Tancrazy

Why is Tom Tancredo running this ad in Iowa? Matt surmises,

I used to think that 2008 was going to see a Tancredo surge based on his ability to tap into grassroots loathing of brown-skinned people on the home front as well as in foreign policy. But then came the comprehensive reform fiasco which happened early enough in the race to get all the mainstream candidates on the anti-immigration bandwagon, so as a result Tancredo needs to escalate his rhetoric to stay relevant.

I don't even think it's all that complicated. Tancredo isn't such a long shot simply because the other candidates are sufficiently anti-immigrant. He's a long shot because he's a deeply unlikable guy, and he ran the ad, because he's the sort of person who supports the idea that illegal, armed militias should police the borders and shoot to kill. His hope in Iowa is that the sort of people who support Rep. Steve King will come out and vote for him. And to appeal to them you must, like King, say and do moronic things.