Is this the next trend — celebrity liberals running for office? If not, why not? They’re self-funded; they have high name recognition; there’ll be plenty of Republican incumbents needing challengers next cycle thanks to last week’s Democratic mass extinction event; and, of course, Al Franken proved that they can win. What does Pelosi, now the leader of a rump caucus, have to lose? In fact, since the left is forever whining about Blue Dogs, celebrities might be their best/only bet to win purple districts with liberal rather than centrist candidates. An average joe with Baldwin’s platform won’t attract independents in a swing district, but the guy who cracks people up every week on “30 Rock”? Sure, worth a vote.

You mean to tell me you’d rather have Barbara Boxer as a senator from California than George Clooney? C’mon.

America’s favorite fictional mogul could be looking to move his office from 30 Rock to Capitol Hill, MSNBC reported today.

The network is quoting sources close to actor Alec Baldwin as saying the actor intends to challenge Randy Altschuler of New York for Congress in two years if the Republican candidate ends up winning the House seat currently occupied by Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y. The Altschuler-Bishop race is one of a handful still deemed too close to call; the most recent count shows Bishop, a four-term incumbent, trailing by less than 400 votes.

Baldwin is no stranger to politics. He has been both criticized and acclaimed for his outspoken support of the Democratic Party (he donated $2,000 to Bishop’s campaign this year), and in an interview with CNN last year, revealed his interest in running for public office.

“The desire is there; that’s one component,” he said. “The other component is opportunity.”

I think Beltway lefties should recruit exclusively from Hollywood for their next class. That love affair’s been going on for decades now; it’s time to finally make it official and start producing some offspring. To Alec Baldwin, the first of many! And speaking of doughy politicians from the tri-state area, via Mediaite here’s “Red Eye” regular Marc Lamont Hill speculating that Chris Christie’s a tad too chunky to ever be elected president? That was probably true under the old rules, but I think Christie now actually benefits from his girth insofar as it lends him a certain authenticity with the public. He’s the anti-Obama both fiscally and physically, the opposite of what a “celebrity” politician looks like. If he were a woman, he’d unfortunately be in trouble, but as an, ahem, “approachable” male, he’s doing just fine.