Politics, the saying goes, is the showbiz of nerds and ugly people. Now she could attract a candidate cool and recognized for his beauty … from the real world of celebrities: actor Matthew McConaughey, who is considering running for governor of Texas in the 2022 election.
And it would be perfectly conceivable that he would be elected.
Un long flirt
McConaughey, whose career has had an extraordinary second wind in the last decade thanks to the award-winning series True Detective and his Oscar-winning performance in the film Dallas Buyers Club, has been fueling rumors for some time. These had circulated a lot last summer and fall, without being denied by the principal concerned.
“The policy seems to me to be broken right now. When she’s going to redefine herself, I might want a lot more [de me présenter] », did he declare two weeks after the almost traumatic election of November 2020.
Then, nothing… until last month, when McConaughey made it clear, for the first time, that a campaign was “really being considered”, before giving an interview on American national television on the Capitol floor of the State, in Austin.
Shock wave
If the actor has not gone further publicly yet, something has just created a real shock wave: a new poll sponsored by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas… that McConaughey would be well ahead of incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott. If Texans voted today, McConaughey would get 45% of the vote, compared to 33% for Abbott. This 12-point gap is surprising in a state that has elected seven Republican governors without interruption since George W. Bush in 1994.
Of course, there are some important caveats right from the start. On the one hand, election campaigns are particularly long and arduous in the United States. On the other hand, McConaughey hasn’t yet had to face tough questions, defend any engagement, respond to a single attack. This lead, anchored at least in part in an affection for a very sympathetic celebrity, could arguably melt like snow in the sun after weeks and months in the political arena.
A particular attraction
However, the other side of this coin also exists: McConaughey, if he is serious and has a minimum of political talent, could also have a particular appeal.
While Hollywood stars are almost all known for their tilt to the left of the political spectrum and their overwhelming support for the Democratic Party (besides a few rare Republican exceptions like Clint Eastwood), McConaughey cannot be portrayed straight away. like “another Hollywood leftist”.
He has remained culturally very close to his Texan roots, professing with his authentic accent his love of barbecue grills and the Longhorns, the University of Texas football team. Most importantly, he is, at least for now, difficult to label as a Democrat or a Republican.
At the 2003 Academy Awards, which took place as the United States began its invasion of Iraq, every celebrity invited to the microphone had expressed, in one way or another, their opposition to the intervention. Filmmaker Michael Moore accepting the Oscar for Best Documentary for Bowling for Columbine, had engaged in a full load striking against President Bush, calling him a “fictitious president”. McConaughey, impassive in the audience, had contented himself with silently wearing an American flag pin.
In the years that followed, McConaughey repeatedly presented himself as a voice of moderation, seeking to reduce the schism between the two traditional parties. Only in recent months, he called on Republican voters, statistically more resistant to health measures, to wear a mask against COVID – 19, before condemning the rise of a culture of censorship within the Democratic ranks.
It has long been and for several reasons extremely rare and difficult for an independent candidate, not affiliated with one of the two major parties, to be elected to a major post in the United States. However, it is as an independent candidate that the pollsters proposed McConaughey.
Not belonging to one of the two “tribes” – and having sufficient notoriety and resources not to need them – could in fact be an important asset for McConaughey. It could credibly present itself as a rare antidote to the current climate of extreme polarization.
Some of the work of a politician, especially in the contemporary media environment, is “performative” in nature. Acting, public performance. Whether one thinks, of course, of Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Donald Trump, Jesse Ventura or even, in a sense, Barack Obama, whose candidacy, although he was a more traditional politician, had a “star” aspect. undeniable.
And part of the job of a candidate is to find your bearings to win a popularity contest. In this regard, Matthew McConaughey would start his campaign in an enviable position, to say the least.
None of this, of course, guarantees that his candidacy will materialize, or that it would result in a victory if he were to go ahead.
But the idea should be taken seriously.
Stranger things have happened.
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