NV: the Third Party Tea Party and the Democratic-Republican Conspiracy of Dunces

When Democrats and Republicans each denounce third party and independent candidates for office as tools in a conspiracy concocted to further the interests of the other, one should remain cognizant of the fact that Democratic-Republican politics aims, above all else, at furthering the conspiracy of dunces that is the Democratic-Republican two-party state and duopoly system of government. Following reports that a group calling itself the Tea Party had registered as an official political party in Nevada and would run a candidate for US Senate to challenge Democrat Harry Reid, the conspiracy theorists in the Republican Party immediately began to argue, on the basis of the spoiler argument, that the Tea Party was nothing more than a Democratic front group dedicated to reelecting Harry Reid. While no one should doubt the treacherous mendacity of any person or group associated with the Democratic or Republican Parties, at this point there is little evidence beyond the speculative conspiracy theories themselves that the Nevada Tea Party is a part of a Democratic effort to "split" the conservative vote. Indeed, one might reasonably wonder whether the libelous denunciation of the Nevada Tea Party as a Democratic Party front is not rather part of a Republican-orchestrated conspiracy to discredit the third party group in the eyes of independent and conservative voters as we head into this year's election season. More comprehensive media reports on the Nevada Tea Party and its candidate for Senate, Jon Scott Ashjian, are now beginning to find their way into print. The Las Vegas Review-Journal, for instance, has now published a profile of the candidate. Kristi Jourdan reports:

Ashjian says he's learning the ropes through this grass-roots movement, where he is his own communications director who answers the phone, relies heavily on family and friends for help and schedules his own TV and radio appearances, which are starting to pick up. Don't call him a politician, though. "I'm a frustrated patriot," Ashjian said. "I'm not a politician. I'm not savvy with radio and TV. But I believe I can make a change, and that's what I'm here for. I'm here to give people a third voice." . . . "We're not Republican or Democrat," Ashjian said. "We won't fold into one party or the other. We're a tax-paying party that can make a difference and a party of normal people who want change. Bigger government and higher taxes is not working. Right now we're at a real crossroads to make change, and the bottom line is there's never been so much disdain for politicians." . . .

"We understand what Harry Reid represents, and I'm the opposite," Ashjian said. "I've never met him, I've never talked to him, and I don't even know him." Ashjian admits he has not actively participated in Tea Party movement events, such as the 9/12 Taxpayer March in Washington, D.C. But he said he feels a growing frustration among his fellow Americans about the way elected officials on both sides of the aisle are representing voters, which is why he formed the Tea Party of Nevada in January. "I'm here to say there is a choice," Ashjian said. "If you want to stick to the status quo, pick the Republicans or Democrats, but don't complain. Nobody can do a better job than I can. "I fully expect to win. I expect all Nevadans to get behind me and vote. I want to be clear in every word that I expect to win this race."