidates should proceed.

I hope Marshall runs and that it opens the eyes of some of his constituents as to just how batshit crazy he is. Plus, the money squandered in a GOP primary will reduce the funds available for the general election campaign.