# Are there any Republican celebrities? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238 "2011-10-29T23:15:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/101 "2011-10-31T20:07:42Z")
Good point. Given my recent experience I’d offer that party affiliation matters to these people: Officials elected on a party ticket Members of City/County/State/National party committees I’ve been a member of the latter and every single person in that room was a registered Democrat. To not be so was to lose qualification for the office. Which doesn’t mean there aren’t people who deeply identify with a party. But there’s no official designation about it other than voting history. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/102 "2011-10-31T20:42:51Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You are incorrect. Even where the state does not keep these records, the parties have their own enrollment. They have internal organization requiring membership in order elect and appoint leadership positions. Do you understand that the vast majority of people in the country take no part in internal party organizations? That they have no role in appointing leadership positions? That is the world of politicians and party activists, which very few people are, including the majority of celebrities? Your definition doesn’t even include voter registration. Your posts in this thread would lead me to believe you’ve never actually set foot in the United States. > [@](#): > > What on earth is your definition for being a Republican if you ignore official membership? “Official membership” is a concept applying to a very small minority of people. Making this the principal criterion means that most people aren’t Democrats or Republicans, and this definition has no utility for the way we usually use those terms. I’ve said it already. A “Republican” in the most commonly understood and useful sense includes all these people: 1. Someone who says “I’m a Republican,” regardless of registration or anything other “official” status. 2. Someone who tends to vote for Republican candidates. 3. Someone who tends to express support for Republican candidates or causes most commonly associated with other Republicans. 4. Someone who has campaigned for or contributed to or participated in fund-raising for Republicans more often than Democrats. This is not an exclusive list. That’s how things work in a weak party system like we have. The statement “He’s a Republican” (about someone who is not currently holding office or someone who holds a nominally “nonpartisan” office), in our country, in our political system, is _not_ a claim about any kind of “official” status. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/103 "2011-10-31T20:51:15Z")
[Johnny Ramone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Ramone#Politics). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/104 "2011-11-01T02:47:24Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Do you understand that the vast majority of people in the country take no part in internal party organizations? That they have no role in appointing leadership positions? That is the world of politicians and party activists, which very few people are, including the majority of celebrities? > > Your definition doesn’t even include voter registration. My definition already included voter registration, but you thought that was the only way people could be registered as Republicans. And the vast majority of the people in this country have at one time made a public declaration that they belong to a political party. > [@](#): > > Your posts in this thread would lead me to believe you’ve never actually set foot in the United States. Your posts lead me to believe you have no idea how political parties are organized, how people join political parties, or anything other than some preconcieved notions of peoples political orientation. > [@](#): > > “Official membership” is a concept applying to a very small minority of people. Making this the principal criterion means that most people aren’t Democrats or Republicans, and this definition has no utility for the way we usually use those terms. Again, this is incorrect because most people have registered their party affiliation on voter registration forms, whether you like their choices or reasons for doing so or not. Anybody who has registered as a member of a party has a right to vote in that parties internal elections and decide who it’s leadership is, or run for those leadership positions themselves. > [@](#): > > I’ve said it already. A “Republican” in the most commonly understood and useful sense includes all these people: > > 1. Someone who says “I’m a Republican,” regardless of registration or anything other “official” status. > 2. Someone who tends to vote for Republican candidates. > 3. Someone who tends to express support for Republican candidates or causes most commonly associated with other Republicans. > 4. Someone who has campaigned for or contributed to or participated in fund-raising for Republicans more often than Democrats. > > This is not an exclusive list. > > That’s how things work in a weak party system like we have. > > The statement “He’s a Republican” (about someone who is not currently holding office or someone who holds a nominally “nonpartisan” office), in our country, in our political system, is _not_ a claim about any kind of “official” status. Those aren’t bad definitions, except aside from claiming to be a Republican you don’t know who someone votes for or why. You rarely see people supporting Republican candidates or causes, and they may expressly claim not to be Republicans (or does that only count when you claim to be a Republican). And only a few people consistently campaign for or contribute to a fund raising with just one party. On the basis of known information outside of party enrollment you fill a large cruiseship with the people you consider to be Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/105 "2011-11-09T15:47:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > And Kerry considered McCain for VP in '04. That doesn’t make McCain a Democrat. > > If you have a cite that isn’t decades old about his party registration, bring it. Until then, I’m unconvinced. Read this and thought of this thread. [Clint Eastwood Likes Herman Cain.](http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/11/08/clint-eastwood-herman-cain/) > [@](#): > > Since the former Mayor of Carmel, Calif. is essentially a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, everyone has something to love and despise about the Oscar winner’s recent interview with the Los Angeles Times. Eastwood — who has never voted Democrat, besides a 1998 gubernatorial vote for iconic milquetoast Gray Davis — is a big fan of pizza tycoon Herman Cain. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238/106 "2011-11-10T00:52:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Again, this is incorrect because most people have registered their party affiliation on voter registration forms, Do you have a cite on this being the case for _most_ people? Because I know it’s not the case everywhere (certainly not in MI). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-republican-celebrities/601238.md?page=5)