Hollywood Elite Hedging Bets With Presidential Campaign Donations
It's no secret Hollywood and Washington, D.C. have a symbiotic, albeit love-hate relationship with one another. It's also no secret that many of the silver screen's heavy-hitters are also Democrats, or at least favor Democrats. This likely has something to do with Democrats leaning towards the left end of the political spectrum, which not-so-coincidentally describes Hollywood's general tendencies.
In fact, if you think about, most of the social changes and shifts our country's gone through, are either precipitated by films (like a changing attitude towards AIDS with the Oscar winning film "Philadelphia", to global awareness and plights of other nations as depicted in "Hotel Rwanda" or "Blood Diamond.") Those films a just a couple examples, if we were to really dig deep we'd see that much of Hollywood's films are merely a microcosm of our macro, real world issues.
In essence, Hollywood feels compelled to be a part of the political process for social change and awareness. Whether out of guilt for their excessive and extravagant lifestyle, or some benevolent need that exists within their more "creative" natures, Hollywood has and will continue to influence our world. This really is a good thing. On the other side of the political spectrum, the rich elite who've managed to gain their influence and money through big business tend to favor a more socially conservative government which often overlooks the little guy. Hollywood and Big Business duke it out and provide balance where it otherwise wouldn't exist. Sadly, this push for change from the west coast sometimes backfires, and causes us more grief than we want. When Hollywood attempts to push an agenda, like that of homosexuality, some factions within this country come out swinging HARD and then we end up with people like Mike Huckabee (and certainly President Bush) running for office and actually WINNING votes.
In my opinion, some social changes (like being more open-minded towards alternative lifestyles and gay marriage) need to happen on a subtle, gradual plane or we will ALL be stuck with the religious fundamentalists getting their bible-thumping panties in a bunch. Hollywood has yet to learn the old Kenny Rodgers card-bluffing adage, "know when to hold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run."
So what does all this mumbo-jumbo mean? Hollywood is once again taking bold steps to throw their powerful cards in the 2008 presidential race in the way only they can; political endorsements, fund-raising, and of course, personal contributions.
Unlike the rest of us, big-name celebs have much more power, influence and money to offer those who they choose to back politically. The 2008 election is no exception. Many movie stars and studio execs have stepped forward to contribute from their own purse, in even greater numbers than previous elections. What's really interesting about this next race are who the frontrunners are for the Democratic nominee: a black man, and female.
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