# Thaddeus McCotter for President! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 1, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556 "2011-07-01T21:22:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/1 "2011-07-01T21:22:00Z")
[Thaddeus McCotter is running for President](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303763404576420132232884332.html?mod=googlenews_wsj) No, I don’t think he has a snowball’s chance in hell. He’s strange looking, he’s sarcastic, and he doesn’t have any fundraising support behind him. But… He’s funny. He’s incredibly smart. He plays in a rock band. [McCotter on Red Eye](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUB78Nte8RA) Strangely, he has a video series called [Rock Solid](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WTbucPl5tU&feature=related) where he plays guitar while talking policy - somewhat like a beat poet. [McCotter using Led Zeppelin as a series of puns and metaphors on the floor of the Congress](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAzD5mKzkOg&feature=related) I love the guy. He’s got no shot. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/2 "2011-07-01T22:00:27Z")
The first sentence of the article you linked says a lot more than anything in your post. > [@](#): > > Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R., Mich.) filed papers Friday to run for president in 2012, joining the race as a long-shot candidate hawkish on foreign policy and sympathetic to labor unions. Really, would it be asking too much for a thread on an obscure politician to at least lead off with party and current position held? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/3 "2011-07-01T22:10:28Z")
Yes, it would. What, were you confused by the rash of Presidential candidates coming out of the Democrat party to challenge Obama? And his policy positions don’t have much to do with it. He’s not going to win, and I don’t even know what most of them are. The point to my OP was he will be interesting and fun to have in the campaign. But I offered plenty of links for you to follow, as you apparently did. Good on you. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/4 "2011-07-01T22:52:01Z")
By “current position held” I meant “Representative from Michigan”, not policy. And there are plenty of folks nobody’s ever heard of who label themselves “Democrats” and challenge the incumbent, so yes, this particular person I’d never heard of could have been a Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![Recovering\_Republican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Recovering\_Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recovering_Republican)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/5 "2011-07-01T23:50:21Z")
Hey, I think I might have found the guy I’m going to back! ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/6 "2011-07-02T01:27:44Z")
Yep, he’s got all the right wing memes down pat and throws in tortured Led Zep references trying to be hip. I will say that’s preferable to Palin or Bachmann, but then again thats a pretty low bar. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/7 "2011-07-02T02:54:48Z")
I couldn’t verify, but is he the same dude that gleefully declared that the WMDs were found in Iraq? Is it just me, or are all of these candidates like a drawer full of dull knives? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/8 "2011-07-02T03:25:51Z")
Led Zeppelin broke up thirty years ago. They’re still considered cool? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/9 "2011-07-02T03:37:32Z")
Yes. Yes they are. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/10 "2011-07-02T03:45:55Z")
Thaddeus McCotter is my representative. There’s a lot of eye-rolling going on around here right now. The party could easily do worse, say, Bachmann or Rick Perry. He’s an upstanding guy, as far as anyone knows he’s scandal-proof. He is intelligent, but personally, I disagree with him on nearly every vote he’s taken. His district is generally middle-to-upper-middle class, and I think he’s out of touch with how bad off most of Michigan actually is right now. He did however vote for the auto industry bailout; around here it would have been political suicide not to. He’s not exactly a mover and shaker, he toes the party line, and **Chronos** ’s unfamiliarity with him is totally understandable. The most notable media attention he’s gotten in the last couple of years is Jon Stewart making a “Welcome Back McCotter” joke, and lately Rachel Maddow’s attention to his aforementioned beat poetry guitar thing. I’m wondering if part of why he’s running is Michigan’s redistricting plan. His district is going to change quite a bit, and it stands to be seen how favorable it will be for a Republican candidate. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/11 "2011-07-02T04:03:27Z")
He is my congressman and he is practically invisible. I saw his remarks about the auto bailouts and thought he was very articulate. But he is a Repub and therefore on the wrong side of rights and Americas financial hopes. He rarely even gets on Michigan TV. i do not see how he can go national when he is barely local. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/12 "2011-07-03T04:00:40Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Thaddeus McCotter is my representative. There’s a lot of eye-rolling going on around here right now. > > The party could easily do worse, say, Bachmann or Rick Perry. He’s an upstanding guy, as far as anyone knows he’s scandal-proof. He is intelligent, but personally, I disagree with him on nearly every vote he’s taken. His district is generally middle-to-upper-middle class, and I think he’s out of touch with how bad off most of Michigan actually is right now. He did however vote for the auto industry bailout; around here it would have been political suicide not to. He’s not exactly a mover and shaker, he toes the party line, and **Chronos** ’s unfamiliarity with him is totally understandable. The most notable media attention he’s gotten in the last couple of years is Jon Stewart making a “Welcome Back McCotter” joke, and lately Rachel Maddow’s attention to his aforementioned beat poetry guitar thing. > > I’m wondering if part of why he’s running is Michigan’s redistricting plan. His district is going to change quite a bit, and it stands to be seen how favorable it will be for a Republican candidate. Nitpick: he ran the redistricting a decade ago. This time around, it was the younge Knollenberg in the state House. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/13 "2011-07-03T04:17:32Z")
