Frazier Glenn Cross, the man suspected of killing two people on Sunday at a Jewish community center in Overland Park, Kan., has been trying to hitch a ride to Washington on the racial purity ticket for decades.  

Cross’s purported hate crime rattled a nation still reeling from the April 2 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, a nightmarish scenario that once again featured a disturbed service man — the late Army Spc. Ivan Lopez orchestrated the most recent outbreak of violence, whereas Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan took over a dozen lives in November 2009 — ambushing unsuspecting colleagues.  

A former Ku Klux Klan activist who later founded the exclusionary White Patriot Party , Cross has repeatedly — and rather unsuccessfully — tried to bring others around to his peculiar way of thinking.  

Some online outlets suggest the perennial write-in candidate has been at it since 1984; he has, luckily, never gained significant traction in any contest.  

He mounted an unsuccessful attempt to unseat then-Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., in 2006, as well as a failed bid in 2010 (Cross received just seven votes) to replace retiring Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo.

Some of the planks of Miller’s 2010 campaign included: providing families of undocumented immigrants with $2,500 “and free transportation back to their native countries,” creating financial incentives for the birthing of white babies, reassigning ownership of mass media among “the 5 major gentile races — White, Black, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian,” punishing U.S. corporations that have expatriated for tax purposes and segregating the U.S. prison system in order to curtail “violent racist attacks.”  

Per his webpage, Cross’ only other political affiliation appears to be an abiding respect for a fellow Klansman, ex-Louisiana State Rep. David Duke.  

While the rest of the world mulls Cross’ particular brand of madness, lawmakers slipped right into familiar patterns that underscore the dichotomy of our national obsession with firearms.  

As they went about the first day of April recess, Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Cedric Richmond, D-La., shared wildly divergent insights into what they were up to:  

Issa was clearly very excited by the military might he was witnessing at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin. Richmond, on the other hand, offered up his condolences to those once again caught in the crossfire.