He's Ba-ack!

Yes, it's just as certain as Punxsutawney Phil coming up on February 2.  The gnats always come out in the spring, and here in South Carolina, Ben Frasier will surely pop up at election time.  We had been wondering where he was in the fall, but he may have that same kind of sixth sense as our favorite groundhog, because instead, here he is, running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House District 1.

Less successful than our groundhog friend and more annoying than a gnat, his motivations have left some scratching their heads, and others, no less than Jim Clyburn, spitting.  In 2008, Will Moredock wrote that Frasier has "been a thorn in the side of the Democratic party for 20 years."  He is pro-Confederate flag, anti-abortion, anti-gay, and the only sensible reason one would think he has for running as a Democrat is that he is a Republican plant.

In 2004, as a warm-up to Jim DeMint, Frasier ran against Inez Tenebaum in the primary for U.S. Senate.  In 2008, when Alvin Greene was distracting us in the Senate race against DeMint, he wasted Linda Ketner's time and resources by challenging her in the primary for U.S. House District 1.  Which appears pretty much to be his game.

There doesn't seem to be much information about him floating around.  But we do know that he has a residence in Maryland and claims to own a driving school there (he is not listed as an owner, merely as one of several instructors).  His online bio at the driving school site claims that he is a retired federal police officer and has a law degree from the USP Academy, which is NOT the US Police Academy and does NOT offer law degrees, but DOES have very weird annoying sound effects on its site and appears to be located in India.  (Please correct me if I am  wrong.)  And you might also want to get a closer look at the Potomac Driving School.  The customer reviews are worth your time.

He apparently has a residence on Wadmalaw Island, a voter registration card and drivers license in South Carolina, which has been good enough for the SC Board of Elections.

Now if I were going to draw some conclusions from all this, I would have to say the expression "con artist" comes to mind.  Just as Alvin Greene was unlikely to have funded his 2008 campaign, I imagine that running in all these various and sundry races may be very lucrative for Mr. Frasier.

Or maybe not.  Perhaps he is just a concerned citizen who has a law degree and owns a driving school in Maryland and really, really believes that South Carolina needs his Democratic vision.