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Melissa Gilbert Research Paper

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Melissa Gilbert, the actress best known for her portrayal of Laura Ingalls in the 1970s and 1980s television series Little House on the Prairie, announced that she is running for Congress. Melissa Gilbert is new to the political arena, having never held office before, but she is not new to the world of elections or administration. Gilbert was elected as president of the Screen Actors Guild in 2001, and held that office until 2005 when she chose not to seek re-election. Competition is also not foreign to Gilbert. In addition to branching out into the administrative field with the Screen Actors Guild, Gilbert diversified her resume by participating in the television dance competition Dancing With the Stars. Gilbert announced her candidacy …show more content…

And early on, she appears to be running on a platform of helping families. “I’m running for Congress to make life a little easier for all the families who feel they have fallen through the cracks in today’s economy,” Gilbert’s campaign said in a statement, according to NBC News. “I believe building an new economy is a team effort, and we need to bring fresh voices to the table to get the job done.” Melissa Gilbert’s celebrity status may help her in terms of name recognition, but an authentic spirit of cooperation may be what is necessary for the celebrity-turned-politician to be successful, according to Matt A. Barreto, a political science professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. “Name recognition can help early on, but eventually a celebrity politician will still have to run on a well-articulated agenda and set of policy beliefs, and this is where most end up falling short,” Barreto said in an interview with The Washington Post. “However, some have been able to crack into the political arena, and once they do, they face the reality that nobody can govern alone. They have to meet, negotiate and make compromises with the other members of

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