The latest news from the political prognosticators handicapping the 2014 U.S. elections is that a few unconventional candidates may be gearing up to run for higher office. This is great news for a political system drowning in special interest money, party hacks, ideological apparatchiks and conventional candidates so boring that they make watching grass growing look exciting in comparison. It can also, however, be deeply problematic, too.
Out of the Bluegrass State comes word that Hollywood actress Ashley Judd – daughter of and half-sister to the famous country music singers Naomi and Winona Judd, was weighing a run for the seat currently held by the turtle-faced Republican Mitch McConnell, the GOP’s leader in the Senate. On Tuesday she met in Washington, D.C. with members of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the group charged with recruiting, vetting and supporting Democratic Party Senate candidates – fueling speculation that she is about to make the leap from being a celebrity activist to party standard bearer.
Back in Kentucky, Democratic governor Steven Beshear opined publicly that Judd would be a “very serious” candidate and that he was arranging to meet with her soon. A week prior to Ms. Judd’s journey to the nation’s capital it seems that she also met with party donors in Louisville, the state’s largest city. While mum’s the word so far on her political future, she has indicated she is “leaning” toward a run and would most likely make a decision by May 6.
Ms. Judd, who has a reputation as an outspoken environmentalist who opposes mountaintop removal coal mining – a particularly damaging form of coal extraction that blasts apart whole mountains and wreaks untold ecological damage on surrounding communities as a consequence – is of course not a shoo-in for either her party’s nomination or the seat itself, but already some Republicans are taking her candidacy seriously. None other than the GOP Rasputin himself – Karl Rove – launched an online attack ad deriding her as a ditzy celebrity know-nothing. Given Rove’s record of late, however, this may be a good thing for Ms. Judd.
Celebrity candidates are a time-honored tradition in American politics, with many ably making the leap from actress, comedian or musician to the rough-and-tumble world of electoral politics. Comedian Al Franken, who beat Republican incumbent Norm Coleman to become Minnesota’s junior U.S. Senator in 2008, was for many years a writer for the long-running NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. He earned his political chops, however, after turning his acerbic wit on conservatives by writing such tomes as Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Lies and Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.
Then there is Arnold Schwarzenegger, who parlayed a career as America’s most beloved foreign-born action star and robotic killing machine into two terms as Governor of California. Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican, ousted incumbent Governor Gray Davis in 2003 as a result of a recall initiative that initiated by Republican operatives but ultimately fueled by public frustration over an electricity crisis that was widely blamed on Davis. While personally popular, the state’s dysfunctional political system and collection of vested special interests ultimately stymied most of Governor Schwarzenegger’s budgetary and policy initiatives.
Before the Governator action star and pro-wrestler Jesse “the Body” Ventura, rode a quirky, poorly-financed third-party campaign to one term in the Minnesota Governor’s mansion in 1998, he served two terms as mayor of Brooklyn Park, MN – a northern suburb of the Twin Cities. Ventura, an outspoken maverick, developed a reputation for vetoing bills sent to him by the legislature, but could otherwise be considered about as successful as Governor Schwarzenegger in terms of his gubernatorial accomplishments.
Finally, the granddaddy of all celebrities turned political figures would have to be Ronald Reagan, who turned a middling acting career into first two terms as Governor of California between 1967 and 1975 and then two terms as president between 1980 and 1988. Unlike the Austrian muscle man or the Minnesotan wrestler, however, Reagan’s political career was extraordinarily successful and his time in the White House is seen as a major turning-point in modern U.S. political history. Indeed, Reagan today remains a pivotal figure for the Republican Party and an American icon even for Democrats, including President Barack Obama.
So what explains the appeal of unconventional celebrity candidates like Judd, Franken, Schwarzenegger, Ventura and Reagan? One commonality is their charisma and appealing personality. Reagan may not have known the ins-and-outs of tax policy when running for President, but he was able to convincingly convey his party’s ideas with the skill of a consummate actor – no small feat in the age of television. Entertainers, by nature, know how to connect with an audience, something Mitt Romney failed miserably in doing this past Presidential election.
Second, even though Hollywood celebrity is inherently “fake” in the sense that we know stars’ images are carefully constructed by media-savvy publicists, they nonetheless seem “authentic” when busking for votes as politicians. This is because, unlike career politicians, they can come to the political arena free of the baggage a career in professional politics comes with. This is so because, like a wealthy individual running for office, they ultimately don’t need to win in the same way a career pol does. If they lose, they can always go back to the glamorous world of the entertainment industry whereas a losing politician is literally out of a job.
Celebrities who turn to politics can as a consequence freely state their opinion without concern with how what they say may be interpreted by powerful campaign supporters or special interests. Such honesty is refreshing and forms the basis of their appeal for a public long used to parsing out politicians’ true feelings and intentions from focus group-tested talking points and cash-driven attack ads. This means that actors, who get paid to lie for a living, can often be seen as more honest by the electorate than politicians – who are automatically seen by most voters as inherently dishonest and morally compromised given their chosen profession.
This strength can turn into a weakness once in office. A career in politics necessarily exposes one to its dirty realities and ugly practicalities. Honesty is refreshing, but having too rigid a position, no matter how uprightly stated, will get one nowhere once the nitty-gritty of law-making and governance actually begins. Political horse-trading and back-scratching, often derided as corruption by outsiders, quickly become the grease upon which the ship of state sails smoothly and without which it founders upon the rocks of political obstruction. Politicians unable or unwilling to compromise – which often gets interpreted as a sellout by disappointed supporters – can lead to making the perfect the enemy of the good or, worse, governmental paralysis. This ironically reinforces popular attitudes towards politics and politicians, making the appeal of the unconventional or celebrity candidate like Ms. Judd even stronger.
So, a warm welcome to Ms. Judd. Her entry into the arena will bring a fresh, honest face to a field dominated by corrupt, though experienced, politicians. If she wins, let’s hope she can keep her image from being sullied too much by the dirtiness of politics as it is actually practiced. The type of compromises Ms. Judd will have to make in order to be a successful Senator once in office, however, suggests that isn’t very likely.