Photo | Michael T. Regan

We suppose Congressman Bob Brady did this just because he can, right? Pia Varma (pictured, left), who calls herself the "Liberty Belle," was the unofficial Tea Party candidate on the ballot for the 1st Congressional District, until this weekend — when Judge Johnny J. Butler ordered that she be taken off because she didn't get the required 1,000 signatures. (Steven Kaplan, an attorney for the Democratic City Committee, filed the challenge.)

On Saturday, she told City Paper that she would fight till the bitter end. "I don't appreciate Brady using conduits to try and intimidate me out of this race. If he wants me off the ballot, have that coward to call me and tell me himself," she says. "My advice to Brady? Stop crying, drop the challenge, take the gloves off and fight like a man."

But on Sunday, she didn't even appear in court, and later blamed her missing signatures on the lack of support from the Republican City Committee. However, Varma said she's still working on a write-in campaign despite being kicked off the ballot.

Tea Party candidate challenging Bob Brady is kicked off the ballot