Posted on 08/10/2015 1:53:30 PM PDT by cripplecreek
LANSING, MI — Actress Melissa Gilbert, best known for her childhood role as Laura Ingalls Wilder on "Little House in the Prairie," is running for the U.S. House out of Michigan.
Gilbert, a Democrat who has lived in Livingston County since 2013, announced Monday that she is running for the 8th Congressional District seat currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop of Rochester.
"Here in Michigan, I know people are doing their best to make a good life for themselves and their families. When it comes down to it, I think that's what we all really want," Gilbert said in a statement distributed to reporters and posted online.
"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. I believe building a new economy is a team effort, and we need to bring fresh voices to the table to get the job done."
Gilbert, 51, was born in Los Angeles and is married to fellow actor Timothy Busfield.
She served as president of the Screen Actors Guild -- a labor union representing film and television performers -- from 2001 to 2005 and hit the campaign trail in 2014 as a supporter of Michigan gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer.
Gilbert has had problems with the Internal Revenue Service, which filed a tax lien against her on February 3 claiming she failed to pay more than $360,000 in federal income taxes.
She attributed the unpaid taxes to a "perfect storm" involving the economic recession and a prior divorce, telling The Detroit News she had negotiated a repayment plan with the IRS.
The Michigan Republican Party, pointing to the tax dispute, questioned whether voters should trust Gilbert on the economy. Stu Sandler, a spokesman for the Bishop campaign, said Gilbert's values are "out of whack" with voters in the district.
"It's amazing that a woman who owes hundreds of thousands of dollars, who moved here from Hollywood and has a dog stylist but won't pay her taxes, is considering running for Congress to get a government pay check," Sandler said.
Bishop won the 8th District seat last year, defeating Democrat Eric Schertzing to replace outgoing Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who did not seek re-election.
Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Brandon Dillon last week noted that Bishop has been added to the National Republican Congressional Committee's "patriot program," which is designed to help protect vulnerable incumbents.
Bishop's "career of out of touch statements and votes to hurt his constituents are finally catching up to him," Dillon said Thursday.
“But once you’ve been inside of one of those ships for a while, you’re never... quite whole... again. But you do as you’re told!”
Justin about Anna (played by M.Gilbert)
From Babylon 5 Episode “Zha’Dum”
The similarity to Hollywood is scary !
Every 4 or 5 years, I go back and watch the entire series again. I’m now doing that. Nothing matches LHOP for great tv. Too bad the actors were all flaming libs. Not sure about Melissa Anderson though. The same with Andy Griffith Show - all flaming libs. That just shows you what good actors they were - we tend to think they are conservative in real life.
I wish Nellie would have shanked her smarmy butt.
Shanked her and throwed her in a prairie ditch.
No! Not Half-Pint, nooooo!
Little Fed Bighouse on the Prairie .
Her ex. Bruce Boxlitner has supported R’s in the past.
Too bad they didn’t give her a new head instead - the old one was butt ugly.
“Here in Michigan, I know people are doing their best to make a good life for themselves and their families. When it comes down to it, I think that’s what we all really want,”
Then why are you a Democrat?
To her dismay, Hillbillies co-star Buddy Ebsen called the Shuster campaign and volunteered to make a radio campaign ad in which he called Kulp "too liberal."[13] Kulp said of Ebsen, "'He's not the kindly old Jed Clampett that you saw on the show... It's none of his business and he should have stayed out of it.' She said she and Ebsen 'didn't get along because I found him difficult to work with. But I never would have done something like this to him.'" Garnering 59,449 votes, or just 33.6% to Shuster's 117,203 votes and 66.4%, she lost.[14]
Politics is the last hope for those who have no reasonable means of making a living.
Her current husband is Timothy Busfield. I don’t know anything about his politics but he always sounds like a liberal.
He was accused of sexual battery a few years back but I think it turned out to be some woman looking for a payoff. (boy was she barking up the wrong tree)
Actually its a pretty good plan. All she needs to do is get elected once. Even if she loses next time around she gets a nifty retirement courtesy of the taxpayers. Since her acting career has fizzled, this will get her back into the limelight again. I think you have to be either a narcissist and/or a conman to run as a Democrat these days. Run around and lie about how you care for the little people. If she loses in her bid for election, her liberal friends in the film industry may reward her efforts at battling the evil Republicans and give her some new roles. So win-win for her.
“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...
...she failed to pay more than $360,000 in federal income taxes.
_________________________________________
Gee Melissa I don’t think that’s the same thing..
Not another Actor.
No its SAG
Ronald Reagan was Pres also..
Aww. Half Pint is running for Congress as a RAT.
Oh, you're no fun anymore.
According to the Internet, she's only worth $500,000.
Way more than what I have, but I would have thought the Little House syndication would have made her a wealthy woman.
So now she's going to latch on to the public teat. Lovely.
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