Alec Baldwin: "I'd Love To Run Against Joe Lieberman"

Alec Baldwin, a regular Huffington Post contributor, has been talking about running for political office for years now. It seems he's still considering switching careers someday.

"The desire is there," Baldwin said in an interview with Playboy magazine this month.

Last year, Baldwin told CBS' 60 Minutes that running for office is "something I might do one day."

He was even more candid in his latest comments.

The "30 Rock" star said that an Ohio law firm has already contacted him about a gubernatorial run, and he added that he would "love to run against Joe Lieberman."

Playboy: Will you run for office?

Baldwin: I'll put it this way. The desire is there; that's one component. The other component is opportunity. A law firm in a liberal Democratic bastion in Ohio state politics sent me a binder with a cover letter that read, "Mr. Baldwin, here's who we represent, the kinds of cases we handle, our credentials in Ohio state politics. We want you to move to Ohio and run for governor. We will launch your career."

Playboy: Could you live in Ohio?

Baldwin: I have sometimes thought I could move to New Jersey or Connecticut and run. I'd love to run against Joe Lieberman. I have no use for him. But it's all fantasy. I'm a carry-me-out-in-a-box New Yorker. Here, anything can happen. Who thought Eliot Spitzer would go down the way he did? Senator Hillary Clinton left to serve as secretary of state. Two of the biggest forces gone. Maybe Andrew Cuomo will run for one of their old seats. How much longer will Chuck Schumer stay as senator? After 2013 Bloomberg will be gone. What happens then?

Do I run for Congress on Long Island? What's Tim Bishop going to do? He represents my district. People get sick, die. They're offered lucrative deals and want to cash in and make money for their retirement. People misstep. Unfortunately, an opportunity for me may mean bad things for someone else. I don't wish that.

If he does decide to enter the political fray, however, Baldwin says his competitors will have a plenty to use against him.

PLAYBOY: Did you turn down any (SNL) sketches for being too outrageous?


BALDWIN: Probably a few. It's hard to remember. I'm often asked if I think about going into politics. If I do, these guys will have a field day. I've given them so much crap to use against me... I'm thinking, If I run for political office, they'll have a forest of material to kill me with. 


Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[wizegeye]

I actually enjoy Mr. Baldwin's movies, so I hope he continues with acting and foregos the move into politics.

[ranshofen]

Alec Baldwin has a passion for justice and that's what we need now.

[MotherTrucker]

By the way, if you do run, don't do that flip-flop'ing thing where you start out a "D" and turn into an "R" after election, k?

[misterjoshua]

Oh, please do it, Alec. If you think what the liberal media did to Palin was bad, wait 'til you see what gets put out about you. I hope they tear you down the way they tore down Palin. The only difference is, they won't have to fabricate anything about you. Everything about you is already out there.

[Badger84]

I like Alec and I know he cherishes public service as a privilege, but doesn't he have a bitter ex who would be willing to sabotage his efforts in the media on a daily basis?

[PaulSolomon]

"If I ever run for anything, the thing I would like to be is governor of New York". That's what actor Alec Baldwin told the New York Times in an October 2006 interview. When asked if he was qualified to be governor, Baldwin answered: "That's what I hate about Arnold Schwarzennegar. His only credentials are that he ran a fitness program under some bygone president."

"I'd love to run against Joe Lieberman. I have no use for him," Baldwin said of Joe Lieberman, the Independent senator from Connecticut.

Baldwin went on to say, "But it's all fantasy. I'm a carry-me-o­ut-in-a-bo­x New Yorker. Here, anything can happen. Who thought Eliot Spitzer would go down the way he did? Senator Hillary Clinton left to serve as secretary of state. Two of the biggest forces gone. Maybe Andrew Cuomo will run for one of their old seats. How much longer will Chuck Schumer stay as senator? After 2013 Bloomberg will be gone. What happens then?"

The comments referring to Lieberman have gotten most of the press today, but if you analyze Baldwin's comments, New York is where he wants to be.

The 2010 New York gubernatorial election is up for grabs. But Baldwin is under contract until 2012 with his popular NBC comedy. After that, it's anybody's guess.

The Alec Baldwin versus Joe Lieberman stories, however, have no merit. The "carry-me-­out-in-a-b­ox" New Yorker said so himself.

http://www.paulsolomon.blogspot.com

[KinkyGirl]

There's another section in HP where they want you to nominate dicks. I nominate Alec.

[BlackDemfromNH]

I hope you do run someday, Alec, and preferably sooner than later.

[rabiddog6708]

As long as it is Alec and not Stephen Baldwin......

[yakaloot]

I've been telling you that you should run for office. You've got it together. Sure, they will use everyting against you but you can win . I mean who doesn't like SNL, right? Just stay on the East coast wherever you run and probably Long Island is a good start. Ohio has too many problems so stay out of there!

[lazercat2008]

Because we are aliens and that is the way we roll.

[kynycmbp]

Mr. Baldwin, I am glad you aren't leaving for Ohio or Connecticut. The neighborhood would miss you.

[Agentlady007]

Someone needs to marry him, you know if just to straighten his tie. He can't run alone like Dennis Kuccinich.

[patrickmcdougal]

umm Dennis is married .

[wizegeye]

Yes, and his wife is a foot taller than him and gorgeous. Go figure.

[haridoa]

if yr rdng this alec, i'd be glad to vote for you. I find a lot of yr views compatible w/ mine. but it would depend on the office and who the other choices might be. i'd really like to see you run in a long island congressional district. in fact, i'd volunteer to assist yr campaign.

[carlyt]

don't do it Alec. There is a related video at http://iamsoannoyed.com/?p=2075