If you can't quite figure out where Brian Crowley and his buddies stand on the issues, neither can they. All they know is that they love America, the First Amendment, and public access television.
That may explain why their award-winning public access show We the People (it beat out Lively Experiment and the Cranston East High School graduation at the Rhode Island Public Access awards last year) has shifted from a liberal program that focused on same-sex marriage, stem cell research, and the green movement during the Bush administration to a Tea Party-fueled telecast that labels President Obama corrupt and pokes fun at the off-the-cuff remarks of his animated vice president.
These guys, in the end, are much bigger fans of Adams and Jefferson than any of our last half dozen or so Presidents.
The show's cast of characters: Crowley, a self-described down-the-middle guy who offers mostly libertarian views; Richard, a Biblical scholar who argues that everyone had a job when Jesus was walking the water; and Adam, a truth-seeker who could cook up a conspiracy theory about just about anything, including why RIPTA doesn't run on time.
Together they produce an open forum for folks to rant about everything from government spending to their theories on 9/11.
Crowley explains his dark worldview in a mini-documentary, Left vs Right: The New American Civil War, which he discusses with the joy most people reserve for chats about their children. The documentary, he says, exposes politicians who are purposely dividing the country to benefit themselves.
"The new Civil War," he says, "is about both sides being to blame for what's happening in our country."
Crowley insists We the People has "a huge following with the older people," particularly middle-aged women. And if the General Hospital crowd is already hooked, the next target is younger folk.
That's easier said than done, Crowley allows. The issues plaguing the country right now tend to be too complicated for young people to understand, he says.
Not to mention, kids think public access is lame.
But that won't deter Crowley from trying to build his audience. He says he would ultimately like to have a show broadcast on talk radio station WPRO or somewhere beyond public access, but his goal right now is to continue producing a compelling program.
"We want to have an argument," Crowley says. "But we want to have an intelligent one. I love my country, but I question my government at all times."
Somewhere, Adams and Jefferson are high-fiving. And trying to find the Rhode Island public access channel.
