Previously we highlighted Clay Aiken’s bid for Congress, and now we’ve got another candidate of an entertainment bent: Hollywood New Age self-help guru Marianne Williamson is sending good vibes to voters of California’s 33rd District. Williamson—running as an Independent—aims to elbow out two presumed Democratic frontrunners to capture the wealthy and star-studded region of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Malibu represented by the retiring Henry Waxman.
At a recent meeting with some of her no-doubt beautiful, tanned supporters, Williamson complained that the two-party system and the media’s mocking portrayals of her have reduced her to a “footnote” in the race. But the 61 year-old self-help author is determined to fight political elitism: she feels that “metaphysically it is very important.” Her self-branding reveals L.A. spiritualism juxtaposed with classic political tropes: Her campaign placard features flying doves in front of the American flag, and her campaign website’s slogan is “create anew.” But she's not just up in the clouds: her pragmatic focuses include child poverty, climate change, income inequality, mass incarceration and drone warfare.
Some analysts cite Williamson as a plausible candidate. The upcoming primary for the seat is considered a free-for-all, and—just like dear Clay Aiken—she is aided by name recognition: she’s written 13 books, and accrued $3 million in sales. The books range from the relevant topic of governance, to weight loss, to more shamanistic content: miracles, angels, meditation, priestesses, aligning with the will of the universe and even the way in which sexual intimacies contribute “immeasurably to world peace.” (The State Department needs to get on that.)
And she has quite the list of celebrity connections. She’s been a part of the Hollywood spiritual scene for decades: In 1991 she officiated Elizabeth Taylor’s (final) wedding, has followers ranging from Jane Lynch to Steven Tyler, is a friend of Oprah Winfrey, and even had a bizarre meeting with the Clintons at Camp David in 1994. Bill and Hillary invited Williamson and other spiritualists for a secret weekend retreat that reportedly included sessions in which Hillary Clinton sought advice from deceased leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Eleanor Roosevelt. (That one hit pretty high on my WTF scale.)
When a reporter asked Williamson if she felt rejecting fear and embracing love could save Washington, she replied in the affirmative: “Exactly. And that’s why humanitarian values should replace economic values as the ordering principle of our civilization.” Good luck with that at the Capitol.
(Image: commons.wikimedia.org)
