Pass the popcorn....
Calling Missouri "a must win state" for Republicans this year, Sarah Palin is pushing for a third party candidate to enter the Senate race if embattled GOP nominee Todd Akin continues to insist on staying in...
Of course, her suggested candidate is the very same Sarah Steelman she endorsed during the primary. Not that she's bitter or ego-bruised or anything:
"I won't gloat about it, but I was right," the former Alaska governor said, referring to her backing of Steelman over Akin.
More below Todd Akin's scientimifical diagram of lady parts casting out rapist seed....
The problem with that idea, obviously, is that Missouri (like many states) has a "sore loser" law against unsuccessful primary candidates taking a second bite at the apple by getting on the general election ballot. I'm not familiar with the details (and apparently Palin isn't aware of the issue at all -- big surprise there), but multiple independent accounts seem to confirm that much.
Another potential wild card is the possibility of an increased protest vote for the Libertarian candidate (in this case, a personal trainer named Jonathan Dine).
Beyond the technical election issues, the possibility of a real food fight breaking out between the Republican party establishment and the hard-core wingnuts who stand behind Akin and resent the efforts to push him aside is sure to give us a warm feeling.
UPDATE: I found more information on the Missouri Secretary of State elections page -- apparently unsuccessful primary candidates can't even have write-in votes counted.
UPDATE: The state election calendar is here -- the deadline for a new candidate was 8/21 (the same deadline Akin was facing if he'd relented and dropped out). So much for Sarah's latest brainstorm (though she could still do a bit of damage by talking up the idea and irritating Akin's true believers).