At any level of government, it would be commendable if candidates actually started at the bottom and worked their way up…or at least had the chops to handle the job.
Some of the names being floated for various offices don’t seem to have any actual interest in doing the job or any idea how to do the job. It’s very different to have a stance on an issue and the understanding and ability to work within the parameters of government to make it happen.
Being elected is not a magic lamp where you get what you want. It’s a job interview and now you have to do the work.
It started with electing military heroes who had had a certain skill set which included the ability to strategize and lead.
But then came a new kind of fame and we were served unwelcome helpings of Ronald Regan and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
What’s next on the political sideshow menu?
Kaitlyn Jenner (athlete and reality show figure) How does that qualify her to govern a state?
Dan Rodimer (pro-wrestler from NJ who lost an election in NV, so he ran (and lost) in TX this month, after holding a “Wrestle For Your Rights” event. I mention him because I doubt that this will be his last bid for election.
Duane “The Rock” Johnson (pro-wrestler and actor, who said he would run for POTUS if the polling showed people wanted him to run) What would he do if he actually got elected?
Matthew McConaughey (actor, possibly running for TX Governor, although nobody knows where he stands politically) Qualifications? *Meanwhile, Beto O’Rourke is doing community action after the storm, while the guy he lost to fled the country, and, he was knocking on doors before the state and local elections this spring, but he wasn’t even a candidate.
That doesn’t mean someone can’t be in the entertainment industry and hold elected office, it just shouldn’t be their only qualification. No matter what you thought of their stance on issues, Al Franken and Fred Thompson were actually suited to hold office.
How can the free publicity of being a celebrity be mitigated?
ps – Thanks to Mark Cuban’s family for pumping the breaks on any ideas about a presidential run. A good man, but he can do more good as a businessman.
31 thoughts on “Only Serious Candidates Need Apply”
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judi watch wants politicians’ pets thoroughly vetted too
in vanity fair last week:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2932247-the-rock-says-hed-consider-presidential-run-if-thats-what-the-people-wanted
– Duane
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/15/matthew-mcconaughey-texas-governor/
– Matt
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/20/beto-orourke-2022-texas/
– Beto
One day, perhaps, I will get links to embed and every sentence won’t end up being its own paragraph. I cans blame WordPress for my typos nor the length of my posts. I like to use all of the words. You should see how crowded it is in my head.
from the “more info than you want” file
Can you eat cicadas? Yes, and here’s how to catch, cook and snack on them. – The Washington Post
The current crop of GOP follows Jubilation T Cornpone
It’s like if “Professor” Harold Hill were trying to sell us the “think system.” It may end well for a marching band in the movies, but it doesn’t work that way, IRL, for governments…nor for covid.
BTW, that is to be Hugh Jackman’s next role on Broadway.
Celebrity got an underqualified Obama elected. Kennedy, too.
BiD…. very good and thoughtful posting.
Unfortunately…. celebrities running for office is here to stay, IMO. One would hope that the electorate could see through someone like a Matthew McConaughey or a Duane Johnson… but I don’t hold out much hope for that.
It is quite obvious the greedy old perverts turned into the greedy q perverts of the SFB cult. The biggest question I have, and it is one that should be touched on in Virginia this year, is how deep does that cult own the voters? It is one thing to thump the tub in public, quite another to drop a ballot in November. Some of the tactics being used by the gqp is voter intimidation. Action to force voters to do the ballot in a way that elects thugs and racists. Can the DOJ protect the ballot in some states? Will we see it this year in VA?
bbronc, good questions.
and yes, it all depends on getting the voter to vote.
dem strategists need to make sure they’ve a solid plan and see it thru getting the voters to the polls, not just talking to them and wasting $$$ on ads or mailers or expensive political advisors or unreliable poll-takers.
This might be my favorite Randy Rainbow offering.
There is training out there about how to stand up for others/deflect/tamp down confrontation. I think we all need to be prepared for that.
The often-contrived conflict (situations and editing) that reality shows have inflicted on us, have been normalized. Social media spread the infection. Retrain humans to be civil?
All this shit would be hilarious in a novel.
Catch-46
Wonder what it’s costing to keep that bloated whale afloat……………..and all his bloated little whale-ettes…..
I just can’t figure how all these people go to south florida and try to pretend that it’s anything other than a sordid little sweltering stank-pool.
Jamie -Randy Rainbow has another hit. Hopefully someone at NBC will schedule him for a SNL show or two.
in 18 months no one will ever give a shit about him again
BiD
Hugh has been publishing rehearsal pictures now that he and Sutton are back in the studios.
So I was thinking, if I was going to build highways, seems like it’d be more interesting to build highways in the mountains. Then I thought, Florida…Flat forever. Never gets cold. Ok, I can see that.
Bink
Who? Trump? I sincerely hope you are right.
If you mean Rainbow (his real name), he has a career of several years standing, successful touring until pandemic, a You Tube Channel with 700,000 followers and is well known as a lyricist praised by the likes of Sondheim.
What’s happening in 18 months?
Sutton Foster is amazing. I saw her in “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”
…midterms
eating it’s own….
If non-Republicans are allowed to vote.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2021/05/10/bill-hagerty-for-the-people-act-disenfranchises-tennessee-voters/5020323001/
Republicans are going to do what they can to gut it tomorrow.
Kennedy and Obama were A-list political “celebrities “. Reagan and Trump were B-list entertainer ”celebrities”. How’d those work out?
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