Posted on 10/16/2007 3:07:49 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Country-entertainment mecca Branson, Mo., is becoming the GOP's answer to Hollywood when it comes to raising big bucks from the entertainment community.
Presidential hopefuls have found their own little slice of hillbilly heaven nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks.
Branson serves up its politics the same way its restaurants serve up food -- down-home, country-style, and unapologetically old-fashioned.
Here you'll find no Barbra Streisands, Jane Fondas, or other denizens of Tinseltown's left-leaning elite. Branson entertainer and theater owner Jim Stafford calls it “families entertaining families,”
From the flags draping Highway 76 to the stars and stripes lavishly splashed on virtually every surface of the 52 theaters that feature more than 100 live shows on the neon-heavy Branson strip, candidates running on traditional-values themes can see they're more than merely welcome.
“Branson is the Republicans’ Hollywood,” Dr. Fred Pfister, author of Insiders’ Guide to Branson and the Ozark Mountains, tells Newsmax. “It is a conservative family area and a stronghold of the Christian right. Republicans court Branson -- they feel right at home here.”
That helps to explain why little Branson, population 7,435, has become a must-visit destination for those who would like to be more than tourists at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
About 8 million tourists visit family-friendly Branson annually, and in an election year the GOP presidential hopefuls are sure to be among them.
Republican presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee broke ground as the first national candidate to appear in Branson, speaking at a fundraiser at the home of Charlie and Scottie Earls, owners of the Vacation Channel, in August.
Another presidential contender, Fred Thompson, is reportedly headed there soon.
“I don’t think a major Democratic candidate is planning to visit Branson,” Ron Houseman, secretary of the Taney County Republican Committee and county clerk for 20 years, tells Newsmax. “This is a bastion of Republican strength for the state.
“Presidential candidates know that, and it is a safe assumption on their part that they will not carry this area, so they should more wisely spend their time and resources elsewhere where they have a better opportunity of winning.”
Some of the money flowing into Republican coffers comes from name entertainers who have made a home in Branson, located 35 miles south of Springfield, Mo.
Branson Japanese fiddle whiz and theater owner Shoji Tabuchi, for example, has contributed $2,000 to the Republican National Committee (RNC) this year. Country singer and Branson entertainer Larry Gatlin, a longtime supporter of Republican causes, gave $500 to the RNC. Entertainer Andy Williams, a Branson fixture, gave $4,600 to Sen. John McCain’s run for office.
“The Christian right has a strong foothold in Branson,” Dr. Pfister says, “and conservative and Christian themes are quite popular here. The local newspaper features a column by conservative political activist Phyllis Schlafly, and the local College of the Ozarks, a Christian school, prides itself on attracting conservative speakers.
GOP candidate Mitt Romney also has done well in Branson, which Pfister attributes to Romney's image as a strong family-values candidate.
Tourists flock to Branson to view a Disney-esque view of America as it once was, although it would hardly serve as representative. The most recent census notes a strong racial imbalance, with 94.5 percent white, about 4.26 percent Hispanic, only 0.8 percent black, and roughly 0.8 percent Native Americans.
However, Houseman says, things may be changing, with retirees from Chicago and elsewhere moving there, bringing more Democratic leanings.
“Certainly, there are more Democrats than there have been in the past. And Branson may change,” Houseman adds. "But I think we Republicans have a way to balance that out. Those of us who grew up here will just have to move to Hollywood!”
I grew up in Joplin, just about fifty miles away to the west.
The article plays these values up as if the were only Christian. Well yes they are Christian, but they are also bedrock American (United States) values. That may be mentioned but it must be emphasised.
We need to return to those values as a nation. There shouldn’t be any danger of a Clintonesque woman having a prayer of becoming president.
Good for Branson. Sounds like a great place these days.
The GOP needs to look to the future instead of the past.
Go 30 miles north, Springfield, MO contributions make these look like pikers.
Some acts in Branson are very good while others are like an eternity in Hell without the fire. You find yourself walking around thinking, dang, I thought that guy died years ago.
Today, I would guess the “summer” population is between 100m and 200m. I have to go there every year, always in the fall, because my son lives just west of there, in a “suburb”. I would not consider visiting in the summer, because they have streets and highways designed for 10,000 people. Big city traffic jams.
Be sure to hit up Yakov and the Baldknobbers while you’re at it.
Ping to you Momma
Hey D1 - I grew up in Carthage. We’re probably related somehow LOL
Yup. I’ll do my part.
I hope Fred comes in...I’ll have to go see him. If he goes to Branson, he’ll stop in Springfield.
I always wondered what people did in Carthage. I take it you left?
Business in Springfield, live/grew up in Rogersville, have a lake place on Table Rock near Branson West.
My mom is from Branson and has 11 brothers and sisters. They’re some of the best people in the world. They’re all AG (Assembly of God), fun, hard-working and patriotic. It makes me angry when these idiots talk about the “Christian right” like it’s some kind of fringe group.
They are what America is all about.
LOL! The US population is only 380m.
My spouse is from Webb City. Anyone thinking of Branson, don’t make the mistake we made—driving an underpowered, manual transmission van.
By end of day my left leg and right arm were worn out from all the `rowing’.
They’re all at Micky Gilly’s
Interesting, since Andy Williams was Bobby Kennedy's main man 40 years ago.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.