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Rock-rapper Robert Ritchie — better known as Kid Rock — claims to have launched a bid for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat, which has been held by Democrat Debbie Stabenow since 2000. The website kidrockforsenate.com went live today, and Ritchie took to Twitter to affirm the site's authenticity and promise a "major announcement" soon.
As of Wednesday evening, the site was sparse, featuring a photo of Ritchie sitting on a star-spangled chair across from a taxidermy deer with a Made In Detroit logo behind him. There's also a link to buy T-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers emblazoned with "Kid Rock for U.S. Senate." Below the photo is text that reads, "Are you scared?"
(We're just going to assume that was a rhetorical question.)
Ritchie's name was floated as a potential GOP Senate candidate back in February by Livingston County Tea Party activist Wes Nakagiri, who said Kid Rock "has name I.D., is an out-of-the-box idea, and would kind of get rid of that stodgy Republican image." Nakagiri told the Detroit Free Press the candidacy of President Donald Trump — another outspoken celebrity-turned-politician — could be “a template” for a Kid Rock candidacy.
“I’ll bet you he would generate as much excitement as Trump did,” Nakagiri said.
Is this for real? As CNN points out, as of Wednesday evening Ritchie had not filed Federal Election Committee records. What would the politics of a Senator Kid Rock look like? Ritchie endorsed Trump in 2016, and sold T-shirts and other frankly embarrassing pro-Trump merch just in time to cash in on Christmas. (Sample T-shirt slogan: "_onald Trump. The D is missing because it's in every hater's mouth.") So, clearly very wholesome, conservative, traditional GOP values here.
The post-Trump political landscape could be shaping up to be quite the celebrity shitshow. Equally incendiary rocker Ted Nugent had also expressed interest in Michigan's U.S. Senate race, but has recently indicated that he would be calming down his rhetoric — which has included calls for former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to suck his machine gun — in response to the shootings in Alexandria, Virginia last month. Additionally, wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has teased a 2020 presidential bid.
Below, revisit the video to Kid Rock's 1998 hit "Bawitdaba" while our country appears to head into straight-up Idiocracy territory.
