A few weeks ago I reported to you about the surprise victory of Bob Kelleher in the race for the US Senate seat in the Montana State Primary. Kelleher, an 85-year old Butte lawyer, defeated five other Republican candidates in the June primary despite being a liberal whose only stance in common with the Republican Party seems to be his opposition to abortion.

Kelleher has run for office 16 times in the last 44 years, primarily as a Democratic candidate, but with a few Green Party runs as well. He won only once before: in 1971, when he was elected to Montana’s Constitutional Convention. There, he assisted in modernizing Montana’s century-old Constitution, helping create one of the most progressive governing documents in the country.

Despite his party-hopping and his ultimate decision to run in this year’s election as a Republican, Kelleher’s stance on major political issues tend to lean even further left than most Democrats: he supports FDR-style government work programs to reduce poverty, he advocates nationalizing American oil and gas industries, and he’s in favor of implementing a government-run, socialized healthcare system.

Another dramatic leap from the traditional Republican stance – and frankly a dramatic leap from anything endorsed by any other American politician I am aware of – is his advocacy of a “nonviolent revolution” to overthrow the foundation of American government, replacing our legislative and executive branches of government with a parliamentary system.

Kelleher believes that true government accountability can only be achieved when politicians stop “passing the buck,” stating that we would be better served with a parliamentary system like that of the United Kingdom, with one party in power, headed by a Prime Minister (not to be confused with the other popular parliamentary system in Europe, that of proportional representation).

As we have all observed, with separate legislative and executive branches the President and Congress continually fight each other to pass legislation, forcing compromises and causing each to blame the other for what was or wasn’t accomplished during their respective tenures.

With a parliamentary system, voters vote for a party rather than individual candidates, and the party with the most votes wins. Because the party has the exclusive power to pass legislation and doesn’t have to compromise with any other party, the members of the party must take responsibility with the Prime Minister for the legislative and policy outcomes of their tenure, be they positive or negative.

While I think there is something to be said for weighing the pros and cons of a parliamentary system, overhauling our political system is not a popular concept in Montana. At the Republican Party state convention in Missoula this past Friday, Kelleher was denied the opportunity to speak, and although he got a separate room in which to meet with other Republicans and discuss his message, more reporters showed up to listen than party members.

Mike Lange, who Kelleher beat in the state primary a few weeks ago, and who just last week announced that he would continue his bid for the Republican US Senate seat through a write-in candidacy, got more traffic at the party’s state convention than Kelleher.

Lange is infamous for his angry outburst at the end of the 2007 legislative session, when he called Gov. Brian Schweitzer an “S.O.B.” and told him that he could go “straight to hell.” He was subsequently ousted from his role as majority leader by the GOP, but he contends that his mainstream Republican stance on issues will give voters a conservative choice in November.

At this point I don’t see Kelleher managing to overcome Max Baucus in the fall, but it is possible that his primary victory is a sign that Republicans in Montana are ready for a change in party issues. U.S. Rep. and (former?) Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul managed to secure 22% of the Montana vote, indicating a potentially widespread disapproval of the Republican Party.

Time will tell if his unusual opinions will make any mark on the November election, but Kelleher’s persistence for nearly half a century has paid off. For this long-shot candidate, the sixteenth time was the charm.