How to Defeat Harry Reid Before Election Day Even Dawns, or, the Third Party Tea Party and the Democratic-Republican Conspiracy of Dunces Cont'd

Late last year, I noted the emergence of a conspiracy theory among Republican supporters of the two-party state alleging that independent and third party conservative activists are actually part of a Democratic plot to "destroy the GOP". Following the recent announcement that a newly formed third party Tea Party group in Nevada would be running a candidate for US Senate to challenge Harry Reid, duopolist Republicans needed only to fill in the blanks of their Mad Libs template to apply the theory in practice. CNN has now picked up on the story. Via Memeorandum:

So how is it possible to be an illegitimate Tea Party member? Ask Republicans in Nevada. Some are accusing Jon Scott Ashjian, a new Tea Party candidate running for U.S. Senate, of being a fake. The allegation? He was put in the race by agents of Senate Majority leader Harry Reid to siphon votes from the GOP.

Perhaps the most revealing variation on this particular theory asserts an "Armenian connection":

"No doubt about it", says Danny Tarkanian, one of the many Republican senate candidates hoping to challenge Reid in November. "Nobody in the Tea Party knows who he is. He didn't know any of the principles of the Tea Party," Tarkanian tells CNN. He even accuses "Harry Reid's staff, campaign, whatever" of picking Ashjian because he's Armenian, as is Tarkanian. He explains, "They know the Armenians are very close they'll vote for each other."

Theories of an "Armenian conspiracy" are nothing new. But its articulation in this context demonstrates just how hysterical and desperate Republican advocates of the two-party state have become in the face of serious independent and third party opposition to the duopoly charade. On the basis of the spoiler argument, Republican strategists assert that the existence of a credible third party Tea Party candidate in the race will "split" the conservative vote. There is even some basis for their concern. As the CNN report notes:

A recent poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal indicates [Republicans] Lowden and Tarkanian each beating Reid in one-on-one hypothetical general election matchups. But add a Tea Party candidate on the ballot and that siphons off enough conservative votes to give Reid a narrow victory. According to the survey Reid would grab 36 percent of the vote, the Republican candidate 32 percent and the Tea Party candidate 18 percent in a possible three way showdown.

Of course, if these Republicans are so concerned about "splitting the conservative vote" they could simply withdraw from the race and endorse a superior third party or independent alternative. They have a wide array of choices at their disposal. There are no less than nine declared independent and third party candidates for the seat currently held by Reid. Ironically, however, the conspiracy theory regarding Ashjian's Tea Party candidacy has clearly raised his profile at both the state and national level, eclipsing all other third party and independent contenders, if not also those running under the banner of the GOP. For his part, given the numbers above, Harry Reid has welcomed third party and independent candidates into the fray. From Fox News:

Facing dismal poll numbers in his home state, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid has devised a re-election strategy: welcome third party candidates who can split the opposition in the uphill battle to hold on to his U.S. Senate seat . . . "They have a right to file," Reid reportedly said of prospective third-party candidates. "You have to understand that this election is going to mean more than Democrats and Republicans . . . We have the third-party candidates. We have the American Independent Party. We have the Tea Party now," he said, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Clearly, Reid shares his would-be Republican opponents' strategic assessment of the race. But is there not another possibility here? Could this not backfire on the Reid campaign? Given Reid's dismal approval ratings, is it not possible that he could soon find himself polling third, behind both the Republican and Tea Party candidates? With a strong organizing push and a bit of luck, conservatives, independents and third party activists in the state of Nevada could very well succeed in pushing the Senate majority leader out of serious contention for the seat he currently holds. In other words, Harry Reid can be defeated long before election day even dawns. But reactionary duopolist ideologues in the Republican Party seem incapable of grasping this simple fact. And the same can obviously be said of Reid himself. Thus, the third party strategist is assured the element of surprise.