“You are without doubt the worst pirate I’ve ever heard of.” – Lt. Norrington played by Jack Davenport

“But you have heard of me.” – Captain Jack Sparrow played by Johnny Depp from the film “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”

There is an old adage in show business saying, “There is no such thing as bad publicity.”

For those looking to advance their careers with higher billings on movie posters or more lucrative recording contracts, perhaps the greater sin would be having no juice or buzz connected to their names.

There is a similar concept in politics called name identification. If you are a candidate for office, you want your name to be more recognizable or familiar to voters than the names of your opponents.

Even if voters carry a generally negative association with a candidate’s name, many voters will still vote for that candidate if the other candidates’ names are unfamiliar to them.

Why? People, in general, and voters, in particular, tend to have short memories and little ability to determine which candidate’s policies would be best for their everyday lives because all candidates try to tell people what they want to hear.

This is why name identification is so coveted by people running for office, and it brings us to the most talked about statewide political story of the month.

The reigning mouth of the South himself, Paul Finebaum, has publicly pondered over a decision about running for Tommy Tuberville’s U.S. Senate seat with Tuberville’s decision to run for governor leaving the seat open.

Finebaum, known for his provocative sports opinions delivered on Disney-owned networks and his call-in radio show, whose coterie of callers sometimes draws comparisons to guests on “The Jerry Springer Show,” stated in a recent interview that the murder of political activist Charlie Kirk caused him to reevaluate his priorities and consider running for Senate.

Who knows if this is merely a publicity stunt or if Finebaum truly wants to run, but this celebrity-meets-polity phase of politics is not new nor is Alabama the only place where it happens.

Of course, President Donald Trump is the most obvious example, but since the turn of the century we have also seen actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, and former “Saturday Night Live” writer Al Franken all get elected to high-level positions with little to no experience in campaigns or government.

What I find interesting about this phenomenon is what it could mean for the future of political parties in the country.

By no means am I suggesting that the Republican and Democratic parties are at death’s door, but how much longer will it be before candidates who already have name identification and the connections to raise money from wealthy donors realize using the party structure itself is unnecessary?

Throughout most of American history, political parties were needed to do the legwork of familiarizing the public with their preferred candidates.

Parties also were useful as a shortcut for voters who may not know much about a candidate’s positions but could assume the candidate with either a D or R next to his or her name would better promote their policy preferences while in office.

Now, social media allow candidates to communicate their ideas to voters without relying on a party or traditional media to help them. They can even individualize social media advertisements based on the content shared on a voter’s account.

And while most people still hold an association with one party over the other, the beliefs of those parties seem to grow murkier by the minute.

I imagine many longtime Republicans squirm at some of Trump’s recent decisions such as significantly raising tariffs, appointing a Kennedy with a history of illicit drug use and a legal career in environmental activism as a cabinet member, and accepting a jetliner from Qatar to be used as Air Force One.

If candidates do not have to use the party to reach voters or adhere to the party’s beliefs, a party seems of little use to a candidate who already has name identification.

Once elected, however, being able to govern while outside a traditional party structure is another kettle of fish. Yet, a cynical person might argue the country cannot even pass a budget in our current system, so how much worse could it be?

Therefore, I would advise you not to snicker when considering the possibility of the phrase Paul A. Finebaum, United States senator. After all, Jerry Springer was once mayor of Cincinnati.