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Willie Nelson for Vice President? Roseanne Barr courts country icon on Twitter

Roseanne Barr is elevating her presidential campaign by trying to land a potential running mate on Twitter. 

 

Chase Hoffberger

Tech

Posted on May 14, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 5:12 pm CDT

Comedian Roseanne Barr is not joking about her presidential run.

The cherished comedian announced her bid for the Green Party nomination in February, filing the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and everything. Since then, she’s maintained an active political voice on Twitter, regularly retweeting anti-GOP news articles and posting messages drenched in pro-Green Party sentiment to her 117,000 followers.

On Saturday, Barr turned her attention towards more pressing matters: finding herself a vice-presidential candidate who will elevate her political platform without stepping on her toes.

Her first options—director Michael Moore, shock jock Howard Stern, boxer Mike Tyson, punk icon Jello Biafra, and actor Woody Harrelson—all came and went without much of a bite. But the comedian was active enough in her pursuit to attract the attention of music legend Willie Nelson, who tweeted to Barr with at least some expression of interest.

“I would be happy to run w u,” Nelson wrote to Barr on Saturday morning. “After thinking about it awhile it kept sounding better Are u still interested?”

Naturally, Barr was ecstatic. She wrote back in all caps that their collective intelligence could help save the country, but the flame was short-lived. It only took two hours before Nelson realized that he wasn’t the only option in her sights.

“I see u are speaking to some1 else regarding ur vp running mate,” he wrote. “I know whoever ur choice is they will be happy to serve w u.”

“Im not ready 2 get n2 politics,” Nelson wrote in an ensuing tweet. “I have stayed away this long I am content 2 sit on the sidelines & criticize every1 else”.

Nelson’s concession launched a cavalcade of tweets and retweets from Barr trying to win the Texas icon back, but her efforts fell on deaf ears. Nelson wished her luck and returned to tweeting what he tweets best: promotional information, specifically his upcoming performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Photo via Roseanne Barr

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*First Published: May 14, 2012, 12:28 pm CDT