Last Best Hope For Congress
Jerry Doyle on politics, aliens and Babylon 5.
      by Rachel Hyland

Jerry Doyle: Lone Republican

11th: Personal life getting taken apart... doesn't that happen to entertainers, too?

Doyle: Yeah, but entertainers are allowed to be drug addicts! (laughs)

11th: (laughs) Do you have something that you'd like to confess?

Doyle: No, absolutely not. If they ask the questions, I'll answer them. "Have you ever smoked pot?" Yes.

11th: Did you inhale?

Doyle: Yes.

11th: (laughs) Not really much point, otherwise.

Doyle: No, and you know, when Clinton said that, I knew from that day forward, he was a liar. There was no doubt in my mind who he was that day. Now I haven't smoked pot in a long time, and I can't remember how long it's been... and that's not because I just smoked a joint. It's been a long, long, long time. I think bell-bottoms were in, two times ago. But that's the only thing I've ever done. Y'know, I think you have to give people the honest answers. The problem is that politically, they try and spin it, to make themselves out to be other than they are. You ask me a question, I'll give you the answer... though you may not like it.

11th: A trait pretty rare in politics... Hollywood... men...

Doyle: Yeah, it's like dating, y'know? How many of your girlfriends have said "Oh, I've met this great guy," and then three months, six months later, they're sayin', "God, this guy's nothing like the guy that I met, what happened?" Well, the guy who he is now is the guy that he is. The guy that you met was the guy that he wanted you to meet so that you would get together. And, politically, I don't want someone down the road to say "You're not the guy I elected."

11th: Tell me about the new movie.

Doyle: It's called Deviant Beings.

11th: Hmmm. Sounds...

Doyle: (laughs) Sounds deviant. It's very dark, very edgy. Kind of an urban drama. When I read the script I thought "Right, this is either going to be really good or really bad." It's based on a true story, there's kind of factual stuff...

11th: And if they wait to release it for a few months, you can be in the credits as Congressman Jerry Doyle.

Doyle: (laughs) Well, it's... ah... it's a little gritty, so I'm not sure we want to put that on it.

11th: Do you think your actor profile is working for or against you in the campaign?

Doyle: Well, the thing about being an actor, it has its plusses and its minuses. It can bring you certain attention, perhaps a certain cachet, but on the other side, there are the stereotypes, the "Oh, he's just an actor," "What does an actor know about Washington?", drug addict tags. But I think when people find out that I have a business background, that I was involved with the market and with business in general financially, I think that rounds it out. Of course, Hollywood tends to be predominantly liberal Democrat, and when you're a Republican in Hollywood, you're... it's like you're the anti-Christ. You're isolationist, you're homophobic, you're racist... they have no idea what my political plan is, they don't know my positions, but immediately, you're labeled as a Republican, and I think that's wrong. My goal is to get people excited about the race, and to get the misconception that people have about Republicans changed in this district, and in Hollywood, and if I can do that, I'll have done enough. And if I win... well, then, that's the ring. I think it would be an exceptional honor to have the opportunity to represent this district in Washington DC, and them come back and be a part of the district... just to be a part of the body and have an opportunity to walk those halls.

Jerry Doyle: Not just an actor.

11th: And how do you think Brad Sherman's doing at it?

Doyle: I think he's doing a lousy job. Much like Clinton and Gore -- they're all the benefactors of a great economy. But when you look at his legislation, what he touts as his legislation... you know, he may have co-sponsored a bill, but that just means he and two-hundred and fifty other people cosponsored a bill.

11th: Plus, he doesn't have an entry in the IMDb.

Doyle: (laughs) Well, he was given an "F" by the Chamber of Commerce. And how do you say that you're a fiscal conservative when you're given an "F" by the Chamber of Commerce? He's not a fiscal conservative. He's a bean counter, he's a tax collector. He votes to keep unfair taxes.

11th: What's your ultimate goal in the politics thing? Doyle for President?

