If you happen across a truly honest politician, what will his ad sound like? Watch Gil Fulbright, who is running for the Senate against Mitch McConnell and Alison Lundergan Grimes, and I promise you’ll see the most honest politician you will ever encounter. There is nothing Gil won’t admit. He poses with the elderly, the working class, and with his conventionally attractive, yet curiously still family…Including the dog, which I suspect is stuffed. As Gil says, “it’s all about crafting a version of me that will appeal to you.”
Gil openly admits, “Listening to my constituents, legislating — these are things I don’t do. What I do is spend about 70 percent of my time raising funds for re-election. I’ll do anything to stay in office. My name’s Gil Fulbright but hell I’ll change my name to Phil Gulbright, or Bill Fulbright or Phillip Mamouf-Wifarts.” And I believe him.
Phillip Mamouf-Wifarts – or whatever, continues: “These are the things that are important to me, and these are the fine people that finance my campaign. Now in order to do these things I have to stay in office, and to stay in office, I have to keep these guys happy. Now if any of these things make these guys unhappy, well my hands are tied. So come November the choice is clear — do you want another spineless mouthpiece for special interests and lobbyists or a spineless mouthpiece for special interests and lobbyists? I’m Phillip Mamouf-Wifarts and I approve this message.”
Yes, he is too honest to ever get elected, and that’s the point of the ad. Wouldn’t you like to see limts set on the influence of money in politics? That’s exactly why Represent.Us created Gil. Represent.Us, an organization that seeks to “end the culture of legalized corruption that has come to define modern politics,” has put up fake candidate Gil Fulbright to run for the U.S. Senate from Kentucky.
Fake candidate Fulbright already has his own website, Facebook page and Twitter account. Represent.Us originally set a goal of $20,000 which they have surpassed. They are raising money to put ads for Fulbright on television and radio. You can also follow Gil Fulbright’s campaign here, http://igg.me/at/HonestGil
Many advocates for limiting the influence of money in politics make up the board of advisers for Represent.Us.
Included are such notables as ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, 2012 presidential candidate and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute.