Support Eclectablog because we take Kid Rock seriously for you
Is Kid Rock — AKA Robert James Ritchie who grew up in this plush home in Bruce Township, Michigan — a serious candidate for the U.S. Senate?
No, but he could be a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan next November.
And if there’s anything the last year should have taught us is that we have to take publicity-starved elitist candidates — especially publicity-starved elitist candidates with minimal experience in public service and a gift for affecting a persona that appeals to white workers — seriously.
Rock has been up over incumbent Debbie Stabenow slightly in two Republican-leaning polls and GOP consultant Dennis Lennox says that unless the singer is “caught in bed with a little boy, or beat up a woman between now and August 2018,” he will be the party’s nominee, if he gets in.
The general election will be much tougher. The non-partisan Target-Insyght poll finds Stabenow up by 8 percent over Rock. But we can’t assume that a fight at a Waffle House or making a sex tape with the guy from Creed will inevitably destroy his candidacy. The opposite is more likely true. The GOP in many ways has become “Kid Rock’s party” and the outrage he generates in us is what the party loves about him.
If you want to know how this all can go wrong, remember one of the worst mistakes the Hillary Clinton campaign made, according to George Lakoff:
They used negative campaigning, assuming they could turn Trump’s most outrageous words against him. They kept running ads showing Trump forcefully expressing views that liberals found outrageous. Trump supporters liked him for forcefully saying things that liberals found outrageous. They were ads paid for by the Clinton campaign that raised Trump’s profile with his potential supporters!
How do you deal with a problem like Kid Rock?
Treat him as seriously as hell, if he decides to run. He’s already set up a non-profit. He’s already registering voters. He’s already accountable to voters then until he reveals this is just concert promotion.
So let’s get him on record.
Here are 20 questions any U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan should be able to answer mostly from our own Chris Savage:
- What would you do to prevent Canada from opening a nuclear waste dump on Lake Huron?
- Given your support of President Trump, do you support his effort to defund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative which funds cleaning up the Great Lakes?
- Do you support Betsy DeVos’s plan to send federal tax dollars to private and religious schools?
- Has the federal government done enough to help the residents of Flint whose water was poisoned by lead? If not, please tell us your proposal for changing that.
- Do you support the federal loans given to American auto companies during the Great Recession?
- President Trump believes auto workers make too much money. Do you agree? What policies do you support regarding improving workers’ wages (e.g., increasing the minimum wage to at least $15/hour, making it easier for workers to form a union to negotiate their wages and benefits, etc.)?
- Would you support the Equal Pay Act that ensures women are paid the same as men for the same job?
- Do support the repeal of the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
- Do you support Attorney General Sessions’ plans to increase the confiscation of property from people accused of crimes who are awaiting their day in court? What is your position on Republican Congressman Tim Walberg’s legislation to make this more difficult?
- What is your position on the right of a woman to get a safe, legal abortion?
- Do you support the overturning of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Act that allows more farm and industrial pollution in Michigan lakes, streams and other waterways?
- Do you support Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law that allows an unelected person appointed by the governor to take over a local municipality or school and essentially fire the elected officials?
- What changes should be made to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that would help Michigan workers and Michigan companies?
- What is your position on Enbridge’s Line 5, an aging oil pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac? Should the 64-year old pipeline be shut down or allowed to continue operating? If it’s kept open, what would be Enbridge’s responsibility if the line ruptured in the middle of winter when there are several feet of ice covering the Straits?
- Do you support the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that allows almost unlimited money to be spent in elections?
- Do you support the decriminalization of marijuana?
- Do you support an independent committee to draw Congressional and legislative districts in Michigan to end political gerrymandering? If so, how would you structure such a committee (who would pick the members, etc.)?
- Do you support the Republicans’ healthcare plan that will increase the number of uninsured Michiganders by up to 200,000, increase the cost of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, increase premiums, and allow insurance companies to cap benefits for nearly anyone with health insurance?
- Do you support the Violence Against Women Act?
- Do you support Steve Bannon’s idea of creating a new bracket to tax income over $5 million at 44 percent?
Bob or Mr. Rock, you can come on The GOTMFV Show podcast any time to answer them in a serious manner.
Yes, we’ll take Kid Rock on like he’s any other Republican, because he could actually become the key vote to passing Trumpcare. No shit.
If you want to help us take Kid Rock and the GOP’s assault on democracy in Michigan and the entire nation seriously, Eclectablog needs your help.
Please consider making a contribution and join the growing community of supporters here at Eclectablog. You could, for example, consider become our savior by making a $5 (or more!) a month pledge:
