Every now and then, it’s a good idea to stop and remember how far the Republicans have sunk — and how quickly. Imagine if ten years ago I described the future of the Republican Party as follows:
The most beloved character in the party of family values is a three-time married casino magnate who starred in a reality show, raving about how hot is the girlbrag about trying to have sex with a married womanand supposedly yes having sex with a porn star just a few months after his wife gave birth.
Second, side The most popular star of the moment is a rapper Struggling with bipolar disordersend anti-Semitic tweets and marry a woman became famous after starring in a supposedly leaked sex tape. Despite his unsettling and unsettling instability, Right-wing media hunt for superstars whenever he spits out especially shocking MAGA eloquent.
Third, Republican control of the Senate depends on whether a long-retired soccer star (who lied about gave birth to multiple children out of wedlock and allegedly paid for abortions) and one wandering TV doctor (made famous by Oprah Winfrey) won their respective races in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
If this was a decade ago, your first answer would probably be called bullshit. Anyway, it’s been ten years. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are the incumbent Republican candidates. Your second answer may be shocking to see how the party of the “moral majority” has become corrupt and depraved. And your third response might be to indicate that the party has been taken over by celebrities.
This third observation — how celebrities have conquered the GOP — is perhaps the most underrated.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Republican Candidate for the United States Senate.
Hannah Beier / The Washington Post / via Getty Images
This phenomenon is broader than GOP. It is a commentary on American life. Mike Judge’s 2006 hit classic sci-fi/comedy film Population mode seems to have foretold this.
At that time, President Camacho the plot feels like a bad satire (perhaps mocking developments like former professional wrestler Jesse “The Body” Ventura becoming governor of Minnesota). It also seems to predict a backward future maybe maybe in 100 years – if we make the wrong decisions for decades.
Instead, it basically came true in record time. (In case you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about Donald Trump, Kanye West, Herschel Walker and Dr. Oz.)
Another surprising fact is that celebrities have taken over Republican Partynot the Democratic Party.
While Democrats have long been more appealing to showbiz glitzy stars, this disconnect makes sense in a strange way.
Because the GOP didn’t have celebrities, Republicans coveted them. Sure, conservatives will scoff at celebrities who get involved in politics (telling them that “silence and sing,“Etc.), but deep down, they desperately crave their attention and approval. And then they actually turn a person into an American Idol.
If you doubt the truth of what I’m telling you regarding the GOP’s craving for a celebrity, think back to a decade ago; the Romney-Ryan ticket has won the key position at the Republican National Convention to Clint Eastwood — who conducted the speech in front of a chair.
Kanye West at the Givenchy Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2023 fashion show at Paris Fashion Week.
Victor Virgile / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Republicans were so hungry to be adored by celebrities, that in the following years on their way to Trump, they adopted the likes of Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, and Duck Dynasty.
In retrospect, any of them could have taken over the party. That’s how they aspire that even C-list celebrities can call their own.
Think about it. It’s hard to imagine that a real estate mogul are not having his own reality show on NBC could have attacked the GOP the way Trump did. Likewise, Herschel Walker would be the GOP candidate for the US Senate if he did not recorded all those touches? Would the American people, less than Kim Kardashian, look at Kanye a second time if he wasn’t a successful musician? What if Dr. Oz was just a…Doctor?
I think we know the answers to these questions. This phenomenon is not entirely new. But there was a time when becoming a celebrity was merely the beginning of a political career. Ronald Reagan is a Hollywood actor, but he is also the sinful head of a screen actor and host. General Electric Theater (a job that takes him around the country, turns audiences into a sort of “focus group” and allows him to hone his message.) He then served as governor of California for eight years before running for president (and he lost his first).
Athletes like former Sens. Bill Bradley of New Jersey and Jim Bunning of Kentucky certainly benefit from their star status, but they also put in the work — Bradley is a Rhodes scholar who worked in politics for many years before running for the Senate, and Bunning climbed from the Fort Thomas, Kentucky city council all the way to Congress’ Senate. Similarly, NFL quarterback Jack Kemp is a wonk policy. He pitched it to a House seat and, ultimately, a failed bid for vice president as Bob Dole’s running mate in 1996.
Today’s “no experience” celebrities start at the top. And it all went downhill from there.
I have seen the future. And it doesn’t work. Too bad we can’t just change the channel.
