Now that's a wingnut!

The bottom-dwellers on the Fringe could learn a thing or two from far-right presidential also-ran Jean-Marie Le Pen, even if he does happen to be French:

French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen launched his fifth bid to become president yesterday, promising to reintroduce the death penalty, reduce the criminal age to 10 and create a so-called National Guard.

The 78-year-old leader of France's Front National was on fighting form as he unveiled his "programme for government" to supporters in Lille.

His manifesto, described as a "response to the 20 major problems facing France", featured the expected anti-immigration, crime and nationalist measures including pledges to end benefit payments to foreigners, create 75,000 more prison places and pull France out of Nato.

[...]

Mr Le Pen, who referred to the Nazi gas chambers as "a point of detail", hit the headlines again recently for his view on historical events. He dismissed the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11 2001 as an "incident", remarking that the 3,000 death toll was equal to the number of people killed in Iraq in a month.

Readers with intact long-term memories will remember that Le Pen received enough votes to enter into a run-off with President Jacques Chirac in 2002. So, chins up on the Fringe, and take solace in the achievements of this trailblazing wingnut!