Name Game

No wonder why they call election time the silly season.

In an effort to make his stance on a bread-and-butter issue of the Christian Right perfectly well known, an Idaho strawberry farmer and gubernatorial candidate — formerly known as Marvin Richardson — has officially changed his name to WHAT?

A. Pro-Life
B. School Prayer
C. No Gay Marriage
D. Jesus Christ



ANSWER
A: Pro-Life. A couple of years earlier, the man had changed his middle name to “Pro-Life” (as in Marvin Pro-Life Richardson), only to be told by the Idaho secretary of state that he wouldn’t allow the middle name to appear on the ballot — something about the legality of bringing an issue on the ballot itself.

That’s when Richardson took the plunge, dropping both his first and last name and replacing them with Pro-Life.

We’ll let Pro-Life take it from there.

“It seems like only a nut would do something like that, but I’m not a nutty kind of person at all,” Pro-Life said.

“My name being Pro-Life on the ballot will save a number of babies by the time I die.”

Of course, there are some other considerations as well.

For starters, his wife of 24 years, Kirsten Faith Richardson, is still trying to determine how the change impacts her. She’s leaning toward Kirsten Faith Pro-Life because she doesn’t want to loose the “Faith” part of her own name.

Likewise, what’s to become of the couple’s 10-year-old son Grant, who had earlier had his own middle name changed to Pro Life? Does that mean he now must go by Grant Pro-Life Pro-Life?

In the meantime, the senior Pro-Life said he plans to run for office every two years for the rest of his life. He’s already gearing up for the 2008 senate race.