Jen Kirkman: The Registered Independent

Beginning Monday, September 8, our Pop-Rock Candy Mountain Political Pundit Jen Kirkman will be delivering a series of columns regarding Decision 2008.

Here is the Jen Kirkman Decision 2008 Political Primer

You were an Kusinich supporter early on. What did you see in him?

I am a liberal or Progressive Democrat or a hippie or whatever one wants to call me. Kucinich and I lined up on every single issue. Any issue that I wasn’t sure about – probably meant I knew nothing about it. I appreciate on a policy level that he understands the importance of impeachment hearings. This is not a simple “revenge” tactic or a tit for tat. He believed that our Congress and Senate could simultaneously bring about hearings and get policy made. It’s not a right or left issue, our Constitution has been ripped apart during the Bush years. It’s as simple as that. Democrats have been complacent as well. I know the reality is that they didn’t have a majority or even an equal footing in terms of numbers in the Senate and Congress. But Kucinich was willing to go on record with his opinion because it was the right thing to do. He doesn’t have a defeatist Pelosi attitude which says, “Well, let’s just let this national nightmare be over and we’ll roll up our sleeves and get to work.” Blech. He wants to speak truth to power. I’m also a little bit of a spiritual nerd, that’s the closest thing to a Jesus-like philosophy that I’ve ever heard. It’s sad how the right has hijacked what a true, radical, challenging prophet once said. (Not particularly a believer in the supernatural part of anything written in any religious book but I do try to practice good principles when I hear them, no matter what leader advised it.)

He understands the meat industry as a huge cause of Global Warming and he was a true champion of the poor. He seems like a real public servant.

Did you ever consider supporting Sen. Clinton? Do you think President Clinton helped or hindered her in the primary?

I simultaneously supported Hillary Clinton. I know this sounds incongruous to what I said about supporting Dennis. I see the clear difference between the Clintons and Dennis Kucinich. The Clintons are a stone’s throw left of centrist and can be rightly accused of being Corporatists. However, unlike Neo-cons, I believe that what makes the Clinton’s flawed humans are conditions of the job. As you have seen, Kucinich doesn’t have much power, probably because he’s completely true, real, and selfless. With how Washington is now, those people don’t exactly rise to the top and influence policy. That’s our media’s fault as well. However, the Clintons have done great things for America and I have always been a Hillary fan and do not hold her feet to the fire because her health care plan situation did not go as planned in the 1990’s. I know it was not that black and white. Obviously the fact that she was a woman inspired me and because she was a liberal woman (for the most part) I knew she’d keep my rights safe and perhaps even re-shape how women are seen in this country.

I honestly have such beef with mainstream media, that I don’t know what my opinion is on if Bill helped or hindered. The sound bytes I saw him deliver at times seemed fresh and irreverent (towards Obama) but then again, that’s part of campaigning. I think four years ago, in 2004, I saw tons of “I Miss Bill” bumper stickers. I think that actually her move was in 2004. I think the country was having Clinton withdrawal then and she could have easily gotten the nomination. But she was probably paranoid about appearing too inexperienced.

Was it disheartening to watch John Edwards self-destruct?

Well, in my opinion he did not self-destruct. I don’t know John Edwards personally and I don’t care what he does in bed. I have friends who are politically liberal and they believe that cheating on your wife does indicate that you don’t have the best judgment. It does indicate a character flaw but I think it’s immature to assume it somehow indicates you are flawed in policy making. As far as we know GWB didn’t have an affair and he got us in trillions of dollars of debt, turned back the progress on global warming and more. Our country is very immature when it comes to sex and infidelity.

So, in that sense I was sad that one of the only candidates who truly spoke up for and worked for the poor, will probably have to end their public political career. Hopefully he’ll stay in the game as a public servant and help to right some wrongs and change some lives. Yes. I was sad that his career had to be deconstructed when he had already dealt with this in his personal life. The news media should be ashamed of themselves for obsessing over this when kids are dying every day in an illegal occupation and we don’t honor their service publicly. It’s a disgrace. John Edwards and where he puts his penis is the least of our problems. I’m also not naïve enough to assume that anyone ambitious enough or ‘crazy’ enough to want to be President doesn’t have some insatiable needs and addictions. I’ll say in advance, I don’t care if Obama has two lovers besides his wife.

