Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Media Basil Marceaux: Internet Superstar
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 at 8:52 AM
Oh sure, bloggers poked fun at Marceaux at first. Wonkette kicked it off. He wants to ban traffic stops, which he equates with slavery, and he promises: “VOTE FOR ME AND IF I WIN I WILL IMMUNE YOU FROM ALL STATE CRIMES FOR THE REST OF YOU LIFE!”
"What can be made fun of first? We just want to live in this man’s brain forever," Wonkette raved, labeling Marceaux "the oracle of Tennessee."
But then something changed in the collective thinking: "Eventually, as with Pabst Blue Ribbon, Basil Marceaux became so ironically popular, people forgot they liked him ironically. They started taking him seriously," New York magazine's Daily Intel observed. An example:
When I first saw the video early this morning, I thought Marceaux had just kicked back a few too many drinks to calm his nerves before a big television appearance but, after viewing Marceaux’s website (which, despite what he says in the video, totally isn’t ImBasilMarceaux.com or even BasilMarceaux.com) and reading his writings, it became clear that what you see is what you get and that this is the real Basil Marceaux…or possibly the most brilliant political performance art prank since Andy Kaufman threw on some cheek puddy, faked a deeper gruff voice, and made everyone believe that there was a real man named “Richard Nixon."
Now headlines like these are popping up: "Meet Gubernatorial Candidate Basil Marceaux: Proof America’s Democracy Is Still Healthy," "Meet Basil Marceaux, a Political Candidate for Our Time" and "Meet Basil Marceaux Dot Com, Tennessee's Next Governor." Not since Barack Obama has a candidate used the Internet so masterfully. Can Marceaux pull a miracle and snatch away victory on Aug. 5? That's the question everyone is asking now. Here's the video that started it all:
Comments (39)
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This is the greatest thing I have ever seen. This guy has more integrity than anyone else in the race, and that's the truth. I am voting for him.
As the dude that set up Basil and Wonkette on their blind date with destiny, I'm a little amazed that his popularity has been so widespread (Gawker even!) but then I remembered: Basil Marceaux has a posse http://yfrog.com/mz7edxj
@ashley It was funny from the moment he said "I'm Basil Marceaux dot com" and you know that. This is America, where any moron can run for office and usually does. Once you fill out the forms you are fair game.
Maloney, I know we're going to have to agree to disagree on this, but I just don't see how it can make anyone feel anything but uncomfortable.
And did you send it to Videogum? I've always wanted to submit something to Videogum.
He makes you uncomfortable? See, whenever Wamp and Ramsey open their mouths is when I get uncomfortable -- I can handle crazy and incoherent (it's kinda my thing), but crazy and mean really gets my goat.
Didn't send it to Videogum, though...not really a fan of that site, but I read Wonkette religiously.
Wamp and Ramsey are crazy assholes for sure, but I don't have any doubts about their actual mental capacities. Can't say the same for Marceaux, or Alvin Greene for that matter. I totally agree with Tobin. Making fun of Marceaux (let's not kid ourselves, that's what everyone is doing) is just not cool.
Maloney, I once thought as you. (In a long ago column I wrote in The Scene, I made light of a news story about a local man who, prematurely released from the asylum, got arrested for chasing his neighbors with an ax. I was called on it, thought about it, and though I never apologized, didn't do it again.) I was wrong.
Today, it sounds silly to have to say it but, as you can see from the national reaction to this story, we do still have to say it: candidate or not, mental retardation isn't funny.
Tobin and Ashley, I'm going to have to side with Maloney and Pink on this one. On the first Pith post on the topic, when someone suggested that it was mean to make fun of him or expose him to cruelty, Pink responded, " 'Exposing him to public scrutiny was cruel'? HE'S RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR."
The man is actually on the ballot. He could get elected. HELLO?
Yes, it may be sad on some level, but come on now. Dude's a gubernatorial candidate. In fact, he puts the "guber" in gubernatorial.
Henry, I think the accepted term in the 21st century is "developmental disability." Though I'm not the most politically correct speaker myself, so I shouldn't point fingers.
Come on Jack. Kids in Special Ed are allowed to try out for the school play - are you going to laugh during the audition? I don't really buy the "he's doing it to himself!" argument as valid, because let's be real: Basil Marceaux is just as likley to be the next Governor as the Special Ed kid is going to be Romeo.
Look, I'm just as much of an asshole as anyone, we all know that. But the gleeful public shaming of a totally harmless man crosses a moral line for me.
But Ashley, what if we DO elect him? His IQ can't be all that far from Sarah Palin's, and they put her up for VP.
I am absolutely going to vote for him, and do it seriously, because it sends a message about the kinds of 'serious' candidates the GOP is putting out there. I'd rather have Basil than those holy rollers any day. I think Basil is totally honest about his intentions and certainly isn't exploiting peoples' superstitions and fears to get their votes.
I'm the one who said it was cruel to expose him to this scrutiny on the original post, and I stand by it. The suggestion that he's fair game because he's on the ballot is a farce. Before this episode no one knew who he was and there was an absolute zero chance he'd become a nominee, let alone Governor. The suggestion that the candidate should the good sense not to appear on the news is also a farce; anyone can see he is mentally impaired, he doesn't have good sense about anything.
I don't buy the claims that WSMV had to let him on to give time to all the candidates either. He's been excluded from all the free airtime during the debates, as were other candidates who hadn't raised sufficient funds. There was no reason he had to be in this forum.
