An actress running as a Democrat to represent Michigan in Congress is being labeled a "loser" for dodging local press and messily responding to her previous defense of a child rapist.
Melissa Gilbert, most famous for her role on the 1970s and 80s television show Little House on the Prairie, was given the "loser of the week" title by local Inside Michigan Politics this week after a flurry of negative news coverage, which could spell trouble for her campaign to unseat Republican Rep. Mike Bishop currently representing Michigan’s 8th district.
"No other Democrat running a very uphill congressional race (the MI-8) would snag glossy profiles in The New York Times and Washington Post, but that’s the advantage of being ‘Half-Pint’ from Little House on the Prairie. Gilbert hasn’t been quite so generous with her time to the little people of local media," the Inside Michigan Politics profile read.
In the eight months since Gilbert announced her candidacy, she has made herself "scarce" in the state, local outlet WILX-TV recently noted. During a speech on child abuse in April, Gilbert was unwilling to speak to local press and staffers escorted her from the podium immediately following the conclusion of her remarks.
"I think Melissa Gilbert is relying on people seeing her history as a child actress but I don’t think that washes, I think voters want someone who knows the issues," Republican strategist Stu Sandler said then. "I think they want to talk to someone about why they think they’ll be the best person representing them in Congress."
Gilbert has also undergone scrutiny for sympathetic comments she made about Roman Polanski, who was convicted of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, during a 2009 appearance on The View.
"I think the punishment at this point may be excessive--I don’t know, that’s just my opinion," Gilbert said during a debate about U.S. authorities attempting to extradite Polanski so he could serve prison time for the rape, which he committed in 1977. Gilbert also suggested that there was "gray area" around the allegations.
Gilbert was forced to respond to the past comments during a radio interview in April, when she said "that anyone culpable and anyone knowledgeable, especially the perpetrator though, needs to be brought to justice." She later issued a statement apologizing for the comments.
Gilbert was "thoroughly unprepared" to respond to her defense of Polanski, according to Inside Michigan Politics, and only "revived" criticism when later issuing an official statement.
The profile also mentioned Gilbert’s tax trouble; the IRS last year accused the actress of failing to pay more than $360,000 in federal income taxes from 2011, 2012, and 2013. She also has a $112,000 tax lien in California. Gilbert’s campaign has said that she will pay the back taxes off by 2024.
Still, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee regarded Gilbert as a "top-tier candidate" last August.
"Congressman Mike Bishop’s uninspiring tenure has earned him a spot on the national Republican most vulnerable list because they know his days in Congress are numbered," DCCC Communications Director Matt Thornton said then, according to Roll Call. "Now with a top-tier candidate, Melissa Gilbert in this race, the chances of real change for Michigan’s hard working families go up dramatically."