There were so many comments about yesterday’s idea to audition telegenic law grads for a Constitutional Amendment Reality TV Show that I decided to run a "top ten" list of comments and links. Included are some of the longer comments, excluded are a ton of brief "thumbs up" (but thanks for those!)
I took the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response as an indication that we're all tired of being outfoxed by Sarah Palin - an adversary whom we'd be well advised to take seriously, despite how vacuous she may appear.
For the record, this was yesterday’s idea in full. And here are your top ten comments in countdown order:
10. What’s the Point of Having a “Liberal Media Establishment” if You Never Use It?
9. And the First Nominee Is…
8. What About That Other Notorious Hollywood Liberal?
7. Eliminate The Middleman!
6. Be Careful What You Wish For…
5. It Ain’t Just Her Wholesome Good Looks!
4. Smart? Who Needs Smart?
3. Gentlemen (and a lot of the rest of us) Prefer A Particular Blonde
2. A Sneak Peek
1. The Number One Comment!
Bonus Comment!
10. What’s the point of having a “liberal media establishment” if you never use it?
I like your idea of the reality show and bringing back Norman Lear to do it right. Hollywood seems comatose since the campaign and even during the campaign, they were out-shone by the grassrooters. Rob Reiner (the producer-director who once played the “Meathead” son-in-law to Archie Bunker) comes to mind, as does Oliver Stone as producers to kick something off.
Creativity seems to flourish
I would also argue that we already have our telegenic law hero who can summon a media party whenever he wants and he is our President. And his lawyer wife isn't too bad, either. I've been chomping at the bit to create a slide show for him when he's talking over the heads of most of his constituents during nationally televised speeches, like the SOTU speech.
Hear, hear – we can always use more slides... and more Obama appearances. Not least because his appearances crowd out the media images of the tea partiers and Sarah Palin. Some FDR-style fireside chats might buy the administration some necessary time and restore a measure of calm to an anxious public.
9. And the First Nominee for the Constitutional Amendment Reality TV Show Is….
I nominate Kamala Harris - but she may be too old and committed to her campaign?
The initial idea was to pick someone young enough that you could run them ragged 24/7 and they’d not only still look fresh for the cameras, they’d keep on going.
But at 45, the hard-working beauty Kamala Harris looks like she’s never had a bad night’s sleep. What’s more, she’s whip-smart, ethical, and on our side. Downside: there’s no way she’d have time for this.
8. What about that other notorious Hollywood liberal?
Hi Eva. Interesting thought. I don't know if there's any relevance, but I've just learned about the brand new Redford Center, funded by Robert Redford, in the new Brower Building in downtown Berkeley. Dedicated to social activism in the arts: http://redfordcenter.
Excellent – counting Lear, Reiner, Stone and now Redford, we now have more than a few producer-directors to whom we can present the idea!
7. As Yossarian Once Pointed Out, Why Not Eliminate the Middleman?
As it was the SCOTUS decision that spurred the initial suggestion, another offered this:
Hi - I was listening to Alan Colmes (whose show I hate) on Green 960 the other night. He interviewed a Corporation that is running for a seat in Maryland. The corporation was represented by a publicist and a lawyer. The theory was to get rid of the middleman and just run for office. I liked it. Had you heard about it?
Website with promo video:
www.murrayhillincforcongress.
Thom Hartman interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
There's a lot about it on the Internet. I was surprised. Maybe it's catching on.
Thanks, that was amazing. Worth watching.
6. Be Careful What You Wish For….
Interesting, Eva. I've shuddered at Lawrence Lessig (Harvard Law School) suggesting a Constitutional amendment; I think it's not the time to tinker and open up that can of worms (the right likely has a number of amendments that tea-baggers might help promote). Call me conservative in this respect (perhaps I'll think otherwise at some point), but there are times when you hold, to paraphrase Kenny Rogers.
Also, listening to Lessig on Bill Moyers’ show, opposite a libertarian, I realized that he's not really so progressive -- more concerned because the Court's ruling expanding corporate political ads as free speech may give the appearance of greater corporate power and thus undermine average folks' trust of government, than with the fact that the ruling greatly increases corporate power to corrupt elected officials and subvert democracy.
He's not opposed to considering corporations as persons, with the rights guaranteed people in the Constitution (even thought, from what I've read, the fact that they are treated from people resulted from a questionable interpretation of an obscure legal opinion...)
So: while your idea of a Norman Lear T.V. show is genuinely appealing, I'd much prefer it focus on corporate non-personhood --- someone showing why that old decision was in error, and why the Supreme Court's activism on this issue was doubly erroneous, and how Congress can "fix it" with real campaign finance reform (whatever that entails).
Seriously, these are all excellent points – I think the bottom line is that the reality TV show could just as easily be about any of your other suggestions (“plain English” legislation anyone?) The larger idea is to make sure that traditional Democratic ideas (some call them progressive) find an advocate who generates as much schwing as Palin. A tasteless idea, I’ll readily admit. But the high road has not exactly delivered.
5. It Ain’t Just Her Wholesome Good Looks!
Your idea might work, but keep in mind that the media covers Palin for other reasons as well. I suspect they cover her primarily because she promotes the agenda of big media advertisers. Even if only 1,100 people showed up, those 1,100 are the dupes willing to shout out their message of weak government and its unspoken corollary: total political control by corporate plutocrats.
Excellent point. Then again, they don’t turn out like that for Karl Rove.
4. Smart? Who needs smart?
I agree 100% with your analysis. But why does it have to be a smart law school graduate? All she has to have is good looks and say the right things. How smart do you have to be to compete with Sarah Palin? Her main attraction appears to be that she was a beauty pageant contestant. I don't detect any sign of intelligent life in her.
I disagree that Palin is entirely unintelligent (more on that later.) But point taken - might we actually be working against our goal if we pick someone perceived as too brainy? We should be trying to fight fire with fire, not fight fire with SAT scores.
3. Gentlemen (and a lot of the rest of us) Prefer A Particular Blonde
Enough of you sent in raves about Elizabeth Warren that I’m combining the links. Yes, she’s over a decade older than Sarah Palin. But Liz Warren is someone to consider for far more than a TV show – The Boston Globe is suggesting she should run for the senate as early as 2012. Crossover appeal: like Congressman Eric Massa, Warren is a former Republican. She converted to the Democratic Party in the mid-1990’s.
2. A Sneak Peek
Some of you sent links to Palin’s cheat sheet (scrawled on the palm of her hand for this weekend’s debate) – but please, don’t write Palin off as a joke. We’ve known about what makes her appealing for over a year. And our side hasn’t eventried to present a woman who can give Palin a run for her money, even though our law schools are packed with smart, ethical, telegenic women, any one of whom would barely break a sweat running Palin into a lather.
So who’s dumb – Palin or us?
1. And the number one comment…. (drum roll, please!)
Please take me off your email list. Thank you.
Seriously, in response to the reality tv show newsletter, one person asked to be taken off the list, but no doubt a lot of other people are just holding their tongues (or sitting on their typing fingers.) Apologies – the idea of a reality tv show may sound louche. Then again, it’s all in how it’s done – if it hews to the documentary format, it could well be extraordinary.
Bonus!
Someone just wrote in that Robert Reich will speak at UCB tomorrow evening on the issue of “Progressive Leadership in HCR.” Here’s the link:
http://events.berkeley.edu/
Thanks for hanging in there,
Eva
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