Republican like Me: Infiltrating Red-State, White-Ass, and Blue-Suit America Book

This review originally appeared in the BOULDER WEEKLY

Behind Enemy Lines
In Republican Like Me, journalist Harmon Leon infiltrates the Red (State) Menace to find out what makes conservatives so dang kooky

by Vince Darcangelo
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They're angry. They're hateful. They love their God, their flag and their country, and if your croissant-eating liberal ass doesn't love it, too, you can damn well leave it'and God help you if your skin is a bit too tan. But considering the Republicans control all three branches of government, and have God's precious little wonder boy in the White House, you have to wonder what the hell these kooky conservatives are so mad about.

Harmon Leon has made it his mission to find out.

Whether running through a mock jungle firing an Uzi in Kentucky or enjoying a reasonably priced meal at Applebee's with white supremacists, author, agitator, flaming liberal and first-class playa-hater Harmon Leon is willing to go to great lengths to understand the psyche of right-wing conservatives. In his new book, Republican Like Me, Leon goes undercover as a conservative, infiltrating a rogue's gallery of right-wing groups, including white supremacists (or "racial activists"), abortion clinic protestors, anti-immigration groups and Christian wrestlers who grapple for Jesus in church basements. Along the way, Leon works for Ah-nold's gubernatorial campaign, parties with Young Republicans and tackles many burning questions, such as "Do white supremacists like ice cream?" (You may be surprised by the answer.) The result is one of the funniest and most insightful books ever written, worming into the belly of the Bible-thumping beast and beating the enemy on its own turf. Republican Like Me raises the bar for political humor, turning journalism into a contact sport. There are no pundits or rhetoric-spewing talking heads'just Leon vs. the bad guys in no-holds-barred death match at the juncture of political activism and absurdist theater.

Oh, and did we mention that in his spare time Leon co-hosted a celebrity prank show with O.J. Simpson called, what else, Juiced?

Leon will be speaking at the Boulder Book Store on Thursday, Nov. 10, and at Borders on Saturday, Nov. 12. He recently hooked up with the B-dub to talk about journalism, politics, an angry man with a stopwatch, what it was like to hang with "The Juice," and, of course, those zany Republicans.

Vince Darcangelo: What was the motivation for writing Republican Like Me?

Harmon Leon: The current political climate is ripe for satire. You hear so often in the news that we're a red state/blue state country now, divided. These places that I go into are just so alien and foreign to me. For people similar to myself, especially coming from San Francisco or Boulder, this is just foreign terrain to traverse.

VD: What was the most difficult part about pulling off these infiltrations?

HL: It's been the fallout to the stories once they run. Case in point: You're being recruited by white supremacists at Applebee's. Then you have to deal with months of white supremacist hate mail. Other than that, these places are surprisingly easy to get into once you start a rapport. That's the beauty of the Internet. It connects you right to these places.

VD: Did any of the people mentioned in the book contact you after the fact?

HL: Actually, yeah. Bob. I'm thinking back to the militant machine-gun convention in Kentucky. On the jungle walk, as I'm running down a muddy path with an Uzi, Bob was the guy running behind me with the stopwatch. Bob with the stopwatch sent an angry letter.

The most intense was from the white supremacists. They've got you, and they hate. They hate in numbers and intensity. Abortion protestors are another one you get a lot of extreme, creepy hate mail from. People saying I'm going to spend eternity in hell. When you have these topics, no one can see past the issue to the absurdity. They just see the issue.

VD: What about being caught in the act? At anytime did you feel that somebody had a line on you?

HL: Not in this book. In the past I've been outed when I posed as a fourth-rate Austin Powers impersonator at a Vegas celebrity impersonators convention. They made me give up the wig mid-convention. Those guys are pros! They can spot an imposter impersonator.

VD: How can we be sure that you didn't just write this book to infiltrate the hipster, Daily Show-loving, left wing, urban, liberal elite? Is Republican Like Me mere fodder for the real book you're writing? Are you a double agent working for Bill O'Reilly?

HL: Yeah, that could be it. Just a sidenote, I got booked on some extreme right-wing syndicated radio show this upcoming Monday, so I'm trying to think of some good stuff for that.

VD: Knowingly or unknowingly?

