# Hollywood GOP **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2000, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031 "2000-10-07T02:26:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/21 "2000-10-09T18:56:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > \*\*Then there was whatshisname- the guy who played ADA Ben Stone on _Law and Order_- who dropped off the show to run on the Paranoid Schizophrenic ticket (specifically, a right-wing Republican who felt that Janet Reno was bugging his office or some such). \*\* That would be Michael Moriarty. I believe he’s moved to Canada now. Definitely a guy with issues, but not political ones. Sheila Kuhel is a fairly influential member of the CA State Legislature. I don’t think she would have a chance of holding statewide office because she is one of the most liberal members of the Legislature. CA is a predominantly Democratic state, but it still isn’t going to elect an openly homosexual liberal from West Hollywood. Political endorsements from actors, athletes, etc., have proven to be not particularly effective in elections. The average American voter seems to be able to see through stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/22 "2000-10-09T20:40:02Z")
Michael Moriarty is a nut? I never heard that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/23 "2000-10-09T20:48:53Z")
From the [Michael Moriarity Unofficial Home Page](http://www.motion.net/debbie58/politics.htm): > [@](#): > > Incensed by Reno’s campaign to end violence on television and trample on rights of free expression as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, Moriarty left the U.S. in protest, to begin the life of an expatriate in Canada. A landed immigrant, Moriarty expects to receive his Canadian citizenship papers shortly, at which time he says he will publicly burn his U.S. passport as a gesture of defiance against the American government… > > Moriarty’s interest in politics is intense, because he believes he has little time to carry out his mission to save North American society from a “socialist takeover.” (Indeed, it may already be too late, he warns.) Moriarty fears that the U.S. is “committing suicide” and that Canada will follow suit. Through his extensive research and firm belief that “the common denominator of all genocidal killing machines in the 20th Century has been some form of socialist government,” Moriarty has deduced a diabolical, liberal (witting and unwitting) socialist and communist conspiracy. Moriarty believes this conspiracy will lead to a deliberately planned economic depression and to utter chaos in North American society within two years. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/24 "2000-10-10T14:09:36Z")
Wow…Moriarty _is_ a nut! The more so, if, concerned that the U.S. was becoming too socialist, he decided to move to…Canada?! The only social democracy on the North American continent? Better he should’ve moved to Singapore or Nigeria. No socialism there. ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/25 "2000-10-10T21:58:07Z")
Boy, I certainly didn’t mean to imply that _Friends_ was imbued with a political philosophy descending from Rousseau through Hegel and Marx with a touch of Wilsonian internationalism and Keynesian economics to boot… And they said _Seinfeld_ was about nothing. _Friends_ is as vapid as they come, and then some. My comment above was meant along the lines of MGibson’s and Wendell’s second post (by the way, sorry for not connecting the dots on Hollywood Republican _office-holders_). And yes, Wendell, they have tried to help the homeless. Some stupid escapade involving Phoebe volunteering with the Salvation Army and harassing passersby…again, not exactly espousing a coherent political philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/26 "2000-10-11T02:09:26Z")
I think you’re correct, johnson, in characterizing _Friends_ as a pretty vapid show. I think it’s typical of most TV shows’ treatment of politics. Even though they might portray liberal characters more often than conservative ones, they don’t very often show the characters displaying their political choices in anything but a humorous (and generally snide) context. Characters who take their political beliefs seriously (regardless of whether they are liberal or conservative) are often figures of fun. In so far as you can read the political beliefs of the writers and producers of the show from the actions of the characters, it would be at least as easy to interpret them as libertarian as liberal. But, again, this is really a matter for Great Debates, and perhaps a thread should be started there. ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/27 "2000-10-11T02:21:25Z")
Thinking about this further, there may be several reasons few actors who have held elective office are Democrats. First off, with the arguable exception of Reagan, most of these individuals have been generally moderate Republicans (Fred Grandy is as vanilla as they come, and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way–he seems very thoughtful, moreso than your average politician). Secondly, being a Republican from Hollywood does result in a certain splash of publicity right off the bat. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, many actors probably stay away from overt partisan politics because a dollar from Republicans is as good as a dollar from Democrats. Lastly, think about it–do you really want to vote for Alec Baldwin or Angelica Huston? Enough to make Moriarty look like an East coast elite Rockefeller Republican type. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/28 "2000-10-11T04:35:26Z")
I for one am ecstatic that there aren’t many Hollywood people in politics. They already have WAY too much influence. Of all the possible special interest groups I want representing me, Hollywood has to come in just about dead last. These people are often poorly educated (if they have degrees at all, it’s often from some actor’s college somewhere, and many don’t even have high school diplomas), yet they have huge egos from being surrounded by ass-kissers all day long. This leads them to believe that what they have to say is somehow important, and that their opinions are worth more than the average citizen’s. Now throw in their complete lack of perspective from living in the fantasyland of Hollywood. Couple that with inordinate media attention so their half-baked ideas get far more air time than they deserve, and heaping stacks of money and free time, and you have a major problem in a democracy. We worry about the country being run by Tobacco executives and Auto executives, but at least these people tend to be competant and educated. I’m much more worried about the country being controlled by Rosie O’Donnell and Alec Baldwin. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/29 "2000-10-11T05:00:44Z")