Doyle: Um... y'know, people have floated that to me. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it. But... I don't think you become a priest because you want to be the Pope; I think you become the Pope because you were a great priest. Have I thought about it? Sure. But what actor doesn't dream of winning an Academy Award? I know a lot of actors who would already have their speech written.

11th: Do you?

Doyle: It's pretty simple. "To my father, who taught me to love the ocean, taught me how to fish, and said you gotta keep your mind in the water. Dad, we caught the big one -- wish you were here." Oh, and the second part is, "Oh, by the way: I quit." (laughs) But, y'know, what kid playing basketball doesn't dribble around on the court thinking: "Time's running out, three seconds on the clock, he takes the shot, it's in! Swish! He wins the NBA Championships!"? I think anybody that gets involved in most anything has little thoughts about achieving the highest level in that arena that they're participating in. And obviously, politically, the highest level of elected office is the President. [But] while that is a nice fantasy, more important is the first step, getting elected to Congress. Life isn't about a hundred percent success, it's not about guarantees, it's not about certainties. If my run causes me to win, great; if my run causes my opponent to be a better Congressman, great; if issues that I bring up help bring attention and awareness to areas where I think it's severely lacking, then I've done my job. And it's not about Jerry Doyle. It's about the people I hope to represent. And if I lose, I lose. It's not an indictment of me, personally.

11th: And you'll always have Babylon 5: Do you think there's life out there, in space, like on the show?

Doyle: Oh, well... I think'd be very selfish of us to say that we're it. And if we are it, then we're very lucky.

11th: Well, space has been very good to you. Aliens, too.

Okay, but what's his position on aliens?

Doyle: I've known a lot of aliens -- on Babylon 5 -- so I'm very comfortable with aliens, but there are a lot of other people that might not be. I just... I don't know how Americans, I don't know how the world would react if aliens made contact. Are they good aliens, are they bad? One thing I do know is that if Earth was invaded by alien entities, we wouldn't be worrying about racial problems, we wouldn't be worrying about international arms, we wouldn't be worrying about wars between different factions in Africa, we wouldn't be worrying about anything. We would be a planet, united. We would have a common enemy, we'd have a common goal, we'd have to unite in order to survive. Well, we do have a common enemy right now, whether there are aliens or not. It's called cancer. So why don't we put aside what basically are petty differences, and then we can fight the enemy that affects us all? Cancer doesn't care if you're black or white, American, Korean, Chinese... Australian. It doesn't care if you're rich or poor, either. Cancer doesn't care where you live. If we made a decision... like John F Kennedy, in the Sixties, he said that we would be on the moon by the end of that decade, and there we were, in 1969. And if we hadn't done it then, I don't think we ever would have done it. So if we made a decision to cure cancer, or Alzheimer's, in the next ten years, we could do it. It's like... the NASA programs that they keep cutting the funding to -- man, the things they did for us, could do. So many things came from them those missions -- Apollo, Gemini, Mercury -- that we take for granted...

Currently airing on SciFi, and possibly coming soon to a Congress near you.

11th: Tang.

Doyle: Yeah, Tang. And cell phones, and MRIs, and so many other things.

11th: So NASA'd get better funding if you were President?

Doyle: Oh, absolutely. Space exploration, we need that.

11th: And would you tell us about Area 51, Roswell, and the absolute truth about any conspiracy theories involving Government?

Doyle: I think that the citizens of this country have the right to all information that doesn't compromise our national security. I'm kinda curious about it all, though. And who knows... two or three terms as a Congressman, maybe in the Senate... and then suddenly I'm the one taking that last shot in the NBA finals with the clock winding down...

Jerry Doyle talks a good game, but can he make the basket? He shoots... and we'll find out in November if he scores. And before that his alter-ego, Security Chief Michael Garibaldi, can be seen in reruns of Babylon 5 on the Sci Fi Channel, beginning in late September.

The 11th Hour would like to extend special thanks to Jerry Doyle for his participation in this interview, and to Alexander Graham Bell, for inventing the phone. For more information on Doyle's campaign and how you can contribute, please visit DoyleForCongress.com.

We welcome your comments on The 11th Hour and this feature. Please send letters to: letters@the11thhour.com

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