By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com
HARRISBURG — Republican Congressman Bob Sanders declared his candidacy for the GOP Senate nomination in Pennsylvania late last month, calling himself a “commonsense conservative” committed to lowering taxes.
If you hadn’t heard of Congressman Sanders until now, don’t worry. He’s a fictional character for a new politics-themed show called “Moving Numbers,” and the “declaration” he made two weeks ago was actually contained in a mock press release issued to reporters.
Rest easy, Pat Toomey supporters — your candidate doesn’t have a new Republican opponent.
“Moving Numbers,” is a show about the comedy, suspense and dysfunction in Sanders’ campaign, with an emphasis on the consultants tasked to run it.
It is the brainchild of two well-known Pennsylvania political consultants: Leslie Gromis Baker and John Brabender. They’ve made the program, which appears equal part comedy and drama, the centerpiece of a new venture to turn politics into entertainment. They’re calling it “Zolitics.”
The genesis for Baker and Brabender’s idea came about two years ago, when the two hatched an idea to turn their often off-the-wall experiences in politics into entertainment. The 2008 election crystallized their belief that people find politics entertaining, said Brabender, who’s now a senior strategist for Republican gubernatorial front-runner Tom Corbett. Saturday Night Live’s ratings, for instance, soared when they parodied Sarah Palin.
A group of people still to tune in to political coverage to remain on top of current affairs, Brabender said.
“But there was also a completely different target group that really liked politics for the fun and entertainment side,” he said.
He added, “Washington is almost the new Hollywood in a lot of ways.”
The two consultants didn’t have to go far for inspiration. Their years of experience in politics, and the stories they’ve heard from other politicos along the way, provided more than enough material, Brabender said. So when, as Brabender described it, Bob Sanders’ wife in one episode begins criticizing the campaign’s media consultants, that isn’t an unfamiliar scenario in real-world politics.
“We’re billing (the show’s campaign) as one of the most dysfunctional campaigns in America, but every campaign is dysfunctional at some level,” Brabender said. “It’s just that they hide it.”
Brabender and Baker emphasized that none of the show’s characters are a carbon-copy of someone in real life — each is a composite of many different people.
The show could hold extra intrigue for those familiar with Pennsylvania politics. Because Brabender and Baker spent much of their career in Pennsylvania, much of the real-life inspiration comes from the Keystone State.
“In the final episode, people who’ve been involved in politics in Pennsylvania will say, ‘Oh, I remember when that happened,” said Baker, an ally of former Governor Tom Ridge. “People in Pennsylvania know it can actually happen.”
The show wasn’t created only by Republicans Baker and Brabender. Tad Devine, who worked with Al Gore’s presidential campaign, also helped craft the show, along with Sara Taylor, Julian Mulvey, Mark Starcher and Mike Mihalke.
Zolitics will feature an array of politics-themed shows other than “Moving Numbers.” One program will be like reality TV, where journalists compete against one another. Another asks well-known politicos from each party to introduce the other to a part of America that represents their party’s base.
In one episode, for example, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum takes nationally well-known Democratic consultant Donna Brazile to a NASCAR race.
“We wanted it to be entertainment,” said Baker. “We don’t want it to be news. We don’t want to be partisan.”
Baker and Brabender planned to work on the show last year, but a problem emerged: Baker agreed to help raise money in Pennsylvania for GOP presidential nominee John McCain. When she signed up for his campaign, she said she didn’t expect he would win the party’s primary.
“We jokingly said, ‘When (former Massachusetts Governor Mitt) Romney is the nominee, we can get back to it,'” Baker said.
Baker’s political commitments deterred her involvement early in the show’s history. Brabender says the show, many of whose episodes have already been filmed, will not interfere with his work on the Corbett campaign.
Brabender said he’s hopeful the show will be successful, but he’s not ready to become a consultant-turned-director full-time, yet.
“Hopefully I’m not arrogant enough to think that I’m going to be getting a call from Hollywood that they want me to start writing new episodes,” Brabender said.
The first episode of “Moving Numbers” debuts Wednesday on the Zolitics Web site.
“It certainly will give people the political fix they need once the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races are over,” Brabender said.
