"Barrios Means Neighborhoods"

Still the best campaign slogan ever, from back when he was running for Massachusetts state senate the first time. You've probably never heard of him, but Jarrett Barrios is going to be president one day. And now he has a blog. This comes via Matt Stoller who remarks "Barrios was always a favorite MA legislator." I don't know much about his legislative career, but he has crazy charisma, and I think that's primarily what counts in politics.

So far, Barrios is most famous for his involvement in the effort to legislate against Fluff sandwhiches. This struck many as extreme at the time, but with smoking restrictions and trans fat bans spreading across the nation like wildfire, you'll be surprised by what sort of public health measures count as mainstream by the time of the 2032 presidential election. Demolition Man here we come.

Comments

A black sherriff?

I mean...a gay president?

I'm a fan of JB, incidentally, I'd just be shocked. Though it would be interesting to see how Fox News covered his candidacy.

Posted by T_Porter | January 23, 2007 12:36 PM

You're definitely right on the charisma - I hosted a fund-raiser in Dallas for him during his short-lived campaign for Boston DA (he ended up deciding to run for the Senate again instead), and he's terrific in person. Great personal story too, once enough of the old bigtos have died out for the country to embrace a gay President - Cuban/gay/adoptive dad of mixed-race sons. He makes Obama look positively white bread.

Posted by Kevin | January 23, 2007 12:36 PM

I've got to say, even though I love Marshmallow Fluff as much as the next man, I sympathise with Barrios on the sandwich issue. Incidentally we've had a similar situation here in the UK over the last year or so, after a popular TV programme about the state of school meals prompted a campaign to improve the food in state schools which the government eventually agreed to. It's hard to tell how much difference it has made yet, but it's the same principle writ large.

Posted by Ginger Yellow | January 23, 2007 12:40 PM

I'm not from the Northeast and have never eaten Fluff. It looks absolutely vile.

Posted by Jackmormon | January 23, 2007 12:49 PM

They really served that stuff in public schools?

Scary.

Posted by SoCalJustice | January 23, 2007 12:50 PM

Your link to his blog is broken - one too many double quote marks at the end.

Posted by Jasper Milvain | January 23, 2007 1:14 PM

OK, I read the flutternutter article. Merits of the issue aside, Mr. Barrios sure comes off as a prig. I assume he's better in person.

But then, I think every normal person has a deep-seated distrust of fitness enthusiasts, healthy eaters, etc.

Posted by too many steves | January 23, 2007 1:15 PM

That is an awesome slogan.

But while my nannystatedar is pinging at the Fluff bill, we're talking about a general push to get junk food out of schools, which I think is worthwhile. Kids are perfectly able to find junk food outside school grounds.

Posted by Nicholas Beaudrot | January 23, 2007 1:27 PM

"we're talking about a general push to get junk food out of schools, which I think is worthwhile."

Yup. Wanting public schools to serve health food to children ain't Demolition Man.

Posted by Petey | January 23, 2007 1:40 PM

It is an awesome slogan, but MY could easily exploit the same motif if he became a blogger-activist for the christian right.
eg. "Yglesias means churches"
You're missing out, buddy.

Posted by michesmith | January 23, 2007 1:46 PM

A shocking display of hypocrisy from a politician who has office hours at the Honey Dew Donuts and Dunkin Donuts. And, not for nothing, but politics is about hard choices: Honey Dew OR Dunkin. You can't have it both ways.

Posted by johnny | January 23, 2007 1:52 PM

anent Fluff:

Crap lunches in schools aren't new. I subsisted from 1967-1968 on pretzels and Dr. Pepper.

Posted by Jeffrey Davis | January 23, 2007 2:11 PM

Great personal story too, once enough of the old bigtos have died out for the country to embrace a gay President - Cuban/gay/adoptive dad of mixed-race sons.

Sure. All he has to do is have himself cryogenically frozen until, oh, 2550 or so, and it'll be smoooooth sailing.

Posted by Uncle Kvetch | January 23, 2007 3:01 PM

Wow - you mean the old people who watch the 700 Club are expected to live 500 more years? Must be all the clean living.

Posted by Kevin | January 23, 2007 3:13 PM

Well, as long as he's not trying to ban muff sandwiches....

Posted by serial catowner | January 23, 2007 3:45 PM

matt,
as an ex-winnebagan you need to be taking a more vocal stance on the fluff issue. it's delicious and after seven or so summers of fluffernutters look where it's taken you...

Posted by pep and vim | January 23, 2007 4:30 PM

Love me some Barrios. I'd love for him to be in the U.S. Senate eventually. He is, frankly, dreamy - six foot twenty, with a killer smile that makes Mitt Romney look like Dick Cheney. However, as Fluff was invented in my former hometown of Somerville, and much of Somerville is in Barrios' district, he should be careful what toes he treads upon.

Posted by Seth D. | January 23, 2007 6:11 PM

Barrios is not exactly a lightweight http://senatorbarrios.org/aboutjtb.html but he has two strikes against him for president. Well, maybe 3 1/2 strike, the 3 being the fact that he is gay--the other 1/2 being the fact that he is hispanic. It's unlikely that the wacko christians in the US will vote for a mormon for president, and being gay is political death. Maybe senator, but never president.

The only thing going for him is that at least nobody can claim that he's a muslim, or that he went to school at a madrassa.

Posted by raj | January 23, 2007 11:04 PM

Sheesh, eighteen comments and nobody's mentioned the passing resemblance to (fictional, but so what?) Baltimore Mayor Thomas Carcetti?

(or is it not there? I could be seeing things, after all...)

Posted by Chris | January 24, 2007 3:14 PM

This raises an interesting question. Barrios is not just gay, he's one o' them married gays (to a former Al Gore spokesman). So (assuming a certain amount of built-in bigotry that's indifferent to shades of gayness) does this make his sexual orientation more threatening (because he's undermining traditional marriage by being married to a man) or less threatening (because he hews more closely hews to a conventional lifestyle?).

Posted by Kevin | January 24, 2007 3:55 PM