Melissa Gilbert runs for Congress in Michigan but owes $472,000 in back taxes

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GIlbert is launching a bid for a Michigan US House seat as a Democrat
Hammered in 2013 with $112,000 tax lien from the state of California and another $360,000 from the federal government this year
Republican incumbent mocks: 'Gilbert can afford to have a stylist for her dog, but cannot pay her taxes'
Former Hollywood star says she will wage 'fight for working families'
Blames the tanking US economy, a lack of acting jobs and a costly divorce for her money troubles
Recently vacated rented house to move to a woodsy log cabin with husband Timothy Busfield of 'Thirtysomething' and 'West Wing' fame

By David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:37 EST, 10 August 2015 | Updated: 21:43 EST, 10 August 2015

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Melissa Gilbert, the former child star of TV's 'Little House on the Prairie,' is running for a U.S. Congress seat in Michigan, she said Monday.

If she were to win a Democratic primary and go on to claim the 8th District seat, she would be the latest in a scattered group of former entertainers to become federal lawmakers.

Fred Grandy of 'The Love Boat' fame was a four-term congressman from Iowa. 'Sonny and Cher' star Sonny Bono served three years in the House during the 1990s and died during his second term in office. Ben Jones, 'Cooter' on 'The Dukes of Hazzard,' was a two-term congressman from 1989 to 1993.

And onetime Saturday Night Live funnyman Al Franken is now a U.S. senator from Minnesota.

Gilbert's quest to join them, however, could be hampered by a much-publicized $360,000 tax debt she owes to the federal government she aims to join. Uncle Sam slapped her with a tax lien this year, which followed a similar 2013 lien from the state of California amounting to more than $112,000.

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READY TO RUN: Melissa Gilbert, shown with her dog Josephine – who has her own stylist and wears a Louis Vuitton collar – is making a bid for the US Congress

'Half Pint' Melissa Gilbert is going full-bore for a congressional seat but Republicans will hammer her early and often on her tax debts

Gilbert, 51, has blamed her financial troubles on a stalled U.S. economy, a lack of Hollywood roles and a costly divorce.

She said this year that she has an installment plan set up to clear up her debts.

'Like so many people across the nation, the recession hit me hard,' Gilbert told The Detroit News in June when her tax troubles become public.

'That, plus a divorce and a dearth of acting opportunities the last few years, created a perfect storm of financial difficulty for me.'

'I've set up an installment plan to fully pay off my debt,' she said then, 'and will continue to work as hard as I can to erase this debt and dig myself out of this hole.'

CHILD STAR: Gilbert played Laura Ingalls WIlder during the 1970s and 1980s on 'Little House on the Prairie' and later became president of the Screen Actors Guild

The National Republican Congressional Committee wasted no time slamming the child star for daring to recruit voters who may consider her a tax cheat.

'Hopefully tax delinquent Melissa Gilbert didn’t sell her little house on the prairie, because with $360,000 owed to the IRS, she certainly won’t be moving into the House of Representatives,' NRCC spokesman Chris Pack said in a statement.

That sort of criticism doesn't seem to faze her. GIlbert released a statement on her campaign website saying that she's running 'to make life a little easier for all the families who feel they have fallen through the cracks in today's economy.'

'I believe building a new economy is a team effort, and we need to bring fresh voices to the table to get the job done.'

GIlbert's tax lapses first made news around the time she and her husband, the actor Timothy Busfield, announced plans to move with their two sons into a log house in rural Michigan in order to cut down on their costs.

In a tweet, GIlbert spun the move then as a return to 'our own Little House in the Big Woods.'

Busfield said at the time that the move wasn't related to the bottom falling out of their personal finances.

The massive debt, he explained, 'has more to do with the housing crash and divorce in the past.'

'It's a product of what happened with the economy. It's unfortunate and it's been happening a lot. It's not a big deal.'

CABINMATE: Gilbert and her third husband, actor Timothy Busfield, recently moved to a log cabin in rural Michigan as tax debts piled up

POLITICAL THEATRE: Sen. Al Franken (left), former Rep. Fred Grandy (center) and the late Rep. Sonny Bono (right) all made the leap from entertainment to government

Gilbert will hope to face Republican Rep. Mike Bishop in a 2016 general election showdown.

Bishop delivered a 54-42 drubbing to Democrat Eric Schertzing in 2014 after replacing the retiring congressman Mike Rogers.

Stu Sandler, a spokesman for the incumbent Republican, took an early pot-shot at Gilbert, whose nickname on Little House was 'Half Pint.'

'Hollywood Actress and IRS Tax Cheat Melissa Gilbert owes hundreds of thousands to the IRS and wants to get a government paycheck,' Sandler vented.

'Melissa Gilbert can afford to have a stylist for her dog, but cannot pay her taxes. Her values are out of whack with the district.'

She also paid for surgery to remove breast implants in January, saying the decision was the result of a newfound desire to 'focus on what was real and true. I'd lost myself somehow.'

TEN of actress Melissa Gilbert's best Instagram snaps