Democrats are in better public favor than Republicans right now, but they still aren’t respected much by Americans. The sweep of the House and Senate was more anti-Republican than pro-Democrat. Bush won in 04 despite four years of incompetence. Elections are no more than giant organized political stunts, and Republicans are good at winning them. In order to regain the respect of the American public, Democrats have to take risks to show they have fortitude as well as new ideas for how our government should be run.
I propose that the Democrat who wins the primary to run for President picks members of their cabinet before the election. Throughout different intervals during the course of the campaign the candidate would pick people for different positions. One week he/she may pick their secretary of defense, the next week secretary of state and continue this until election day. This is no different than picking a vice president as a running mate. This way people know exactly who they’re getting before they vote. Here’s the controversial and risky part of my plan: the candidate should pick some celebrities, provided they’re intelligent and know something about politics. Republicans have had success with actors and even made one President. Very important positions should of course to go those who are most qualified, but less important positions, ones that are more for show than anything should go to famous people.
Celebrities are royalty in this country. People hate politicians, and love entertainers. If Oprah Winfrey was on a ticket, every woman in the country would vote for that candidate. If Dave Chepelle was appointed to some minor position, every young person in the country would vote for his candidate. This would draw many non-voters into the political process. You could have them visit news shows, have mock debates, go on the campaign trail. If Martin Sheen, with his “presidential” background was to go on Larry King Live, all of a sudden people who never cared about politics would tune in. Just another reality tv show. If John Stewart was on board, young people would vote in unprecedented numbers. Donald Trump has done well for himself so why not appoint him to look at our nation’s finances? There are some very talented and influential people in our country who aren’t political insiders.
More people vote for American Idol than they do the president so it only makes sense to emulate the celebrity culture. That combined with the distrust for politicians that has grown stronger in recent years would create a strong force in politics. Bush’s campaign strategists did a great job making him seem more like a normal guy than a typical politician. His stupidity may have even helped him in his respect.
Of course there would be many who would be angered over this apparent sellout, but they would not be the majority. Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reily will be beside themselves but few will care. Republicans will rail against anything Democrats try to do in an election. We can’t be afraid of trying new things because of what they’ll say. They already criticize Democrats for being too tied to Hollywood. It would be a great political maneuver if Democrats did an about face and embraced hollywood like a long lost child.
Republicans tend to hate hollywood. To lessen their anger we could appoint some mildly conservative celebrities. Country music stars other than The Dixie Chicks would work wonders. Appointing some flag waving asshole like Toby Keith might just counteract the turnoff of southern voters. Even a liberal guy like Willie Nelson, or a patriotic songsmith like John Mellencamp would work wonders in the bible belt. If Jonny held a rally in Indiana, to be broadcast on national tv, where he sings about how “I was born in a small town”, while confessing his support for the Democratic candidate for president, people in the midwest would be besides themselves with love for all things Democrat. Or better yet, have the Democratic Party be a big sponsor of Farm Aid. Put their name all over it and have Democratic politicians brag about it non-stop. It will be like magic. Willie Nelson, the godfather of country music, could go to his home-state of Texas and get at least some of the rednecks on his side. Celebrities are famous because in one way or another, they know how to communicate with people. Very divisive people such a Michael Moore, Rosie O’Donnell, and Jane Fonda should not be tapped of course.
Another advantage is this would take some of the heat and controversy off of the candidates. If the media has an entire group of people to examine, there will be much less time for them to attack the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates. The attacks will be much more spread out. Of course, some celebrities will say stupid things throughout the course of the election, but Bush said dumb things throughout the course of his first term as well as both campaigns and he still won. It’s all about damage control. This would probably be the biggest challenge.
The media will jump on board so fast it will be pathetic. The American people will treat elections like another reality show. The news will be dominated by who has been picked this week for what position, and who is on what talk show tonight, drumming up support for Democrats. The media will be on it like rabid dogs and their ratings will skyrocket. It will be a goddamn bloodbath of publicity. Some of it will probably be negative, but it will still make the average non-voter pay attention.
And Democrats should make a big deal about it. Explain how they want to try new things in our government and compare it to the new deal. You could even call it something cheesy like “the new deal II.” It sounds like a movie title but so does “star wars” “patriot act” and “operation iraqi freedom.” Appearing to be unafraid of new things will win Democrats some much needed respect. It would be a very bold step, but it would show resolve. Taking chances takes great courage and democrats should use that word over and over when talking about the tactic.
If Ronald Reagan can become president, and Arnold Schwarzenegger can become governor of california, why can’t the same tactic work for Democrats? There are many other examples of celebrities winning in politics. Sports stars, astronauts, actors, and entertainers have all been congressmen.
Republicans strategists have already figured out that theatrics work. Stunts such as Bush landing on the aircraft carrier to announce victory in Iraq obviously didn’t hurt him in the 04 Presidential election. Neither did surprise visits to troops in Iraq on Thanksgiving. These were cheap political stunts and it didn’t seem to hurt them at all, despite the criticism of liberals. They also weren’t hurt by gimmicks such as everyone waving flip flops at the Republican national convention. These are concepts Americans can wrap their brains around.
Then, to increase voter turnout even more, have elections the day after Thanksgiving and have polls at malls. Democrats could make a big deal of this saying it stimulates the economy as well as encourages voting. People are already out at malls anyways, so why not have them vote there? To create more of a buzz, you can have celebrities at malls meeting people who vote. It just makes sense. Americans are obsessed with consumerism as well as celebrities so it’s just giving them what they want.
Americans have demonstrated that anything packaged in an entertaining way will be accepted, whether it’s a good idea or not. Democrats can still have substance and integrity in their positions. In a competition between style and substance, style wins in America. However, if you combine style with the superior substance Democrats have over Republicans, liberals will have a balance of style and substance. This combination will be impossible to beat. Americans will be very apprehensive to vote a Democratic to the White House considering they now control both houses of congress. The public voice their opinions in other ways than voting, and they’ve demonstrated they like campaigns that are nicely packaged, and they love drama. Run the campaign like a movie script and they we can’t loose.
