Rapper Coolio and Porn Star Cherie DeVille Announce Presidential Run

It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. I guess it's time to tell Vermin Supreme to move over to make room for ore joke candidates for president. Kanye and the Rock had kicked around the idea of running in 2020 already, then there was the "Kid Rock for Senate" thing which (as I had predicted) turned out to be nothing more than a publicity stunt supporting a new album. Joke candidates are nothing new. Alfred E. Neuman has repeatedly been suggested as a candidate. Howard the Duck also was the subject of a joke candidacy. In England, the proto-psychobilly rocker Screaming Lord Sutch started the Official Monster Raving Loony party in the U.K.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Howard the Duck for President. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Election2016?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Election2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/02TLP4hUbb">pic.twitter.com/02TLP4hUbb</a></p>&mdash; Comic Book School (@ComicBookSchool) <a href="https://twitter.com/ComicBookSchool/status/795440418989178880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2016</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Who remembers this? Alfred E. Neuman for President. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElectionDay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionNight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElectionNight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vote2016?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Vote2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/vOaU8cBBsq">pic.twitter.com/vOaU8cBBsq</a></p>&mdash; Rob Rush Fan (@GarlicRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/GarlicRush/status/796162765757050881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>

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In the spirit of Discordianism ("It's not an elaborate joke disguised as a new religion, it's a new religion disguised as an elaborate joke) the line between satire and reality have become increasingly blurred in our post-truth/post-satire world. Joke or not though, it seems porn star Cherie DeVille and bubblegum gangsta-pop star Coolio have put their hat in the ring for <a href="https://fuckingawesome.com/pornstarforpresident/">a 2020 presidential ticket.</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is Boris a Discordian playing Operation Mindfuck on a global stage?<a href="https://t.co/TkF8tWXxw1">https://t.co/TkF8tWXxw1</a></p>&mdash; ScottJefferyMachine (@sjzenarchy) <a href="https://twitter.com/sjzenarchy/status/805399366106226688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2016</a></blockquote>

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"If our criteria now for becoming a political official is minor celebrity, I have that," DeVille told <i>The Hill</i> earlier this week. "I feel like I can be [what] the American people—for better or for worse—want, which is interesting news, scandalous news, you know, not 'boring' political news. But at the same time [I can] do what the American people really need" by being "a person with integrity, and having someone listen to the people."

Running under the campaign slogan <a href="fuckingawesome.com/pornstarforpresident">"Make America Fucking Awesome Again,"</a> DeVille notes that "We're voting for people as if we're on a reality television show." It's certainly true that the most popular candidates in the last election by far, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, were populists with distinctive style and mannerisms who developed a cult of personality very quickly. Former adult star, DeVille is working with porn star Alix Lynx as her press secretary and Coolio as her VP. Coolio, by the way, "is primed to bring the nation CoolioCare."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I welcome any politician who doesn’t come from a background in law, finance, or real estate. <a href="https://t.co/xvKAwGb2On">https://t.co/xvKAwGb2On</a></p>&mdash; Garrick Butler 🤝 (@butleriano) <a href="https://twitter.com/butleriano/status/931210614780829696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2017</a></blockquote>

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DeVille assures us that this is no joke, despite the ample presence of bad puns. DeVille, by the way, received a doctorate and ran a physical therapy practice before launching her career as an adult film star in her 30's, is running in earnest primarily to break stereotypes about sex workers.

"I just want to challenge the public opinion that a sex worker, just because they're a sex worker, couldn't be in public office," she told Reason.

Since the idea developed from the seed of that goal, however, DeVille admits "it's evolved into a real and realistic run for president."

The campaign is backed by the adult entertainment company (wait for it, wait for it…) F*cking Awesome. According to the website, DeVille and Coolio's platform includes support for universal healthcare coverage, marijuana legalization, renewable energy, LGBT rights and liberalizing immigration laws. Or as Reason succinctly puts it <a href="http://reason.com/blog/2017/11/16/cherie-deville-and-coolio-2020">"a mixed bag as far as libertarian leanings go."</a>