Chrissy Gephardt, a gay activist who works as a spokeswoman for the Stonewall Democrats, a voter-recruitment group, and serves on the board member of the Victory Fund, which works to elect openly gay and lesbian candidates, says her family ties had never prompted her to think about running for office. But while helping out with her father’s presidential campaign last year, she reconsidered. When her father’s press secretary told her about the reality show, she jumped at the chance to test her political prowess.
NEWSWEEK’s Jennifer Barrett Ozols spoke to Gephardt about how the reality show compared to her experience on her dad’s real campaign, and about her own political aspirations. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: Why apply to be on “American Candidate”?
Chrissy Gephardt: I hope to get into politics some day, and I thought this was an interesting show and a good opportunity to expose people to politics who aren’t normally interested in politics. This show, because it is a blend of entertainment and politics, has the potential to draw in a different audience.
How many people were you up against in the final casting call?
There were 25 people, and they picked 10. I don’t know how many applicants there were to begin with, but I hear it was a lot more.
I know you’ve almost finished filming for the show. Did you find any similarities at all between your experience on “American Candidate” and your work on your father’s real presidential campaign?
A lot of the events were like real events, but the way you moved from one episode to the next was not real politics; it was reality TV. People are eliminated as if you were voting, but we are not voted on by the American public. It’s the other candidates that vote you off. It’d be like having the Democratic [presidential] contenders voting off the other candidates. I don’t know about that. There were times during the show when I’d say, “Wait, this is not how things are done, this isn’t how politics work.” But I had to keep reminding myself that I was on a reality show. At the end of the day, it is entertainment. If it was all politics, it’d be on CNN.
Or C-Span.
Right. It’d be boring.
What are the issues you focus on?
I focus on health care, education and building a strong community. Then also equality for all people–and that doesn’t necessarily mean gay and lesbian equality, but all sorts of things like access to health care and education for everyone.
Besides winning the show’s prize, what do you hope will come out of your campaign?
I hope that people hear my message on the show. I comment on why it is important to bring new people into politics and into the mix and how we need to change things to do that. We need to speak the language of all Americans–not just rich, educated white people. I feel the way our political system is set up now, and who the politicians cater to, is a very select group of politically active people, and they have a monopoly on the political system. Politicians are influenced by all these special-interest groups. Reality TV aside, my message is a serious one.
What is your specific message?
That politics should be for everyone–for all Americans … We need real people [in politics]–whether it’s someone who’s working class or someone who’s worked two jobs or hasn’t had the opportunities most politicians today have had.
Political strategists say that’s the appeal of John Edwards, and why he was picked for the Kerry ticket.
Yes, that’s one reason people connect with John Edwards, that he came from a working-class family. That goes a long way. Kerry does not have that. If people think you are wealthy and a spoiled brat–and I’m not saying Kerry is–people feel you are a million light years away from them. We need new faces in government and politics that are more representative.
Do you see yourself as one of them?
I do.
But you’re a well-educated white person whose father is a longtime congressman.
People will look at me how they will, but my parents made sure we went to public schools and hung around diverse people and worked for everything we had. Nothing was just given to us. I wasn’t handed things, I had to work for them. People are going to accuse me anyway of being part of the Gephardt family, but I feel my situation isn’t perfect. I know I didn’t grow up in a poor family, but I can raise awareness to get others involved in the political process.
While we’re talking about your dad, did you see the New York Post cover that incorrectly identified him as Kerry’s new running mate?
Oh, yeah. [Laughs.]
Has he seen it?
Yeah, he thought it was hilarious. I’ve got four copies of it.
You should frame them. So what did your dad say about your decision to run in the “American Candidate” show?
He thought it was a great idea.
Did he influence your decision to go into politics?
Yeah, it actually started a year and a half ago when I worked on my dad’s presidential campaign. For a very long time I was turned off from politics and had no interest, but after being so involved in the presidential campaign, I saw that I could make a difference in my small way. And I came to really respect and have such a great amount of awe for what my father has done for the past 28 years. I hope I can make my mark in a way that he has. I have also been overwhelmed since my dad has dropped out of the race with people coming up to me and saying: your father is such a respected man, a decent man, and we have been following him for years and we really respect him. To hear that was so powerful. I think we all want that said about us–that we’re good, decent, smart and we’ve made our mark.
Do you see “American Candidate” as a way to test the waters for a run for office?
It is and it isn’t. I mean it is a TV show. I have been talking to my dad a lot. And he’ll say that is not necessarily how it is in the real world. We have had some laughs.
Do you think that gay and lesbian issues are being taken more seriously now in the presidential campaign?
I think gay and lesbian issues are being taken a lot more seriously. What we saw last summer when all 10 candidates were in the race, they were tripping over themselves to be the most gay-friendly candidate…they are taking the gay vote very seriously.
Do you think that gay voters can have an impact?
If we got most of the gay community to vote, we could be a huge swing vote constituency and we could swing an election.
The U.S. Senate vote fell short this week of the number of votes needed to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment banning gay marriage. But supporters are insisting that they will continue to push for it. Do you think we’re more likely to see the federal legalization of same-sex marriage in our lifetime–or a constitutional amendment banning it?
I think the Republicans, and George Bush particularly, will continue to bring this up. I don’t think it is over. But I also think we will see more court decisions, state decisions, to give gay and lesbian people more rights at the state or federal level.
You’re in a pretty serious relationship now, right? Are there any plans to tie the knot?
We have talked about getting married, but neither of us are ready for that. We’re not exactly going to run up to Massachusetts and get married. I think we would wait until it came to where we live in Washington, D.C. We’re not going to do it just to make a statement.
So what are your plans after “American Candidate”? Do you think you’ll run for Congress or for president someday?
I think definitely it is something that crossed my mind. But first I need to start as a city-council member or a state representative. I’m not ready to jump right up there. Who runs for president right off the bat?
