But as he finished the letter, he concluded it would be
pointless to send it to Clinton.
After Vermont, Russo and his family moved to
New York whether they lived until the next summer, when
they drove across the country to California. Along the
way Russo stopped off to meet other people who shared his
sense that something profound had gone wrong in America.
One was Linda Thompson, a concerned and
combative attorney in Indianapolis. When she read Russo's
unsent letter to Clinton, she forwarded a copy to
short-wave broadcaster Bill Cooper.
When Cooper read the letter over the air and
later interviewed its author, says Russo, the avalanche
of calls and expressions of support amazed him. It was
far beyond anything he'd expected, and the response soon
coalesced into an effort to found a new national
political party -- the Constitution Party. Russo's
letter, with a few changes, became the new party's
charter, and the film producer agreed, at first, to serve
as the new party's national chairman.
However, says Russo, it soon became clear that
an informed public was the real challenge facing America,
and to address that task he needed to get back into film
and television production.
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It was at that point,
he says, that he turned the party reins over to Cooper.
Back in Los Angeles, National Review magazine
had put together a conference on Hollywood and politics
and Russo had been asked to speak. His remarks, he
recalls, went over well -- yielding a standing ovation --
and among people coming over to his table afterwards were
several other film and TV producers, one of whom
suggested they co-produce a TV show.
Russo wanted to do it. However, after six
months of negotiations, the prospective partners had
failed to come to terms. At that point Russo went into
discussions with Michael Eisner at Disney. Disney
definitely wanted the project, says Russo, but the
company also wanted more control and ownership than he
wanted to give up. So at that point Russo declined
Disney's terms also.
"Mad as Hell" was the original name
planned for the syndicated TV show that never quite
happened. And when the pilot was released as a for-sale
video, "Aaron Russo's Mad as Hell Video," was
emblazoned across the front of the tape jacket. On the
back was a picture of Russo at a desk, proudly beaming
from behind a television Emmy he'd been awarded.
"It's time to stop
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