HL: Knowingly. They read the book. I assume it's one of those shows where they're going to be screaming at me a lot. I'm trying to think of the right way to play it.

VD: We've seen a rise in irreverent, smart-ass, politically driven comedy on the left, such as Republican Like Me and programs like The Daily Show. At a deeper psychological level, beyond just for the sake of humor, what is the appeal of this type of political comedy/commentary?

HL: One of the basic underlying principles of comedy is the weak taking on the powerful. In the country right now, the right-wing conservatives hold the power, and those more on the left are sort of the weak. That's why it's ripe for that. That's why a lot of people are taking their frustrations out through humor, be it The Daily Show or the Onion or whatnot.

VD: Were there any moments where you really struggled with what you were experiencing? For example, when you were getting people to sign anti-immigrant petitions, did you struggle with some of the things you had to do to get your point across?

HL: I think the creepy one was the ex-gays [Christian support group], where they themselves I think are victims of a larger machine: a religion that puts heavy guilt upon people. They're dealing with religious guilt and probably alcohol problems. I felt they were victims of some larger, um, what word am I thinking of? Put some clever word in there.

VD: I love the juxtaposition of your commentary in these infiltrations. In particular, I love the repeated use of the phrase "tea-bagging" at inappropriate times. Did you ever get the sense that any of these folks interpreted your comments as sarcasm?

HL: Going from their mindset, I don't think they would fathom that someone would be infiltrating them. I don't think they would think it's a ruse at all.

VD: Along those lines, some of the pseudonyms you were able to get away with using, such as Hal Haterman, seem absurd. Do you feel that the people in these groups were so locked in to their own psychoses that it was easier for you to infiltrate their groups since they were unable to recognize a caricature sitting right in front of them?

HL: The names are half the fun. I think these groups are happy to have new members because they usually don't have a high influx of membership. For example, an actress friend of mine and I infiltrated the parent support group for the ex-gays. It was us and one other parent and the people that ran the group. They're excited to have you. The same with the Young Republicans. The president was taking me under his wing, saying things like, "Gotta look after my new investment." There was pathetically like 12 of them. The same with the white supremacists. They're just happy to have new members.

VD: Two of my favorite anecdotes in the book are when you talk about the Grand Wizard of the KKK who was 50 and on welfare and lived with his mom and that guy Carl, the guy dressed as the Grim Reaper at the abortion clinic. What for you is the greatest anecdote?

HL: It's a less serious one. I liked the Christian Wrestling Federation personally. I just thought that was highly entertaining. I thought all the wrestlers were cool and nice and very friendly. They are earnest in what they're doing, but it's just completely ridiculous.

VD: Was that an infiltration?

HL: It was more straightforward because we also wanted to take the opportunity to film a documentary about it, which I might be showing a few minutes of at the reading.

VD: What's next for Harmon Leon? Or Hal Haterman? Or Chas Lemon? Or Drake Sutherland'American? And will it involve wrestling in a church basement?

HL: I'm finishing up a book that's coming out in a year or so along the same lines. It's kind of like a companion piece to Republican Like Me. It tackles the Promise Keepers, which are local. I joined the Promise Keepers prayer team. Team abstinence educators'I went to a three-day conference for them. Things like that. The Minutemen. I spent a week on the border with them.

VD: How intense was the experience with the Minutemen?

HL: It was intense, and then it wasn't intense, because they are just a bunch of senior citizens with lawn chairs and a lot of time on their hands.

VD: Do you have an acting background?

HL: Yes. One of my big acting claims to fame is I co-starred with O.J. Simpson on a hidden-camera prank show a la Punk'd called Juiced. We filmed it last year. It's basically me and O.J. pulling pranks. O.J. has no comedy timing whatsoever, so basically you have this murder icon pulling unfunny pranks.

VD: What was he like off-camera?

HL: He would be wasted. We filmed one week in L.A. and one week in Vegas, and he would just be propped up in some outfit, wasted. It got kind of creepy toward the end. They claim it's coming out on DVD, but it's been, like, more than a year. I keep hearing it's coming out in two months every time I ask.

VD: That would be great if it does come out.

HL: Yeah, but not for society. Not for adding anything to humanity.