Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Shonda-Gate!

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Last night Fox25 had the absolute idiotic gall to dial up a couple of celebrities — chef Jasper White and Red Sox wife Shonda Schilling — and have them ask questions on behalf of, you know, the rest of us who don’t make lots and lots and lots of money. Bad enough as it is to pass these people off as Joe or Jane Voter.

But now Adam Reilly tells us Shonda’s not a voter of any sort in Massachusetts. She ain’t registered. Can’t do anything in November.

Good work, Fox 25. Let us know if you actually find a voter next time.

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Comments

    • I don’t know if she, and/or Curt, is a full time resident… Most pros have at least two houses: Paul Pierce, for example, lives in LA in the offseason. Jason Varitek lives in Georgia…  She may not be eligible to register. Worth looking into.

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      In any event, if ever I meet Curt Schilling in person, I’m gonna tell him that I’m pitching next time he’s on the rotation… Hey, if he can stick his nose in politics without being asked, I can certainly pitch for the Sox! (results, in both instances, sure to be disastrous… =-)

      • To be fair, in a democracy, everyone is entitled to–and encouraged to have–political views.  The way that celebrity gives some people an extra platform for their politics is absurd, but if we complain about it for Curt Schilling (whose politics I find repulsive), then we aren’t in much position to get excited when Moby or Bruce Springsteen endorses John Kerry.

        • Moby or Bruce Springsteen aren’t being posited as Massachusetts voters, though.  I didn’t see Shonda’s question (Fox apparently realize that some of us go to a magical place called “work” and don’t get home by 6pm) but I assume it was heavily implied, if not directly said, that she has a personal investment in this matter.

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          My first thought when I heard about it was “how does she care?  as though her kids go to public school!” but it’s great that’s not even the primary issue now!

            • That is interesting to hear.  I actually would have thought otherwise not even so much for income reasons, but just because private schools usually are much more flexible about their students travelling a lot, and obviously with his job he has the opportunity to have his kids travel a lot too.

            • their kids actually do go to public school.

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              Yes, but in fairness, when the public school system is in a town where the average house price is $600k, and when there are  plenty of million dollar homes, how does this really differ from a private school?

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              I’m sure there aren’t a lot kids whose parents earn the minimum wage going to school with Curt’s kids.

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              In the past twenty-five years, I’ve seen the public schools in this state become “general public” and “pseudo private”.

          • I fully agree that having Schilling–or Jasper White, or any celeb–ask questions as an “average voter” was absurd, and probably a bizarre grab for ratings and buzz by Fox.  I was resonding to Petr’s comment that if Curt Schilling was allowed to talk about politics, then he should be allowed to pitch for the Red Sox.  Schilling doesn’t need anyone’s permission to talk about politics, though I cringe whenever he does.

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            Around the 2004 election, there was some graffiti in Harvarde Square that read, “Schilling is a two-faced prick traitor.”  I chuckled.

            • I suppose that you also chuckled when Rumsfeld used that epithet to describe non-supporters of the Iraq war?

              • If don Rumsfeld wants to callme a prick or a traitor, he’s welcome to.  And I’m not sure what your subject heading is supposed to mean, but if you think I’m a prick or a traitor, whatever.

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                I was amused to see that others shared my dislike for Schilling’s politics.  i don’t expect graffiti to be particularly polite or demure.

  3. Jim Brodie on 96.9 Talk did a check and Curt is registered in Medfield as an unenrolled voter – so maybe he’s voting in two places? đŸ™‚

  4. Sheesh, this post ranks pretty high on the pointless whine-o-meter.  Wasn’t there a rumor of a push poll at which to be outraged?

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    Its not like she asked a particularly loaded question: “Why, Mr. Patrick, do you support the firing of white teachers?”

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    Sounds like she asked a simple question on merit pay for teachers that illustrated that Healy is for it and Patrick is for it, but not really.

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    Difference highlighted; function of debate fulfilled.

    • making too much sense.  You are too level-headed and unbiased.  Haven’t you been drinking your KoolAid?

    • No problem with that. The idea of having celebrities ask questions on behalf of the voters is insulting.

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      And if the post is pointless, isn’t complaining about the content of the post doubly so? đŸ˜‰

      • The manufactured outrage on this particular non-issue is almost self-parody; the posters are reacting like the “Are you oppressing me?” guy from The Holy Grail. And all this after their guy came out of the debate looking pretty good.

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        Yes, my post was an over-reaction, but its stems from frustration with the tendency of some to rush to feel politically victimized, all the time.  The same tendency by the “That’s anti-Christian!” people on the right is equally irritating.

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        We didn’t lose an un-losable election by running a poor campaign (or having a poor candidate); the election was stolen, and that series of negative ads that went undefended just wasn’t fair. 

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        Whiny is not an appropriate posture for a winning political movement. 

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        And it was an anonymous comment on an internet message board.  Can’t get much more pointless than that.

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    • I think you are completely missing the point.

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      The questions were to be asked by “Average voters” and they were referred to by Chris Wallace as “regular people.  Of the four, two of the “regular people” were actually Republican celebrities, a third a “regular” Republican and the fourth is not listed as a registered voter.

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      Of the two celebrities, one is not registered to vote in Massachusetts and the other is a maximum contributor to the Republican candidate.

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      To me, that’s not “pointless” whining.  That raises legitimate ethics concerns about the media outlet hosting this event.

        • We should ALL feel victimized.  Regardless of whether its Shonda Schilling or Ben Affleck asking the question, the entire notion of needing celebrities to address issues that are germane to the citizens of Massachusetts reeks of condescension.  It says that we either a) can’t formulate questions and opinions on our own or b) need a talking head to hold our attention.

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          If you can’t acknowledge this simple truth, you are either a WFXT shareholder or simply ignorant of the facts.

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