Pop Culture Media and the Election
On Feb. 29, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee appeared on The Tyra Banks Show to discuss his run for the White House. During the interview, Banks laudably asked Huckabee several questions on his views about equality for LGBT people. Banks asked Huckabee, "What if [gay voters] say, I want to vote for you Governor Huckabee, but I'm a gay man and I want to marry my man. What do you say to that?" Banks went on to press Huckabee about whether or not he was comfortable with marriage for gay and lesbian couples, and instead answered that he was opposed to marriage equality. Banks then explained, "I'm asking you so many questions about this because I love the gays and the gays love me. And I know I cannot walk down the street here in New York City if I didn't press that issue and truly ask you that."
Huckabee is not the first candidate to appear on Banks’ show. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John Edwards have all appeared on the show during the campaign season.
There is no question that pop culture has a huge influence on politics, now more than ever before. During this election cycle, candidates have taken bigger steps to reach out to potential voters by appearing on daytime or late night talk shows, or by writing articles and giving interviews to celebrity magazines. In these venues, the candidates often tailor their stances in a way that is more relatable and authentic for the audience, and LGBT issues are no exception. Instead of discussing specific policy goals, they talk about their broad approach to the issues that resonate most strongly with the audiences that they are speaking to.
As election coverage continues, we will be encouraging viewers to look at the different ways political candidates answer questions about LGBT issues, whether they’re doing an interview on a 24-hour news channel or in a celebrity magazine.
Though Huckabee is no longer in the race, his appearance on The Tyra Banks Show gave voters another opportunity to gain insight into his stance on LGBT issues – and ongoing election coverage in all types of media outlets will hopefully continue to do the same.
Cindi Creager is the Director of National News
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I’m shocked and disappointed that Huckabee would take money from struggling, hard-working Americans in order to fund his campaign. He said in his drop-out speech that it was…”the sacrifices of a truck driver in Michigan, of a housewife who sold her wedding ring on eBay and gave the contribution to the campaign, a janitor in Alabama who has a wife in a wheelchair who gave $20, not out of his abundance, but out of his poverty, so that our campaign could stay on the track.” In a bad economy, why would someone running for President take their money to fund a campaign that was clearly going to be fruitless? What would become of the economy if selfish Huckabee were President?
Jos76
www.jos76.wordpress.com