Considering our numbers and economic importance, American artists have an amazing lack of political clout. A 2002 study done by Americans for the Arts found that the nonprofit sector of the arts industry generates $134 billion in economic activity annually and employs 4.8 million people full-time. This is just the nonprofit sector of the arts industry—the artist-helper groups. It doesn’t include the economic activity generated by artists themselves. And what comes back to artists from government for these economic contributions? A more recent study done for the Louise T. Blouin Foundation and the OECD found that while Americans are second from the top as a percentage of GDP when it comes to spending on culture, the U.S. government is second from last in terms of its own spending on culture.

The Inter-Species Approach: Continuing its long-standing policy of true diversity and inclusion, a policy that brings together members of other species as well as people of different ethnic, economic, and gender backgrounds, the AAP named a woman artist, Kay Wood, as Baublehead’s running mate. Wood will also act as the party’s designated spokesartist during the upcoming campaign.
(Kay Wood profile)

A Growing Coalition: The AAP has long represented the interests of artists, pet owners, and drivers preyed upon by voracious ticket slinging meter maids. The party’s 2008 campaign has added a new interest group to this coalition—victims of excess credit card interest rates and fines. “The cries of pain from this group,” noted spokesartist Kay Wood, “were just too painful to ignore. And sadly, no other party seems to give a damn.”