Posted on 05/02/2007 1:23:06 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Republican Rudy Giuliani once derided Hollywood in his Senate bid against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Today, as he pursues the presidency, he's collecting checks from actors Adam Sandler and Kelsey Grammer, and Paramount studio chief Brad Grey. The entertainment industry has always been a wealth of cash for political candidates—a whopping $27.5 million in the 2004 election cycle—and Democrats traditionally have been the top draw. In the last election, $7 out of every $10 from the industry went to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Yet, the latest campaign finance reports show Republicans making some inroads, not only with the handful of more conservative stars but also the generous Hollywood players hedging their bets.
Of the GOP candidates, Giuliani, the former New York city mayor, counted several big and small screen donors as well as producers and studio executives.
Sandler, who shares a love of the New York Yankees with Giuliani and tapped him for a cameo in his 2003 movie "Anger Management," contributed $2,100. "Frasier" star Grammer and his wife donated $6,900. Mark Vahradian, who produced "Annapolis" for Paramount, gave $2,100. Writer-producer Lionel Chetwynd, an Oscar nominee for co- writing 1974's "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," gave more than $4,200.
Grey, who helped the mayor negotiate a book deal, kicked in $4,200 to Giuliani's campaign. Grey, the former executive producer of a Giuliani favorite—the acclaimed HBO mob drama, "The Sopranos," also contributed to Clinton and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.
Hollywood would have been an unlikely source of money for Giuliani eight years ago.
In his short-lived Senate bid, the then-mayor scoffed at celebrity culture, saying of Clinton: "She can have the Hollywood crowd." Throughout his two terms, Giuliani was no Hollywood favorite even though he sought to bring film dollars to the city.
He traded jabs with Rosie O'Donnell, criticized violence in movies and scuttled plans for the launch party for Talk Magazine, partly owned by Miramax Films, at the city-owned Brooklyn Navy Yards. Clinton appeared on the cover of the magazine's first issue.
Asked if Giuliani was looking at Hollywood differently, his campaign didn't respond directly.
"We are grateful for the support for Mayor Giuliani's leadership from across the country," spokesman Jarrod Agen said.
A West Coast trip for Thursday night's Republican debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., provides Giuliani and the other GOP candidates a chance to pick up a few more checks.
Sen. John McCain has five fundraisers in California, including a reception in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. Giuliani planned fundraisers in Los Angeles and Orange County. Mitt Romney chose another Hollywood venue to increase his visibility—he planned to trade jokes with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show."
In the three-month period in which the candidates raised money—Giuliani nearly $15 million—the Hollywood cash was more curio than cascade for the GOP. Former Reagan White House aide Kenneth Khachigian says only half-jokingly that you can count the Republicans in Hollywood on your fingers.
It's Democrats like Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama who are banking the expected windfall from the left-leaning entertainment industry.
Obama has gotten checks from Tom Hanks, Tobey Maguire, Eddie Murphy, Edward Norton Jr., Morgan Freeman and Ben Stiller, among others. In February, he held a closed-door fundraiser arranged by DreamWorks studio founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.
"It's like a night at the Oscars" when Clinton or Obama hold fundraisers, Khachigian says. Because of Hollywood's liberal complexion, conservatives "just don't speak out."
An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance, found that Democrats took in more than $4 from donors in the movie, music or TV business for each dollar contributed to GOP candidates. Clinton led the list with $837,000, followed by Obama with $687,000. Among other leading candidates, John Edwards banked $322,000; McCain $244,000 and Giuliani, $108,000. Mitt Romney had $73,000.
McCain lists a single actress, Mindy Stearns, but also received donations from producers including Jerry Bruckheimer and Lorne Michaels. Bruckheimer produced Hollywood blockbusters like "Beverly Hills Cop," "Pearl Harbor," and "Top Gun." Michaels is the creator and producer of NBC's "Saturday Night Live." McCain has been a host on the long-running show.
Romney had only a single donor in the first-quarter report listed as an actor, Tamara Gustavson, though he collected money from producers and writers.
"Our campaign has been more focused on the support of grass-roots activists and community leaders than the Hollywood community," said Romney spokeswoman Sarah Pompei.
Hollywood Republicans have been more prominent in decades past, when the GOP could count Clark Gable in its ranks, but a shift to the left took hold in the 1960s.
Largely because of President Bush, "the distance between the Republican Party and the celebrity-entertainment world is greater than ever," says Jonathan Wilcox, a GOP strategist who teaches a course on politics and celebrity at the University of Southern California.
There are exceptions to the Democratic power structure, such as Charlton Heston and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former action star who lives in Los Angeles. The governor, who is married to a lifelong Democrat—Maria Shriver—has Hollywood supporters from both political poles, and his re-election campaign was backed by Spielberg and Katzenberg.
One potential Republican candidate who could shake up Hollywood politics is former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, known for his role as district attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's drama "Law & Order."
