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Satirical Candidate Enters Kentucky Senate Race

thetakeaway.org

A fictional candidate has entered the fray of the 2014 Kentucky U.S. Senate Race.

The bipartisan organization Represent.Us has created Gil Fulbright to satirize what they say is the corrupting influence of big money in politics.

The group's director, Josh Silver, appeared Monday on the public radio program The Takeway.  Silver said satire can be a powerful tool in educating voters.

“We had this idea because we saw a study from the University ofPennysylvania that showed that Stephen Colbert taught more to his viewers about our current broken campaign finance system than viewers of cable news, like FOX or MSNBC or CNN," Silver said. "And we thought there was something here in the psychology of the American public where they are actually more open to and learn better from satire, so let’s try it in Kentucky.”

Fulbright’s “campaign” is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo with the stated goal of “crashing the most expensive Senate race of all time." The money will be used toward a Kentucky bus tour.

John Null is the host and creator of Left of the Dial. From 2013-2016, he also served as a reporter in the WKMS newsroom.
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