The Reality Candidate
Scott Brown was a model; Al Franken was a comedian. Liberal blogger Mickey Kaus is planning to challenge three-term senator Barbara Boxer in California; noise has been made about a possible Glenn Beck run for office. Going all the way back to Ronald Reagan, our entertainers have been our politicians.
On one hand, entertainers who enter public office have unique abilities to connect with voters and are generally unprecedentedly skilled at pushing a message. People like Reagan are notorious for being popular with voters, and their show business backgrounds give them a certain celebrity that voters long for.
However, more and more instances of pre-made celebrity in candidates can have horrifying effects, in terms of policy. Electing people who already have American fans outside of the political realm can turn elections into popularity contests and result in policy written by Paris Hilton-like media darlings.
Politicians who were originally elected for political reasons are not blind to the benefits of celebrity. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his wife have appeared on a slew of reality shows after he left office, poising him to potentially move past his former ethical indiscretions and run for political office again. Tom Delay, the one-time Republican leader, appeared for a short run on ABC's Dancing With the Stars, seriously broadening his national name-recognition, although, at the same time, turning him into a talking show farce.
Becoming a reality show celebrity can be a cheap way for struggling politicians to win votes. However, stunts like these can lose them political points, and, in the long run, flood the American government with under-qualified, yet popular, pseudo-celebrities.
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However, more and more instances of pre-made celebrity in candidates can have horrifying effects, in terms of policy. Electing people who already have American fans outside of the political realm can turn elections into popularity contests and result in policy written by Paris Hilton-like media darlings.
Politicians who were originally elected for political reasons are not blind to the benefits of celebrity. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his wife have appeared on a slew of reality shows after he left office, poising him to potentially move past his former ethical indiscretions and run for political office again. Tom Delay, the one-time Republican leader, appeared for a short run on ABC's Dancing With the Stars, seriously broadening his national name-recognition, although, at the same time, turning him into a talking show farce.
Becoming a reality show celebrity can be a cheap way for struggling politicians to win votes. However, stunts like these can lose them political points, and, in the long run, flood the American government with under-qualified, yet popular, pseudo-celebrities.
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