Also, **Sam** , you don’t strike me as a Christian zealot. McCotter isn’t your dude. He’s an extremely sly and competent politician, though. I say that after living in his district for the last decade. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/14 "2011-07-03T04:35:59Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Nitpick: he ran the redistricting a decade ago. This time around, it was the younge Knollenberg in the state House. Not sure what you’re nitpicking; I didn’t say he had anything to do with the redistricting this time, I’m saying with his district changing quite a bit it’s going to be hard to tell if it’s favorable to him or not. I know the Republicans in the state legislature tried their best to make it so. That thing’s gerrymandered all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/15 "2011-07-03T09:08:49Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Also, **Sam** , you don’t strike me as a Christian zealot. McCotter isn’t your dude. He’s an extremely sly and competent politician, though. I say that after living in his district for the last decade. I have no problem with religious people, so long as they don’t push it on other people. But anyway, I don’t really even care about his issues - he isn’t going to win anyway. I just like him because he’s a good kind of character to have in the race. He’s funny and smart, and he’ll dryly eviscerate other candidates when they say or do something stupid. I like him as a person - he’s witty and actually quite down to earth. Pretty much all of my exposure to him has been through comedy shows like Red Eye and Dennis Miller, where he has been a fairly regular guest. They bring him on because he can not only bring the politics they want, but he can bring the funny. Watching him trade barbs with Gutfeld is a hoot, and he comes across as a guy who you’d really enjoy talking to over a beer or two. So my evaluation was along the lines of, “He’ll be a fun candidate who brings some life to the race” rather than “He’d be a good President.” I don’t know enough about him to make the latter judgment. As for the his religion - That’s not exactly unexpected for a Republican politician. There are only a couple of candidates running who _don’t_ wear God on their sleeves. It’s the worst thing about the Republican party. It remains to be seen if McCotter would be the in-your-face intrusive type of Christian, or whether he’d be more like an Obama Christian. His willingness to go on the quite racy Red Eye show and his love for Zeppelin and other hard rock suggests he’s not exactly a fundie. But you would know better than I if you live in his district. Does he push religious/social issues? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/16 "2011-07-03T20:12:04Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Not sure what you’re nitpicking; I didn’t say he had anything to do with the redistricting this time, I’m saying with his district changing quite a bit it’s going to be hard to tell if it’s favorable to him or not. I know the Republicans in the state legislature tried their best to make it so. That thing’s gerrymandered all over the place. Derp. Reading compehension FTW. His district now looks to be pretty damned favorable to him. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/17 "2011-07-03T20:18:19Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I have no problem with religious people, so long as they don’t push it on other people. But anyway, I don’t really even care about his issues - he isn’t going to win anyway. I just like him because he’s a good kind of character to have in the race. He’s funny and smart, and he’ll dryly eviscerate other candidates when they say or do something stupid. I like him as a person - he’s witty and actually quite down to earth. Pretty much all of my exposure to him has been through comedy shows like Red Eye and Dennis Miller, where he has been a fairly regular guest. They bring him on because he can not only bring the politics they want, but he can bring the funny. Watching him trade barbs with Gutfeld is a hoot, and he comes across as a guy who you’d really enjoy talking to over a beer or two. So my evaluation was along the lines of, “He’ll be a fun candidate who brings some life to the race” rather than “He’d be a good President.” I don’t know enough about him to make the latter judgment. > > As for the his religion - That’s not exactly unexpected for a Republican politician. There are only a couple of candidates running who _don’t_ wear God on their sleeves. It’s the worst thing about the Republican party. It remains to be seen if McCotter would be the in-your-face intrusive type of Christian, or whether he’d be more like an Obama Christian. His willingness to go on the quite racy Red Eye show and his love for Zeppelin and other hard rock suggests he’s not exactly a fundie. > > But you would know better than I if you live in his district. Does he push religious/social issues? [Here](http://thatsmycongress.com/house/repMcCotterMI11112.html). Like I said, he’s sly like a fox. He casts empty votes that are good for his constituents, but only when it’ll pass/fail according to the wishes of the Republican Party as a whole. The lone outlier might very well be the auto bailout bill. ---
**Author:** ![bahia\_hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@bahia\_hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bahia_hombre)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/18 "2011-07-04T14:36:39Z")
Another musician-politician. Huckabee, Bill Clinton, Lee Atwater, Richard Nixon…off I go to Wikipedia… ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/19 "2011-07-04T16:23:38Z")
Saw him in the parade this morning. There was…very little applause, for him, or for any of the other elected officials marching there either. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556/20 "2011-07-04T19:50:33Z")
He’s sarcastic, smart, and very funny. _This_ is the kind of Republican I’d want to have a beer with (not someone like the dopey and fake W, or some sanctimonious asshat like Palin.) I can’t imagine ever voting for him, but I’m always glad when people like him get more attention. He’ll make the GOP debates a lot more interesting, I expect. I hope he gives the leading candidates a run for their money. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thaddeus-mccotter-for-president/587556.md?page=2)