In the political thriller Seven Days in May, a novel published in 1962, the U.S. Vice President was named Giannelli. He had no first name nor was his character developed in either the book or the 1964 movie version with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. Yet, the authors assumed that an Italian American would eventually hold that high office. Now, sixty-four years later, an Italo near the Oval Office is still the stuff of fiction.
Geraldine Ferraro had a chance at the VP slot in 1984 but the whiff of organized crime—both in real life and in The Godfather—turned her campaign into a media circus. In 1988 and 1992, New York Governor Mario Cuomo agonized over a presidential run but opted out, possibly fearing a redux of Ferraro’s run. Today, our nearest contestant for the White House is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a politician who barely acknowledges his Italian roots. Perhaps his discretion is well-founded.
Just as an exercise, I counted the number of members with Italian surnames in the current 119th Congress: 15 Representatives, 1 Senator. According to the last Census, Italian Americans make up 6% of the U.S. population, therefore, we are technically “underrepresented.” On the positive side, Sen. John Barrasso, (R-WY) is the second in command (“Whip”) of the Republican majority in the Senate; and Rep. Steve Scalise is the Majority Leader of the Republican majority in the House.
I compared these figures with a report we did in 2002. At that time, we had 19 House members and 4 Senators. Clearly, Italian American voting blocs are a thing of the past, and that’s as it should be as good Americans. But it might also suggest that our political class may have little taste for national office, preferring local office or the business world.
That said, when we hear from Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) that he will spearhead an effort to build an Italian American Museum on the Washington Mall consider it empty bluster (quote: “to create a commission to explore the feasibility of a museum.“) Nor should you believe any of the slogans from organizations that claim to be “our voice” in the nation’s capital. Love him or hate him, our only “voice” in Washington these days is Donald J. Trump. It was he who just placed the statue of Columbus on the grounds of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House. It was on his orders that the National Park Service is restoring the grand Columbus Memorial Fountain in front of Washington’s Union Station at a cost of $12 million.
This fountain hasn’t worked in decades, but none of our organizations cared a wit about it. Even though it is a national landmark, only the Knights of Columbus coordinates an annual ceremony with both the Italian and Spanish ambassadors present. It wasn’t political lobbying that energized its restoration but a reverence at the top for the Great Navigator as a vital part of the coming 250th anniversary of the American Republic.
If you think I’ve lost faith in Italian American political action, you’re darn right. If we ever had political clout on a national level, you’ll have to convince me—I’ve been around too long. The reality is we have our hands full trying to find young people interested in more than Italian cuisine. –JLM
I share Institute founder Mancini’s frustration. We have two political parties: One is mostly evil; the other is totally evil. That said there was a time we had political clout. It was when La Guardia was mayor of NY and FDR was president and they worked together to deliver the Italic vote.
These are interesting musing…..and I am a stage in life that I am going through 50 years of archival materials. In the process of “sorting and tossing” I came across a letter I wrote, and cc’ed to those in Hollywood about the movie “Prizzi’s Honor”. it was dated July 5, 1985. All I would have to do is change the date, and pick the movie….and it would be as current today as then. In it I noted…in the process of being viewed by millions of people[ the movie] it will systematically slander Italian American families, showing its men folk as cold blooded killers, and degrade Italian American women as dull witted. I naively critiqued the move, focusing in on the stereotyping and basic bigotry and sent it on.
Like a diary entry it emerged in my papers. Reflect a bit, since 1985 one can only speculate upon the cumulative effect upon Italian Americana by these cheap hits. Even so, as noted in your comments , is there any wonder why there is such confusion among the generations about their Italian American heritage and the rush to assimilate. Also, to add to my frustration at the time, I concluded my letter with the observation of the many Italian surnamed credits noted in making the move…..tragically that has not changed much either.!
Gee, I wonder what “ethnic/religious” group of Hollywood folks are making anti-Italian-American disgusting HATEFILLED movies? BTW. we WEEP for their past demise, while “they” denigrate our heritage.
I have friends who I respected and was very sympathetic to their backgrounds and tragic histories. Then they turned around and spat on my ethnicity.
KEN: Thanks for sharing. Prizzi’s Honor is well-crafted claptrap. That so many serious critics took it as “serious parody” is itself a joke. The characters are all caricatures.
What’s astonishing is that it was written by Richard Condon, author of The Manchurian Candidate, which is, indeed, one of the best political movie satires in American history. And the reason it still holds up is that it is, ironically, very serious. It has a firm integrity.
Prizzi’s Honor is just a series of cheap jokes, no matter how well-filmed the scenes are.
As per your comment on how self-hating we are: Anjelica Huston is half-Italian, the daughter of John Huston and ballerina Enrica Soma. Naturally, when it came to her Irish side, she dignified it by starring in 1987’s The Dead, her father’s last film. It was an adaptation of James Joyce’s famous short story. It literally glows with love via Irish culture.
Two years earlier, in Prizzi’s Honor, she “honored” her heritage by playing a mobster’s moll, complete with an exaggerated Brooklyn accent. Hollywood then “honored” this defamation with an Oscar, thus giving it a seal of approval–which, as you say, continues.