Capital Letters US politics: Two Cheers for Jerry Springer Hastings Wyman | August 11, 2003 It would be so much fun to have television's shock-and-mayhem maestro Jerry Springer run for the U.S. Senate, and perhaps even more fun if he got elected. Anyone who has spent as much time as he has working with morally challenged lowlifes would surely bring a new perspective to the self-styled "world's greatest deliberative body." The evidence also suggests Springer would be on the side of gay people on most of the issues that might come up in Congress. He was a socially progressive mayor of usually conservative Cincinnati and had gay support before he dropped out of the 1982 governor's race (after he got caught patronizing a massage parlor). While Springer has no voting record on recent gay issues, he has expressed support for gay and lesbian equality, says Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Moreover, the large number of sexually nonconforming guests who have appeared on his show suggests he's not homophobic. On the other hand, the out-of-control misfits paraded on The Jerry Springer Show don't strike me as particularly good ambassadors for the gay community. Rather, they are presented as participants in an action-packed, X-rated freak show. Jerry Springer may have served to deconstruct respectability, but just at a time when gay people - like it or not - are achieving it. Springer knows his show is a double-edged sword. His fame and notoriety create high name I.D. and celebrity status, which have helped draw audiences for him in recent months as he has stumped around Ohio. But he still has to explain away "the show," dismissing it as awful, and anyway, only his job - the job that has provided him with the personal money to help finance a state-of-the-art campaign. So far, Springer has formed an exploratory committee, suggesting he's likely to run, but he hasn't actually tossed his hat in the ring. If he does, he'll face state Sen. Eric Fingerhut in the Democratic primary. Fingerhut has a good record on gay issues in the Ohio legislature, so he might be able to compete effectively for gay support in the primary. Fingerhut is less well-known than Springer, however, and a number of Ohio Democratic leaders are concerned that if Springer wins the primary, his name on the November ballot would create an easy target for the GOP - nationally as well as in the Buckeye State. As for the general election, incumbent U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R) did vote for the hate crimes bill, which helped him rate a middling 43 percent rating on the HRC scorecard in the 106th Congress; but he began to backslide in the 107th, when he rated only a very poor 14 percent. For now, Stachelberg says it's too early for HRC to endorse in the race, which she characterizes as one that will be "important ... and hotly contested." Either Democrat is likely to be an underdog to Voinovich. The Ohio Poll, taken by the University of Cincinnati last February, shows Voinovich would beat Springer by 77 percent to 16 percent, and Fingerhut by a slightly less overwhelming 67 percent to 24 percent. The poll also showed that among Democrats only, Springer would get 29 percent to Voinovich's 62 percent, while Democratic voters would choose Fingerhut over Voinovich by 51 percent to 38 percent. Nevertheless, my guess is that the opinion polls underestimate Springer and that he would fare better when the voter is alone in the voting booth. Indeed, if I were an Ohioan... Hastings Wyman publishes Southern Political Report, a nonpartisan biweekly political newsletter. Previous editions Asking and telling about Wesley Clark Is marriage the next major gay issue? Gay Interests at Mercy of California Political Turmoil