The Three Joe-kers of the Apocalypse

As our thyroid glands swell with radioactive iodine wafting over from Fukushima and another theater of war lifts its curtains in Libya — sure signs the end times are nigh — we all could use a little levity.

Thankfully, we have the Tea Party.

The new masters of the grotesque spectacle of American politics have given us reason to grin amid the recent flood of war and disaster with their latest announcement: the circus has come to town!

As usual, the Tea Party is in step with history. Circuses have long thrived in an apocalyptic atmosphere, from the lion-feeding frenzies of Rome to the dark days of the First World War, when the Dreamland Circus enthralled the crowds at Coney Island with its three stars: Lionel the dog-faced boy, Ursa the bear girl, and diminutive Princess Wee-Wee.

Last week, America’s latest incarnation of freak show populism upheld this venerable tradition in a jaw-dropping pit show featuring its own prized trio of outlandish specimens: “the Three Joes.”

Past, meet your present-day replacements. Underdog-faced Lionel, meet Joe Miller: Tea Party candidate who lost his 2010 bid for the state Senate in Alaska to a write-in vote. Bearish Ursa, meet Joe Arpaio, the Sheriff of Maricopa County Arizona, renowned for rounding up illegal immigrants, imprisoning them in sweltering makeshift camps, and making them parade around in pink panties. And, finally, Little Wee-Wee, step aside for Joe Wurzelbacher, aka, Joe the Plumber.

Read the rest of this article at HyperVocal.