Update: This story is continuing to develop. Reports have emerged that the voice-over in the ad does not belong to Morgan Freeman. I took the word of B.J. Lawson, as well as those in his campaign, that it was indeed Freeman’s voice. A Lawson press release came on the heels of information I received first hand.
The Lawson campaign now maintains they were duped by the ad’s creators in Los Angeles. But as this story unfolds, we hope to learn whether the source of the untruth came from M.E.I. Political of Los Angeles, the B.J. Lawson campaign, or someone else.
As a blogger who takes the truth seriously, I hate to have have been the unwitting conduit of a lie. Whatever the outcome of the election, I hope the truth comes to light.
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Is Morgan Freeman a liberty caucus Republican? I don’t know. But you don’t lend a voice like that — smoky, fatherly, immanently recognizable — to just anyone or anything.
In the following video, Morgan Freeman puts his famous larynx behind North Carolina Republican B. J. Lawson for Congress in the Fourth Congressional district.
Besides Freeman’s voice, some other things in the ad stand out.
1. Nancy Pelosi has come to symbolize everything wrong about Washington–at least from the center-right. Democrat David Price’s decades-long voting record — more than any other representative’s — resembles that of Nancy Pelosi. Pointing out this fact must certainly have the effect of pins in a voodoo doll for Price.
2. Price has spent more than $250,000 to attack Lawson. This counters the narrative of Republican big spenders and is yet another example of a more-than-ample Democrat war-chest. (Currently, Price is outspending Lawson by about 2 to 1). By contrast, Lawson has enjoyed help from grassroots fundraising efforts–for example, so-called “moneybombs” from small donors. This tactic was first used successfully by Ron Paul in 2008. Lawson, uses all of this to project himself, rather credibly, as an underdog.
3. The ad shows footage of David Price year after year after year. This paints the picture of an
entrenched encumbant–the type most 2010 voters are just sick to death of, whatever their party affiliation. Lawson clearly hopes to exploit the discontent with career politicians and to take his fresh face and Jeffersonian ideals to Washington.
4. People of all parties are asking serious questions about the role of government. And people are asking serious questions about David Price’s role in changing the role of government — for good or ill.
If you can do all those things on one spot with the voice of Morgan Freeman behind you? You’ve done one heck of an ad.
So who is B.J. Lawson?
William Lawson is a Republican in the mold of Ron Paul. He’s known locally for passing out palm-sized copies of the Constitution to would-be constituents — referring to that august document as a “rulebook” by which he thinks politicians ought to govern. Lawson also has a paleocon streak when it comes to foreign policy. He opposes both the Iraq War and what the sees as a counterproductive Afghanistan adventure. This puts him in a strange position of critiquing Price on what is supposed to be a liberal’s issue among liberals — particularly in a district that has historically been locked up by Democrats. (N.C.’s Fourth District includes such progressive strongholds as Chapel Hill and Durham.)
The Lawson/Price matchup is another example of why 2010 is an exceptional year in electoral politics. In a race that, two years ago, wasn’t even close for Lawson, the dapper young medical entrepreneur has managed at least to close the gap. Why? Bromides about “hope and change” have been washed away and replaced by a deep suspicion of Leviathan. Lawson’s messages about limited government and “honest” (versus crony) capitalism are resonating with people–even in a district that blue.
What about the matchup?
Both candidates are well-spoken–which is fairly typical for an area that boasts the highest concentration of graduate degrees in the country per capita. In debates, Lawson’s points are clear and smart. Compared with 2008, he’s learned to be less wonky. Price is certainly no slouch, though. Though older and grayer next to Lawson, Price manages to attack the younger man while coming across as measured and patient. Price projects wisdom and experience, while Lawson projects youthful idealism and commitment to principle. Their debates are fun to watch for people who reflect, but they are not mudslinging matches. It’s “Dr.” vs. “Dr.”
A former political science professor, Price sells himself as a pragmatist who has had, perhaps reluctantly, to support all manner of policies in order to avert economic catastrophe. He talks of navigating the ship of state in difficult and unusual circumstances. Price voted for and continues to defend Obamacare because he believes healthcare could only have been fixed from the top-down by wise elites. He tries to paint Lawson as an extremist who would derail all the carefully thought out policies of technocrats and replace them with a form of a cowboy capitalism–one devoid of compassion.
But as an MD and the founder of a medical software company, Lawson is very credible–particularly on the subject of health care reform. Lawson makes one of the clearest cases for how government has distorted health care and how Obamacare amounts to doubling down on that distortion. Lawson explains how returning health care to patients and doctors through patient-driven policies is just what the doctor ordered. While he is frighteningly knowledgeable on matters of economics — including minutiae of monetary policy — he has done well to steer clear of “End the Fed” type rhetoric during this election cycle.
When punching back at Price, Lawson has tended to focus on Price’s record and his status as an “career politician.” This, of course, is smart rhetoric. The political winds do not favor career politicians right now. Lawson ties his political philosophy to the Founders. Even as most in his district do not share his nostalgia for the ideas of Jefferson and Madison, Lawson manages talk about the Declaration and the Constitution without sounding like a libertarian crackpot.
And that brings us back to Morgan Freeman.
So how did Lawson get the superstar to do the voice over for his ad?
Here’s my theory: Freeman is deeply committed to the ideals of the Founding. Doubtful? Here’s Freeman on the Declaration of Independence:
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he’s just acting. If it’s his job, maybe Freeman would simply put his voice on anything for a dollar. But I bet Morgan Freeman knows what it means to be, well, a free man. Maybe Freeman is convinced that Lawson is one of the few politicians who is truly committed to the Founding Principles he himself admires. If so, Lawson represents one of the last remaining hopes for a Republic that seems to be sliding into the hands of a disconnected power elite (captured by a whole class of dependent interest groups).
So is Morgan Freeman a limited government Republican? I wish I knew. But one thing is clear: If you were a Republican running in a district that includes Chapel Hill and Durham, you couldn’t find a better celebrity to lend his voice to your campaign than Morgan Freeman.
