Perhaps you remember Mark “Coonrippy” Brown. That’s him at the top of the page, dancing with his pet raccoon, Gunshow, in a video that has over a million views and was featured on Good Morning America and Anderson Cooper’s show. Turns out things haven’t been so great for ol’ Coonrippy since this video was made. His home state, Tennessee, took away one of his other pet raccoons, Rebekah, in a move he says was a direct result of the popularity of this clip. He filed a petition to get her back that picked up over 60,000 signatures, and took to the airwaves to make his case, but nothing worked. So, because this is America, Coonrippy, the man who dances jigs with raccoons, has taken the next logical step.
A Gallatin man who made national headlines when state wildlife officials confiscated his pet raccoon last year has announced he is running for governor.
Mark “Coonrippy” Brown, 55, pulled a petition for the office on Friday with intentions to challenge incumbent Gov. Bill Haslam in the Republican primary in August.
“This is all about the raccoon,” Brown said.
If anyone needs me, I’ll be handing out “COONRIPPY/GUNSHOW 2014” bumper stickers from now until the end of summer.
Source: WBIR