For the past few days, Kid Rock has been buzzing around in the political-news background while the Donald Trump Jr. scandal rages unabated. The self-declared American Badass and Detroit Cowboy did make headlines this week while teasing a U.S. Senate run in Michigan that many people had trouble taking seriously. Folks imagined that it could be a publicity bid to sell new music, not to mention a reason to flood the market with campaign merch that probably wouldn’t play well with his targeted Republican base.
Still, Kid Rock insisted that his bid isn’t a hoax, and he’s still got time to file that all-important FEC paperwork. Robert James Ritchie also insisted that his run would be a means to communicate how “We the People are sick and tired of their bullsh*t!” This won’t stop the laughter from coming, but ultra-progressive Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren warned (within a fundraising email via the Boston Herald) her supporters to treat the matter with the utmost seriousness. As she puts it, Americans can no longer afford to consider any political bid to be a prank in the era of Trump:
“I know a lot of people are thinking: this is some sort of joke, right? Senator Kid Rock (R-MI). Well, maybe this is all a joke — but we all thought Donald Trump was joking when he rode down the escalator at Trump Tower and announced his campaign, too. And sure, maybe this is just a marketing gimmick for a new album or tour — but we all thought Donald Trump was just promoting his reality TV show, too.”
She does, of course, raise a fair point. Millions of people (other than Michael Moore and Katy Tur) discounted Trump’s shot at the presidency, and election night photos and footage showed that Trump — a bombastic entertainer who has made his living in the public eye for decades — seemed shocked, too. This pattern could play out all over again with Kid Rock, and Warren certainly doesn’t want to go toe-to-toe with him on the Senate floor. Can you imagine?
It is worth noting that Warren issued this warning within a fundraising memo, which is not an unusual tactic, nor is it an unorthodox one. However, the Republican challenger to her seat (Geoff Diehl), has accused Warren of “[trying] to scare her support base into giving her more money so that she can reach that main goal I believe of running for president.” And with that, Diehl has opened the discussion to one for another day.
(Via Boston Herald)