The United States of Basil Marceaux Dot Com

In an age where political upstarts use every tool available to gain exposure, Basil Marceaux is decidedly lo-fi — despite the Web 1.0 “Dot Com” in his name. As one of the Republican candidates for governor in Tennessee’s upcoming mid-term elections, Mr. Marceaux is a curious case. In a recent televised address aired on WSMV-TV, it’s hard to tell — on first look — whether Marceaux is nervous, had recently been beaten about the head and face with a sack of old doorknobs, or perhaps a little bit of both. The resulting public address is equal parts terror and amusement.

While much will be written about Marceaux in the next few days (as he quickly burns his way through a Minor Internet Celebrity Famecycle), mainly fueled by a bored American workforce spreading OMGs and LOLs among friends, there’s something to admire in the man’s apparent buffoonery. He’s rather honestly asserted himself, however haphazardly, into a political process permeated with cynicism and contempt. It appears Marceaux means well, if only in his own mind. But given his abysmally scatterbrained platform — I’m gonna remove all goldfinch flags from the state! — good intentions (that only make sense to him) don’t amount to much of anything.