Glenn Jacobs aka WWE’s “Kane” has taken on many different forms throughout his wrestling career. In his early days on the indie circuits he went by the names Angus King, the Christmas Creature (no, really) and Unabomb. After moving to then-WWF in 1995, he wrestled as Dr. Isaac Yankem, DDS and Fake Diesel before finally settling into the role he would have for the next sixteen years and going: the “Big Red Machine” Kane. It is now rumored that Jacobs may soon attempt to take on a different role – that of a United States Senator.
Reason.com’s Brian Doherty passes along a statement he received from Matt Collins, a political activist who worked with former U.S. Congressman and popular libertarian Ron Paul on his 2012 Presidential Campaign. Collins writes:
As an activist for the cause in Nashville in 2009 I helped launch Rand Paul’s Campaign for US Senate. Rand called me in Feb of that year and wanted my help to get him elected. I am hoping we can do the same for Glenn Jacobs against Senator Lamar Alexander in 2014.
Former Congressman Ron Paul and I have emailed back and forth on this topic quite a bit and he has told me repeatedly “keep telling Glenn we need him to do it. It’s important, he’s exactly the kind of candidate we need.” When Dr. Paul spoke at the Knoxville GOP dinner in April I arranged a private 30-minute meeting with Dr. Paul and Glenn in which the potential candidacy for Senate was discussed.
Although Glenn has been hesitant to jump in the race, thus far, some tea party leaders in Tennessee have already voiced private support for Glenn against Senator Alexander. Obviously if he were to become a candidate that support would increase exponentially. Once Glenn’s breadth of knowledge about economics and his ability to articulate that knowledge becomes widely known, he would be a very formidable challenger. Several of us are working on him daily trying to get him in to the race.
It is understandable why Jacobs would be hesitant to enter the political arena, especially when he earns far more money, not to mention fan adulation, as a professional wrestler than he ever would as a politician. But there are a few reasons that it makes a lot of sense for Jacobs to step into the political ring and battle it out with an establishment politician like Lamar Alexander.
For starters, Glenn Jacobs is 46 years old. While the shelf life of a professional wrestler can be extended longer than an athlete in a “legitimate” sport due to being scripted, the profession does take a hefty toll on an athlete’s body. After over twenty years and a very successful career in the business, it’s quite possible that Jacobs is considering winding down his in-ring career regardless of his decision on whether or not to enter politics. He has certainly made plenty of money and is likely financially independent enough to pursue whatever hobbies or interests he has once he officially retires from the squared circle.
I’ve listened to and read several interviews and articles from Jacobs in the last few years. He has penned many articles for libertarian website LewRockwell.com, and has recently been passionately advocating against the Internet sales tax that many politicians are just seething to pass. Couple that with the fact that he actually sat down for a 30 minute meeting with quite possibly the most influential libertarian voice in modern times in Ron Paul shows that he is at least considering taking his activism to the next level.
Make no mistake about it, if Glenn Jacobs were to challenge Lamar Alexander’s Senate seat, it would not be a publicity stunt. Just last week he gave a speech at event put on by the Tennessee Campaign for Liberty where he discussed the Internet sales tax, Austrian Economics, and the Federal Reserve System. The full video below, for those interested in this sort of thing:
In this speech Glenn displays his incredible depth of knowledge on economics and the issues of the day. He explains how he became interested in economics when he realized “it seemed like the better I do, the more taxes I paid.” He soon developed a passion for economics, particularly Austrian economics, which he accurately describes as the “study of human action, not numbers”.
He goes on to decry the Internet sales tax, and how it would burden small businesses with the cost of trying to comply with not just the tax laws of 50 states – but with over 9,600 different tax systems from counties and cities within those states. While a large company such as Amazon has the capacity to hire thousands of accountants to deal with such a mess, a fledgling Internet business just starting out would be crushed by the bureaucratic nightmare.
Jacobs finishes the speech discussing the Federal Reserve System, and how this private banking monopoly that controls our nation’s currency causes inflation – the expansion of the money supply, which results in prices on everything going up over time. We have all seen this effect in our lives – just look at the rising cost of WWE PPV’s over the years!
Challenging an establishment Republican like Lamar Alexander is never easy for anyone, even someone with name recognition like Glenn Jacobs. But with the likely support of the passionate grassroots libertarian activists that flocked towards Ron Paul’s campaigns and Jacobs own verbal ability, he could certainly make things interesting. That is all before considering the possibility, however remote, that the McMahon family machine could even get behind Jacobs. After Linda McMahon blew $90 million (!!!) on two failed Senatorial bids in CT, perhaps they’d consider throwing some money behind their long time employee who would have a much better chance of winning in a more traditionally “red” state?
Time will tell how this all plays out. In my next article, I will take a look at various wrestlers that have entered politics in the past and their different levels of success. Until then, it’ll be fun to daydream about the Big Red Senator from Tennessee!
