Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer | The Idealist

Jerry Springer· Soundbite0:01

I run because it has become increasingly evident that unless some new alternative, some new initiative, some new approach, is injected into the political life of our community, we are destined to lose here at home the very prize we seek to defend abroad, the politics of participation.

Leon Neyfakh· Host0:18

This is Jerry Springer at the age of 25. At the time of this recording, he had just made the surprising, some might say arrogant, decision to run for Congress in Ohio. Springer had only recently moved to Cincinnati to work at a local law firm. He looked like a classic carpetbagger, and this alone made the congressional run an uphill climb. But it got even worse. Springer was also a liberal, a progressive even, and he had decided to run in a very conservative district, where he would be competing against a five-term Republican incumbent.

Jerry Springer· Soundbite0:53

My campaign is based upon the proposition that the answers to the problems which currently plague our cities, our towns, and our homes, are not to be found in the decisions in Washington. They are instead to be found in the hearts, minds, and resources of our own people here at home.

Evelyn Springer Strout· Soundbite1:12

The intonation was exactly Robert F. Kennedy.

Leon Neyfakh· Host1:14

With a slight Queen's accent.

Evelyn Springer Strout· Soundbite1:16

With a slight Queen's accent, right.

Leon Neyfakh· Host1:17

Evelyn Springer Strout wasn't surprised to see that her little brother was in a hurry to run for office. Gerald, as she still calls him, had worked for RFK's presidential campaign before moving to Cincinnati,