The only time a politicians’ sex life infuriates me is in the case of someone like Larry Craig who fights every day to keep gays from having their God given rights, meanwhile it’s just an act of self-hatred since he seems to dabble in bathroom homosexual behavior himself. I feel sorry for him.

The single most important campaign issue is…………
Global Warming. Without an Earth – what issues can there be?

What did you think of the convention and Obama’s speech?
I thought people for the most part grew a set of balls. John Kerry’s speech was fierce and fiery and he spoke truth to power. He intelligently dismantled “Senator McCain” versus “Candidate McCain.” I only wished he had not called off the investigation into his loss in Ohio in 2004. I feel like at this year’s DNC, I was seeing the old John Kerry who spoke to Congress about Vietnam back in the day. I felt like the Clintons handled themselves with class and grace. I heard from Randi Rhodes on Air America who reported from the convention that this whole PUMA thing was greatly exaggerated. From what she saw, there was party unity. I thought Obama was great. He almost made a State of the Union speech. It was feel good, as his critics have mentioned but he had policy plans. I’m so glad he stood up for himself with regards to the accusations that he’s a “celebrity” and “doesn’t put America first”. He didn’t lay down and die like Al Gore did when he didn’t explain to his detractors when they said he claimed to have “invented the internet,” just how much he did influence the decision to bring the internet to our every day lives. I also loved Michelle Obama. She was graceful and powerful. Joe Biden made me cry. I’m a sucker for a working class man and his strong mother. And who knew (except that I did) that Kucinich had that beast inside of him that caused him to scream and dance, “Wake up America!” If I wasn’t so exhausted from being disappointed all the time, I just might have been stirred by this DNC!

Were your surprised to see McCain win the GOP nomination?
I was very, very surprised to see McCain win. In the beginning I just thought we’d have a Hillary vs. Giuliani election. I was so sure Rudy would win and I didn’t think this country would care at all about all the scandals that surrounded him during his candidacy. He’s America’s Mayor and the man who lead the country in 9/11, so it’s been shoved down our throats. So, I really, really thought he’d get the fear vote, from people who think Osama Bin Laden is waiting in their bushes to attack them because they have the freedom to get a spray tan and watch reruns of Seinfeld. However, once it got closer and the choices were narrowing down, I think McCain, for the Republicans was the lesser of some evils. They’re never going to nominate a Mormon like Mitt who has a past of being socially liberal. Huckabee had the Evangelical bent but not quite the cowboy image. I think ultimately, people were willing to forgive McCain’s centrist opinions from the late 1990’s and he was willing to buy into the more Neo-Con side of Republicanism and denounce his Goldwater-Republican ways. (Unfortunately).

How do you feel about Palin as his running mate?
Palin, is an amazing woman. I mean, just look at her décor. Any woman who reclines on a couch that has a bear head for a pillow is someone who really respects life! Do I have to say just kidding? First of all, it’s McCain who is playing the gender card more than Hillary ever did. In fact, Hillary never played the gender card. She’s a woman. That’s her card. But McCain was doing this to prove a point. And as everyone is saying, it’s not a good sign for the Republicans that McCain is trying to look like the Obama ticket – young and history making. I disagree with most of Sarah’s policies. I’m not a creationist. I’m pro-life, in terms of stop sending our kids to illegal wars, start cleaning up our environment, start taking care of unwanted kids but I’m pro-choice. I don’t think abortion or birth control is a sin and it’s not the governments’ business. I refuse to let extremists like her own “pro-life.” I’m a vegetarian and I don’t start wars. I find myself to be extremely pro-life! Also – she has no experience and the thought of her being President terrifies me. Now, if you said she was up for a role of a wacky neighbor on a remake of the TV show Northern Exposure, she’d get my vote for that hands down.

Jen Kirkman is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer and voice-over artist. Currently Jen is writing on the late-night show Chelsea Lately on E! and you can hear Jen’s voice on Current TV’s Supernews. Jen performs regularly at the UCB Theatre, Largo and The Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles. She will be appearing (as a stand-up) on the UK’s The World Stands Up and CBS’s Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in the fall of 2008. Jen released a comedy album in February of 2007 titled “Selp Help”

Jen Kirkman Official Site