Brent Roske lives on a 45-foot yacht off the coast of Marina del Rey, which is technically on the Pacific Ocean, but for jurisdictional purposes is considered part of the city of Los Angeles and, more to the point, the 33rd Congressional District of California. In January, Henry Waxman, the liberal stalwart who has represented the district with little resistance since the year after Roske was born, announced that he would not seek re-election. Now Roske, who is 39, is part of a field of 18 candidates hoping to represent the heartland of Beverly Hills, Malibu and Bel-Air in the United States Congress.
A former creative director at NBC Universal, Roske is not without assets. He is the producer of a web series called “Chasing the Hill,” which chronicles the campaign of a fictional Democratic congresswoman. He also has support from the White House — or at least the soundstage White House of “The West Wing.” Richard Schiff, who played Toby on the series, has a big role in “Chasing the Hill” and is a Roske friend. So is David Hasselhoff, who played the governor of California on the web series. Should Roske get elected, he already has some bold ideas. He plans, for instance, to hire a film crew to document his every move in office. “People have a right,” he says, “to know what their elected representatives are doing.
Roske describes Waxman as “an honorable man,” but one whose extended status in D.C. has meant that he “no longer really represents the people.” This raises the question of what it means to represent “the people” in America’s second-wealthiest congressional district. (It trails only the 12th District of New York, which includes parts of the East Side of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.) California 33 is, after all, home to what might be the highest per capita population of political dilettantes, “creative activists,” foreign-policy hobbyists and flush Democratic donors in the nation, not to mention large numbers of people who like to tell you about their good friends Bill and Hillary. (And how they were just talking to Bill the other day, in fact, and stay tuned for who they think Hillary’s running mate will be.)
News of Waxman’s departure unleashed a kind of political anarchy on the Botox Belt. “When you represent a district for 40 years, it does tend to produce pent-up demand,” Waxman told me. Initially, fantasies were spun about celebrity candidates jumping into the race and vying “Survivor”-style for the privilege of serving in the People’s Chamber. Roll Call, the Capitol Hill publication, put out a call via Twitter for the likes of Courteney Cox, Danny DeVito and Betty White, as well as a roster of other A-through-C-listers. Ricki Lake and Richard Simmons replied — to say no. Lorenzo Lamas came back with a maybe.
Even so, the existing field reflects the vibrant collection of humanity that resides in California 33. Some are serious candidates, some not — three Republicans, three Independents, one Green, one Libertarian, the rest Democrats. You’ve most likely not heard of any of them except Marianne Williamson, the self-help guru, who dislikes being called a “self-help guru.” (Her spokesman has suggested the term “thought leader.”) Williamson has spoken of turning our political dialogue into “a conversation of the heart.” Katy Perry shows up at her events, as do multiple Kardashians. Kim officially endorsed her in a blog post just before press time. Williamson also received the support of Alanis Morissette, Nicole Richie and, for added sex appeal, Dennis Kucinich. (...)
None of them, however, are enjoying themselves as much as Brent Roske. I met him last month at a diner in West Hollywood. He ordered a meatloaf sandwich, and after a few minutes, Richard Schiff showed up. I wanted to call him Toby — because he is Toby, basically, self-serious, intense and irritable. A group of about a dozen schoolchildren filed into the diner for milkshakes. One had a distinctive, shrieking laugh, which kept making Schiff jump slightly in his chair. “I almost shot that kid right in the head,” he said at one point. “This is why we shouldn’t have a gun culture, because I would have shot him.”
Schiff has many opinions about politics, which we were obligated to hear because he once worked in a TV White House. At one point he said that people from the Obama campaign told him how much “The West Wing” inspired them to get into politics. I don’t doubt this, as Washington is filled with operatives who routinely quote lines from the show and have come to mimic the characters’ fast-talking mannerisms and heady sense that they are always shaping history. “I came to the conclusion that without ‘The West Wing’ — ” Schiff said, then slightly changed gears. “I don’t think Obama — ” He seemed to be struggling for a way to credit the show he was on with the Obama’s election. By contrast, today’s political productions, like “House of Cards,” are darker shows for darker times. Schiff joked that people probably “go up to Kevin Spacey and say, you’re the reason I decided not to” get into politics.
