Meet the Shirtless Libertarian Who Could Determine Majority Control of the U.S. Senate!

Though it feels like it's been years since we first learned his name, Rep. Todd "legitimate rape" Akin is still running for United States Senate against incumbent Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill; the race could still determine which major party control the Senate, and polls show it's still close. Which could only mean one thing--time for the country's very fate to be determined by this guy!

The New Republic's Molly Redden has more:

I met the 32-year-old at a strip mall Caribou Coffee across from Impact Fitness, where he works full-time as a personal trainer. (Recently, he showed off his bench press chops in a videotaped competition with a PoliticIt.com reporter, completing 13 reps with 225 lbs in less than a minute.) Jacked, clean-shaven, and sporting crisp slacks and a black polo shirt—it is no surprise when he says he is originally from San Diego—he was surprisingly mild and soft-spoken.

His politics are unelaborate, down-the-ticket Libertarianism. "We still want to government to protect you from force and fraud," he said, "But we want people to be free to marry who they want, be free to experiment with their own consciousness." Ron Paul is too socially conservative for his taste, a dinosaur.

Dine is sick of the U.S.'s interventionist foreign policy, its bitter partisan politics, and its burgeoning debt and deficit. "I would support balancing the budget in 2013, and not 20 years from now," he continued.

But Dine is particularly motivated by his convictions about marijuana law. In both senses of the word: Several years ago, pot use sent him to jail. In 2006, Dine called the police on his girlfriend's father, who had shown up drunk and belligerent at Dine's apartment, broken the door, and ransacked the place. When they arrived, officers spotted a grow light and marijuana plants. Police returned with a search warrant the next day, and Dine spent several months in prison for possession. "My experience with the criminal justice system left me a little jaded," he told me sheepishly. "A ton of people in jail with me were in there for drugs."

In fact, Dine is a twice-convicted felon. 

I think I have found my new favorite politician. Best tidbit yet–"Dine is slated to appear at the upcoming debate hosted by the Missouri Press Association—which looks to be the only debate confirmed between Akin and McCaskill." Bring popcorn!

UPDATE: Was it really only six years ago that we went down that same road?