Jessica Rabbit, June 6, 1981 (Boston, Mass.) -
VP candidate for Independent (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Tony Clifton (b. 197-)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
2016 saw an unusual candidate rise on the political horizon. His rude and insulting statements-- elevating himself while dehumanizing his opponents as a method of covering his own inadequacies-- were uttered without any consideration about social mores or who would be hurt. His government experience was nil, but he was well known in entertainment circles. He was technically obese and tried to distract that fact with clownish ill-fitting clothes. He had a ridiculous haircut and wore lots of effeminate makeup to hide his age. He was incapable of speaking in complete sentences and snapped out offensive ethnic and sexual jokes in a staccato fashion. He strutted around with an absurd Mussolini pouty face. He danced awkwardly, as if his adult diapers need changing. He was a complete narcissist but had a devoted fan-base to the point of accurately being described as a personality cult.
I am talking, of course, about Tony Clifton.
Clifton was the invention of comedian Andy Kaufman. The obnoxious and toxic Clifton was originally presented as a totally individual character, and as far as I can recall Kaufman never owned up playing the part. Sometimes Clifton would appear alongside Kaufman, and frequently in those instances the part was played by Bob Zmuda.
Kaufman was alleged to have been dead since 1984 but Tony Clifton lives on. In 2016 several writers and bloggers noted the similarities between Clifton and Republican candidate/nominee Trump. Some suggested Trump's campaign was so surreal and ridiculously unhinged it just had to be another one of Kaufman's elaborate hoaxes. Actually the comparisons between Clifton/Trump had been around well before the 2016 election, but somehow the idea of a Tony Clifton doppelgänger in the White House ignited a wave of the kind of existential humor one would expect from Kaufman fans.
On Sept. 1, 2015 a Youtube video posted by Puzzlementary Productions presented a photo animation of Clifton mouthing actual Trump voiced braggadocio and ended the speech with Kaufman's "Foreign Man" voice saying, "Thank you very much." Puzzlementary Productions, which was a rather mysterious organization itself, seemed devoted to perpetuating the urban legend that Kaufman was still alive.
The video promoted the Presidential ticket of Clifton with the over-sexed Jessica Rabbit as his running-mate. The animated Film Noir femme fatale had first appeared as a character in the 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf but then rocketed to fame in the 1988 film adaptation Who Framed Roger Rabbit, with a smokey voice provided by Kathleen Turner.
In 2004 there was a "Jessica Rabbit for President" campaign apparently not authorized by Disney.
It is safe to say the Clifton/Rabbit ticket would have encountered some legal obstacles to actually attaining office in the event of their victory on Election Day.
Election history:
2004 - US President (Independent) - defeated
Other occupations: fictitious character
Notes:
Full disclosure: I have counted myself among Kaufman's fans ever since I first saw him perform in the very first SNL shows back in the mid-1970s. And yes, I sadly accept the fact Andy is really dead.
