It used to be football, now is it pro wrestling we use to compare life. . . and politics?
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by Jack Stapleton Jr.
If there is an accurate way of measuring the state of American politics today, perhaps it can best be conveyed by the governor of Minnesota, Jesse (The Body) Ventura. He has become one of the nation’s best known, if not its most respected, chief executives, after only a brief tenure in the executive office at St. Paul.
Venture headed the Reform Party ticket in last November’s general election. The former wrestler- turned-politician had the good fortune to be facing two typically lackluster spear carriers for the Democratic and Republican parties. Both of his opponents chose to wage “safe” campaigns purposefully designed to discuss as little as possible the critical issues that were troubling an ignored electorate.
Ventura’s election campaign seemed bizarre at first. But before long it became evident, despite the strange behavior of Reform Party founder Ross Perot, that the Reform nominee in Minnesota was evidencing more common sense than his opponents. Moreover, Ventura was not afraid to discuss hot-potato issues being assiduously ignored by the traditional parties.
The curious fact of the Ventura candidacy is that some of its flavor has carried over to states such as Missouri. Recently as I was preparing to leave for the National Governor’ Conference, friends smilingly asked if I planned to go two out of three falls with The Body, unanimously advising against it. A national poll has ranked the Minnesotan as one of the 10 best known politicians in the U.S., a remarkable feat since he was a virtual unknown except to TV sports buffs a year ago.
Whether Ventura will prove to be a successful political leader in his own state remains to be seen. But his recent sudden fame and popularity are startling reminders of the similarities between professional wrestling, as seen on television, and what passes for today’s professional politics, as seen on C-Span and TV talk shows. Each comes with predictable scripts; each focuses on well rehearsed confrontations, and both have as their objectives the ignominious defeat of their hated opponents. It’s only that pro wrestlers are better actors than most of our party professionals.
As in pro wrestling, election contests are predictable to the spectators before they even get started. Ringside introductions are both overblown and bestow entirely too much credit on the contestants. Once the wrestling battle gets under way, the Good Guy is obvious within the first few minutes of the match, while the Bad Guy, true to form, attempts every dirty trick in the books. In the political arena, depending on the viewer’s beliefs, the contrast between Good and Evil is just as obvious. In both venues, the Good Guy embodies all of your sainted mother’s good qualities, even displaying a bit of naive trusting that you know will be broken by his scheming opponent.
In TV wrestling, the referee proves to be a complete moron. He’s incapable of observing even the most flagrant abuses. In politics, the referees become the myopic enforcers of important campaign laws and the really stupid observers are the media who seem incapable of recognizing fact from fiction and are indifferent to flagrant infractions of the truth. The money grubbing fight promoters turn out to be the expensive political campaign consultants and managers and the horde of evil special interests looking for power and privilege.
Both arenas provide spectators with certain life-lessons, such as never turn your back on your opponent and never give up even when defeat is obviously staring you in the face. Apologists for faked TV matches claim they are providing the crowd with good-over-evil lessons; their political counterparts proclaim their efforts are designed to save the weak from the strong while promising that even in defeat they will live to fight another election.
The extremely bad acting and turkey performances of pro wrestling eventually prove not only tiring but idiotic. So consider the frustration you will encounter upon viewing the disappointing quality of candidates who seek to protect your interests. If you’re frustrated that fixed fights have become the metaphor of America’s political theater, just look over and see who’s lining up to climb in the ring for the next fight.
[Missouri News & Editorial Service, Inc. Copyright (C) 1999 MNES Corp.]