Kid Rock, aka Robert James Ritchie, is hinting that he would like to change careers from a musician to United States senator, going after the Michigan seat of Debbie Stabenow. Ordinarily, this announcement would have been treated as a joke by the mainstream media. However, we live in a world in which Donald Trump is president of the United States, so anything is possible. So people like the New Yorker’s Amanda Petrusich are heading back to the fainting couch, yelling for the Smelling Salts, wondering what fresh hell is about to happen.
Senator Kid Rock?
Kid Rock, even by the standards of the Age of Trump, would make an unlikely senator. On the one hand, he is a rock and roller, with the grooming and dress to go with the profession. He has also been heavily into drinking and debauchery in the stereotypical rocker lifestyle.
On the other hand, the artist also known as Mr. Ritchie is an unapologetic right-winger. He was on the Trump train from the very beginning, no doubt because the New York real estate developer appealed to his heartland disdain for the coastal elites. Kid Rock performed at the Republican National Convention and has been to the White House along with fellow right-wing rocker Ted Nugent and the incomparable Sarah Palin to visit his idol president.
Ms. Petrusich objects to Kid Rock because of his “bluster and bullying.” The writer is clearly not familiar with other American presidents, such as Andrew Jackson and Lyndon Johnson, who were no slouches in that department. As for his debauched rock and roll lifestyle, we need hardly be reminded of President William Jefferson Clinton.
What are his chances?
Ritchie will not have gone the preferred path of being elected to national public office, attending an Ivy League law school, serving in local and state offices or maybe an appointed post. Kid Rock will not even have gone into any business of any significance. His one job was making fans scream for joy while playing music.
Many do not consider that fit experience for a senator, but maybe it is a good fit for a politician.
Debbie Stabenow, the senator whose seat Kid Rock proposes to take away from her, is not taking any chances. She is starting to fund raise on the idea that she is the only person who stands in the way of Senator Robert Ritchie.
Kid Rock has the advantage of unconventionality. On the other hand, lack of experience in running for public office can be fatal. If he does run, he should find an experienced campaign manager who can play to the candidate’s strengths.