Given his ties to the community, Thompson "could pull a few Hollywood people," Khachigian predicted. "But not many," he added.
They don’t like Hillary either.
You know you’re a far-left loonie when Hillary Clinton is too “right-wing” and “warmongering” for you!!
Could it be the people they're getting money from are conservatives, not left wingers?? I don't exactly see Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon or Jane Fonda on the list of their Hollywood contributors. Not everyone in Hollywood, especially the producers, are left wing.
Get over the "I must attack everything having to do with Guiliani and McCain" mentality. It's making you illogical. Do you really think left wingers would be giving money to get the stiffest competition to their favorites, Hillary and Obama, nominated as the Republican candidate, either Guiliani or McCain? Hardly. They'd be giving money to the GOP primary candidates most likely to ensure Clinton or Obama wins the White House, either Hunter, Gingrich or Thompson.
RUN FRED RUN
Read it and weep:
“Paramount studio chief Brad Grey”....”Grey, who helped the mayor negotiate a book deal, kicked in $4,200 to Giuliani’s campaign. Grey, the former executive producer of a Giuliani favorite—the acclaimed HBO mob drama, “The Sopranos,” also contributed to Clinton and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.”
Is anyone surprised Rudy is happy to take money from the same people he criticized for donating to Hillary?
Anyone?
‘cuz Hollyweird sure lovin’ the prosperity gospel, too..
"Why is Fred getting so much money from Hollywood liberals"?
Why is Rudy getting support from Kelsey Grammar? I understand Adam Sandler, they are friends from New York and Rudy even appeared in one of Adam’s movies (Anger Management) playing Rob Schneider’s normal role (”You Can Do It”).
Hey, I just remembered!
Rudy Giuliani played himself in an Adam Sandler movie Anger Management.
Why did I just see that movie on TV if Rudy is running for office? Don’t they have to pull that movie while he’s running? :-)
I guess it would depend on who in Hollyweird that Senator Thompson takes money from, wouldn’t it? I find it highly suspicious that the entertainment industry, known to be a far-left hotbed for the most part, is suddenly forking over cash to Mayor Giuliani, don’t you? Almost sounds like they know they can’t lose in a Hillary versus Giuliani matchup, huh?
You probably missed it if you over slept, it didn’t last as long as Governor Vilsack running for the dem nomination.
He got a pain in his ass....then out came Hillery.
“Not everyone in Hollywood, especially the producers, are left wing.”
Maybe because being a producer requires a few brains and acting only requires to ability to repeat lines already written by someone else (very likely conservatives, as well). Actors are the most outspoken people in Hollywood and, if Sean Penn and Barbra Streisand are any indication, frequently not among the brightest.
Reason #1: more of Hollywood is MOR than is generally recognized, admitted, or talked about, and they can’t stand the current field of Dhimmicrat candidates
Reason #2: some of Hollywood wants to keep conservatives out of the Pubbie column
Reason #3: the rest of Hollywood is too high to know what they’re donating to
CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D) $2,300 03/28/2007 CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D) $2,300 03/28/2007 DODD, CHRISTOPHER J (D) $2,300 03/25/2007 GIULIANI, RUDOLPH W (R) ($1,900) 03/15/2007 GIULIANI, RUDOLPH W (R) $4,200 03/15/2007 SOLUTIONS AMERICA PAC $5,000 06/26/2006 VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC. PAC $5,000 05/26/2006 FEINSTEIN, DIANNE (D) $2,000 05/11/2006 BERMAN, HOWARD L (D) $2,000 12/09/2005 STEVENS, THEODORE F (TED) (R) $2,000 06/06/2005 DODD, CHRISTOPHER J (D) $2,000 06/29/2004 EDWARDS, JOHN (D) $2,000 01/28/2004 CLARK, WESLEY K (D) $2,000 11/04/2003 DASCHLE, THOMAS ANDREW (D) $1,000 10/07/2003 BUSH, GEORGE W (R) $2,000 06/30/2003 DODD, CHRISTOPHER J (D) $2,000 06/27/2003 BOXER, BARBARA (D) $5,000 04/28/2003 BOXER, BARBARA (D) $1,000 02/25/2003 DEM SEN'L CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (D) $1,000 10/21/2002 CALIFORNIA VOTER REG 2002 $2,500 10/16/2002 CARNAHAN, JEAN A (D) $2,500 10/10/2002 DNC SVCS CORP/DNC(D) $5,000 10/04/2002 BOXER, BARBARA (D) $2,500 04/26/2002 EMANUEL, RAHM (D) $1,000 12/10/2001 CALIFORNIA VOTER REG 2002 $2,500 06/21/2001
I don't know what channel you saw it on, but apparently the law doesn't apply to cable TV unless it is "original programming." As such, TNT et.al. will be able to contintue airing Fred Thompson in Law & Order indefinitely. It's just the broadcast stations that are limited.
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