Richard Grayson (writer) - Political Activity

Political Activity

In 1983, Grayson filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for President of the United States as a Democrat. Over the next year, the exploits in his humorous campaign to replace President Ronald Reagan were widely covered by newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Perhaps his best-known remark, quoted in Time, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, was his explanation of why he asked the actress Jane Wyman, star of the then-current nighttime soap opera Falcon Crest and the former wife of the incumbent President, to be his Vice Presidential running mate: "She already has experience in dumping Ronald Reagan." Other platform planks in the Grayson campaign included making El Salvador the 51st state and moving the U.S. capital to Davenport, Iowa.

For the next few years, Grayson spent less time on literary fiction and more on what he called "publicity art." In 1982, he received 26% of the vote in an election for a town council seat in Davie, Florida, where he worked as an English instructor at Broward Community College; his sole campaign promise was to give the town's many horses the right to vote. Over the years, Grayson created numerous political action committees, officially registered with the (FEC); these included the Committee for Immediate Nuclear War, the Council of Armed Rabbis, and committees to draft actor Burt Reynolds, designer Gloria Vanderbilt, and socialite Claus Von Bulow as candidates for the U.S. Senate. Grayson also worked as a humor columnist for the Hollywood, Florida, newspaper The Sun-Tattler and published in People Magazine a satirical article alerting readers to the perils of a developing "celebrity shortage."