A birther, a LaRouchie, a tea party rabbi, and a Christian fundamentalist walk into a bar.

Actually, no—this is a list of Republicans competing in next Tuesday's Senate primary in California. Thanks to big changes to how the Golden State conducts its primaries, 23 long-shot candidates—a Libertarian, an American Independence Party member, two Peace and Freedom Party members, five Democrats, and 14 Republicans, including the four mentioned above—are battling for a chance at a high-profile face-off with Democratic incumbent Dianne Feinstein in November. And the Republicans are so weak in the state that their side of the contest has become something of a political clown show.