I just can't help but feeling that everyone is worse off for having had this discussion.
I also think that people are jumping to conclusions when they say he is developmentally disabled, or as some people here seem to prefer, "retarded." He's clearly extreme, and somewhat incoherent, but I think it's in no way a foregone conclusion that he's disabled, and I think it's you folks calling him that who are being insulting. He may not be particularly well educated, and he may express extreme views, but he seems no less coherent than many of the people I've seen on videotapes at tea party rallies. Are they all developmentally disabled?
I know some developmentally disabled people, including two first-cousins, whom I love dearly, but I don't see how they would have gone through the hoops to get on the ballot.
I honestly don't know the answer to this question, but is it that easy to get on the ballot? Maybe it's easier than I realize.
Burrito, I absolutely agree with you about the problems with major party candidates, but I don't think that's the conversation most people are having when they talk about Marceaux.
I'm writing in Batman, I guess.
Jack, have you seen his website? Take a look, and tell me he's playing with a full deck.
Jack, you missed my Facebook hand-wringing over that exact concern. My knee-jerk liberalism makes me worry if, by the very act of NOT mocking someone so easily mockable, I'm being elitist or ableist or condescending. But at the same time, I have lived in Western society long enough to pick up on the vast number of context clues (writing, speech, demeanor) that lead me to believe he’s working with somewhat reduced mental capabilities.
Gawksquawk, I understand where you're coming from, but I don't think being loony and being disabled are the same thing. The developmentally disabled people I know aren't loony in any way. And I don't think loony folks are necessarily developmentally disabled.
If we're talking about insanity, which is a very subjective term, that's different. But is insanity a form of developmental disability?
There are some arguments that are cut-and-dried to me, and this is not one of them. I do see how folks like Ashley, Gawk and Tobin feel the way the do. But I can't say I agree.
While I'm certainly not without blame in fanning the flames of Basil Marceaux's viral-ness (I've done multiple PP posts about him since his WSMV appearance and have used his Web site as fodder for quotes and participated in the short-lived effort to make him a trending topic on Twitter), I've thought better of it and, at the least, stopped poking fun, because it does singe of cruelty; however, as long as others are talking about him, I'm inclined to post about it, especially since the weird, ironic groundswell has begun and, as Tom Humphrey pointed out, if enough ironic voters show up, there's a reasonable chance what was once a completely inconsequential share of the vote becomes consequential (not enough to win, but who knows if he pulls votes from one of the Big Three, although I'd posit any new Marceaux voters are going to be young people who otherwise would have ignored the primary or Democrats crossing over).
I will point this out, though. Marceaux didn't end up on the ballot in a vacuum. Twenty-five registered voters had to sign a petition. At any time in the process, the TNGOP could have rejected him as a bona fide Republican candidate. There's plenty of enablers here. Sure, it's a great story when the developmentally disabled kid scores the winning run in a baseball game - but the coach knows better than to play him at first base every game.
Listen to his interview on Opie & Anthony. I'm not so sure he's disabled. Maybe a stroke or something along the way to slow him down + a bit of a weirdo to begin with, but perhaps not actually incapacitated.
I don't feel like I'm laughing at a dimwit here. First of all, I don't know if he is a dimwit. For all I know, he's performing a fantastic parody of political candidates. Intentional or not, that's what it is. And he's also calling out the media, which pretend all these assclowns are legitimate. It's the same for Wamp and Ramsey spouting states' rights and secession and Islam-is-a-cult nonsense. Why is that any less ridiculous than what Basil's saying? When one of them finishes ranting on Channel 4, Jennifer nods seriously like we're all supposed to treat it like the Gettysburg Address. There are larger issues here. Not that I mentioned any of them in my post. But I was thinking about them. That counts.
Jeff, I'd love to have a discussion of the bigger issues here. However, if he's been making this up, he's been at it a long time.
Check out:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tn-court-of-app…
Granted, he doesn't use the term "promoting slavery" like he does on his web page, but still.
Well look, we can't give people IQ tests before we decide whether it's OK to blog about them. The legislature would go completely uncovered.
After laughing at the video clip, Chris Matthews tosses in
"Hey, it's not what you got, it's what you do with what you got, and he's out there."
Real classy.
Gawksquawk, I still find your outrage a tad melodramatic. Dude is a registered gubernatorial candidate, plain and simple.
Jefe, I agree with JR. FTW!
Henry, your sensitivity is admirable. (But psssst, dude, just fyi, we don't call them retards anymore.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOlM1pPMNBc
Basil makes a rather cogent argument for arming EVERYONE. At least he's being honest about his intentions.
And before I forget, here's the tribute rap:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh82vxHo5PQ
it's pretty terrible, but based on his other videos the kid could be the next harmony korine
I was not going to vote. But now I am voting for Basil. He is the type of Governor our state truly deserves.
Is America's political structure so pathetic that we will back any MORON who gets
far too much internet press?
We must be as stupid as the rest of the world thinks that we are?
Sarah Palin and this "dildo" could actually be the future of American politics.
The intrnet may very well be the downfall of our society.
Some things are better to be left in the backwoods of Tennesee and Alaska.
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ummm who said he was developmentally disabled? Actually, there has been no evidence other than all the "sensitive susans" judging him. He stands for what he believes in and is willing to put everything on the line in order to take that stand. Yes, he does it in a funny way and does not make much sense to the majority of us, but that hardly qualifies him as handicapped. As to how he speaks, he blames that on the loss of the majority of his teeth...seriously, look it up.
