Calif. GOP wants Dennis Miller to challenge Senator Boxer

California GOP eyes comedian
Los Angeles Times
September 28, 2003

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be the latest celebrity to transform himself into a candidate for high California office, but if some Republican political operatives have their way, he will not be the last.

Comedian Dennis Miller is being talked about as a GOP candidate for a statewide post. Three Republican strategists have recently said they want to draft Miller into politics. One, a prominent Republican operative and Schwarzenegger aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that once the recall election is over, he plans to recruit Miller to challenge Barbara Boxer for her U.S. Senate seat next year.

The Schwarzenegger campaign even provided Miller a political audition of sorts last week. The comedian--famous for his raunchy and irreverent rants and his stint on "Saturday Night Live" more than a decade ago--provided the campaign's official post-debate spin in Sacramento on Wednesday night. Later he spoke at a Schwarzenegger rally.

Miller, who is registered to vote as a Republican in Santa Barbara, betrayed no political ambitions in either appearance. He declined to be interviewed for this article.

"There's a lot of us who'd like to see him campaign," said Rob Stutzman, a Republican consultant and Schwarzenegger spokesman. "Dennis Miller is at the cutting edge of biting political commentary."

That Miller is even being talked about as a candidate underscores the realities of contemporary California politics--and how Schwarzenegger's candidacy has already changed things.

"You know all of the people on `Friends' are going to be available. They are making $1 million an episode. Most everybody knows who they are," said Martin Kaplan, director of the University of Southern California's Norman Lear Center, which studies politics and entertainment. "All this drives home the idea, I think a false one, that you don't need any particular skills or background to be a senator or a governor. All you need is ambition and fame."

Democrats and other political experts say celebrities are attractive candidates precisely because of the weakness of California Republicans. Not a single Republican currently holds statewide office.