There are many who are disappointed with the way democracy functions in this country, and some have withdrawn from the process completely. But there is one local woman who sees 2006 as an opportunity to turn this apathy around and have Americans exercise their right to choose the holder of one of the most powerful cultural positions in this country: the American Idol.
For Clara McKinney, a middle school teacher from Cromwell, reality TV is an important democratic outlet in this country, and one that has been too often dismissed.
“Thirty million votes were cast for the last American Idol,” said McKinney. “Thirty million – in a nation of three hundred million. That weak voter turnout compromises the legitimacy of the results.”
So Clara is organizing a “Get out the vote” campaign to encourage voters to participate in the next American Idol season, which starts in January. She has organized public rallies, and distributed informational brochures about the national song contest.
“People need to remember that they are stuck with the consequences of an Idol vote for an entire year,” McKinney said. “It’s your radio, and your MTV that will suffer the most if
America doesn’t make the right choice.”
Voter apathy in the Idol contest has been growing since 2003, when Rubin Studdard narrowly defeated Clay Aiken, sparking suspicions of election-rigging and voter fraud. Massive demonstrations erupted across the country, and nearly resulted in an FCC investigation into the vote. Despite the disappointing outcome, McKinney sees this as the high point of Idol democracy.
“In 2003, we weren’t Democrats or Republicans, Red States or Blue States, Americans or Canadians – we were For Clay or For Ruben. And to be a fan of anybody else was just unpatriotic,” McKinney said.
But after the scandal of the Studdard election, people lost confidence in the Idol elections and began to withdraw from process. This has resulted in several lame duck idols as Fantasia Barrino and Carrie Underwood.
“What have these idols done for America?” McKinney said. “Where are the catchy chick-rock hits of Kelly Clarkson to help us get through our morning commute? What have they done for the American constituency that made them Idols?”
But McKinney has not given up hope. She sees 2006 as an opportunity to revitalize the democratic system and have Americans reclaim their voice in pop-culture. To do this, McKinney has organized a creative campaign
“Idol politics are just as corrupt as regular politics,” she said. And McKinney says she’s prepared to play the game. She runs a website, www.notmyidol.com, which encourages people to contact Fox producers and the current Idol to demand more quality tunes.
“Clearly the Idol producers have candidates they want us to vote for, but we have to let them know that we won’t stand for this corporate intervention,” McKinney said.
For McKinney, it is a central right in a democratic society that the people are able to choose which pop music will be played on their radio. But there are some non-democratic forces that are organizing against McKinney’s democratic mission. The website www.votefortheworst.com has been organizing voters to cast their ballots for the worst contestants on the show.
“Frankly, it’s an insult to the democratic process, and goes against everything this great television show stands for!” said McKinney’s assistant, Allison Dudley. “It is the reason that subjected millions across America had to suffer through Scott Savol butchering classic Phil Collins’s songs week after week.”
Dudley and McKinney worked together to develop three tips for active participation in idol voting.
First, says Dudley, never believe a word Ryan Seacrest says.
“He may be pretty, but he’s also Idol’s #1 Bitch,” Dudley said. “He is Fox’s way of influencing voters to pick Fox’s chosen candidate, despite his or her talent as a pop icon.”
Second, they recommend programming the number for your favorite contestant into your phone or signing up for a text messaging plan, for easy and efficient voting as soon as the phone lines open.
Lastly, move to Hawaii.
“They’ve got their own time-zone, and thus a monopoly on Idol voting between the hours of 2:00-4:00 a.m. EST,” Dudley said.
McKinney and Dudley hope that these points will help voters avoid another scandal like the Studdard/Aiken affair. McKinney sees hope in the upcoming season, as voiced in a recent speech to community members.
“I was disappointed as anyone that Clay wasn’t elected, but in the end, it wasn’t meant to be,” McKinney said. “Was it rigged? Probably. Were there problems with the voting machines? Most definitely. Did Ohio screw us over? Surprisingly, no. Ohio knew their shit back in ’03. But we can’t let this unfortunate experience bring us down. We have to reclaim the contest! As citizens of this great nation and consumers of popular music, we need to make our voice heard. Ignoring this contest is to neglect your duty to uphold the key American principles of democracy and popular music. Next year is when we take this all back.”
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