A former creative director at NBC Universal, Roske is not without assets. He is the producer of a web series called “Chasing the Hill,” which chronicles the campaign of a fictional Democratic congresswoman. He also has support from the White House — or at least the soundstage White House of “The West Wing.” Richard Schiff, who played Toby on the series, has a big role in “Chasing the Hill” and is a Roske friend. So is David Hasselhoff, who played the governor of California on the web series. Should Roske get elected, he already has some bold ideas. He plans, for instance, to hire a film crew to document his every move in office. “People have a right,” he says, “to know what their elected representatives are doing.Roske describes Waxman as “an honorable man,” but one whose extended status in D.C. has meant that he “no longer really represents the people.” This raises the question of what it means to represent “the people” in America’s second-wealthiest congressional district. (It trails only the 12th District of New York, which includes parts of the East Side of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.) California 33 is, after all, home to what might be the highest per capita population of political dilettantes, “creative activists,” foreign-policy hobbyists and flush Democratic donors in the nation, not to mention large numbers of people who like to tell you about their good friends Bill and Hillary. (And how they were just talking to Bill the other day, in fact, and stay tuned for who they think Hillary’s running mate will be.)
News of Waxman’s departure unleashed a kind of political anarchy on the Botox Belt. “When you represent a district for 40 years, it does tend to produce pent-up demand,” Waxman told me. Initially, fantasies were spun about celebrity candidates jumping into the race and vying “Survivor”-style for the privilege of serving in the People’s Chamber. Roll Call, the Capitol Hill publication, put out a call via Twitter for the likes of Courteney Cox, Danny DeVito and Betty White, as well as a roster of other A-through-C-listers. Ricki Lake and Richard Simmons replied — to say no. Lorenzo Lamas came back with a maybe.
Even so, the existing field reflects the vibrant collection of humanity that resides in California 33. Some are serious candidates, some not — three Republicans, three Independents, one Green, one Libertarian, the rest Democrats. You’ve most likely not heard of any of them except Marianne Williamson, the self-help guru, who dislikes being called a “self-help guru.” (Her spokesman has suggested the term “thought leader.”) Williamson has spoken of turning our political dialogue into “a conversation of the heart.” Katy Perry shows up at her events, as do multiple Kardashians. Kim officially endorsed her in a blog post just before press time. Williamson also received the support of Alanis Morissette, Nicole Richie and, for added sex appeal, Dennis Kucinich. (...)
None of them, however, are enjoying themselves as much as Brent Roske. I met him last month at a diner in West Hollywood. He ordered a meatloaf sandwich, and after a few minutes, Richard Schiff showed up. I wanted to call him Toby — because he is Toby, basically, self-serious, intense and irritable. A group of about a dozen schoolchildren filed into the diner for milkshakes. One had a distinctive, shrieking laugh, which kept making Schiff jump slightly in his chair. “I almost shot that kid right in the head,” he said at one point. “This is why we shouldn’t have a gun culture, because I would have shot him.”
Schiff has many opinions about politics, which we were obligated to hear because he once worked in a TV White House. At one point he said that people from the Obama campaign told him how much “The West Wing” inspired them to get into politics. I don’t doubt this, as Washington is filled with operatives who routinely quote lines from the show and have come to mimic the characters’ fast-talking mannerisms and heady sense that they are always shaping history. “I came to the conclusion that without ‘The West Wing’ — ” Schiff said, then slightly changed gears. “I don’t think Obama — ” He seemed to be struggling for a way to credit the show he was on with the Obama’s election. By contrast, today’s political productions, like “House of Cards,” are darker shows for darker times. Schiff joked that people probably “go up to Kevin Spacey and say, you’re the reason I decided not to” get into politics.
by Mark Leibovich, NY Times | Read more:
Image: Holly Andres