What no one’s mentioned **Jerry Springer**? Former polititian, keen to get back into office…it’s going to happen. Worst case scenario: Who would you really prefer, Jerry or George W ? - could make for an interesting pre-election TV debate. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/30 "2000-10-11T10:39:47Z")
London\_Calling writes: \> What no one’s mentioned Jerry Springer ? Former \> polititian, keen to get back into office…it’s going to \> happen. Well, no, it’s not. Just because someone claims that they’re going to go into politics doesn’t mean that they can get anyone to vote for them (or even to nominate them). Sam Stone writes: \> I for one am ecstatic that there aren’t many Hollywood \> people in politics. They already have WAY too much \> influence. \> \> Of all the possible special interest groups I want \> representing me, Hollywood has to come in just about dead \> last. These people are often poorly educated (if they \> have degrees at all, it’s often from some actor’s college \> somewhere, and many don’t even have high school \> diplomas), yet they have huge egos from being surrounded \> by ass-kissers all day long. This leads them to believe \> that what they have to say is somehow important, and that \> their opinions are worth more than the average citizen’s. \> Now throw in their complete lack of perspective from \> living in the fantasyland of Hollywood. \> \> Couple that with inordinate media attention so their half \> baked ideas get far more air time than they deserve, and \> heaping stacks of money and free time, and you have a \> major problem in a democracy. We worry about the country \> being run by Tobacco executives and Auto executives, but \> at least these people tend to be competant and educated. \> I’m much more worried about the country being controlled \> by Rosie O’Donnell and Alec Baldwin. While I agree with you that I don’t want actors going into politics, I’m not sure that they’re the absolute worse people I could ever imagine in politics. What about musicians or athletes? - equal amounts of huge egos, poor education, and lack of perspective about what the world is like. I’m more worried about the country being controlled by tobacco and auto executives (and other representatives of big business) just because their work tends to be behind the scenes. Actors at least have the decency to do their advocacy of stupid causes in public. The business executives are the ones in the smoke-filled backrooms, talking to politicians, making big donations to candidates, and slanting TV shows to their own tastes. I think the American public (and other politicians) have mostly rejected the actors who’ve tried to have political influence. The actors who have most mouthed off in public about their causes are not the ones who got into office. Look once again at the list of actors who achieved major political office. These are not people who were known during their acting career for their strong political views. Could you have guessed during the run of _Love Boat_ that the one person in it who would run for office was Fred Grandy, and could you have guessed that it would be as a Republican? Can you tell me what about Sonny Bono’s career would have made you think that he would be a Republican? (Actually, Bono only got elected as a Representative by accident. He was chosen by the Republicans to run in a district that they thought was a sure loss, but the Republicans did so well in 1994 that he won.) Can you point out the crucial roles of Shirley Temple and of Jane Alexander that made the first one a Republican appointee and the second one a Democratic appointee? With one exception (which I’ll get to) the actors who’ve succeeded in office were not generally known for their political beliefs and were already well past their career peaks. I’m dubious about the claims that Rosie O’Donnell or Ophrah Winfrey are influential. There are many people who hate them and constantly denounce their shows. Jerry Springer is even more hated (and I don’t know how I’d classify his politics, since basically he’s a whore). Or consider the most famous example of all of an actor/actress who has publicly mouthed off about politics: Jane Fonda. Jane Fonda has never influenced anyone toward her views. If anything, her rants turned people away from her political positions and hurt her career. There are still lots of people around (and some of them are on this MB) who seem to have nothing better to do than fulminate about how much they hate something that Fonda did 28 years ago. The one actor who can be said to be influential is Ronald Reagan, and even he was well past his (rather small) peak as an actor when he first ran for office. Reagan’s political career was essentially made by his work in the '50’s as a spokesman for General Electric, where he was giving speeches that were similar in philosophy to his later political positions. GE shlepped him around to meetings, introduced him to all the right people, and (whether they intended it or not) turned him into a credible politician. johnson writes: \> Lastly, think about it–do you really want to vote for \> Alec Baldwin or Angelica Huston? Enough to make Moriarty \> look like an East coast elite Rockefeller Republican type. Did you bother to read what everyone else wrote about Moriarty? Moriarty is not a liberal. If anything, he’s a rather hard-core conservative. (To be fair though, he’s basically a nut that most conservatives would reject too.) ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/31 "2000-10-11T12:43:07Z")
I meant that those two are so extreme they make a wacko from the other end look respectable. Hence the Rockefeller remark, not a New Democrat comment. Needless to say, I was employing a bit of hyperbole–they’re all (well, the three of them) wackos. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/32 "2000-10-11T13:12:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MGibson \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Beruang \* > > \*\*“Friends” is a hotbed of liberal idealogy? > > > > What subtext have _I_ been missing? > > \*\* > > Lot’s of sex without consequences. But then a lot of sitcoms are like that. And they had Newt’s sister officiate at a gay wedding on the television show. Maybe not hotbed but still. > \*\* Oh, and like Newt is such a choirboy!? He’s dumped two wives for other women (2nd wife was other woman that broke up 1st marriage). Number 3, you’d better watch out! ---
**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 11, 2000, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/33 "2000-10-11T16:29:43Z")
Here’s a list I’ve been working on. Not sure how accurate it is… Charlton Heston (pro-gun, conservative) Ted Nugent (pro-gun, libertarian) Bo Derek (Republican) Rick Schroder (Conservaitve, NRA member) Chuck Norris (Republican) Loretta Lynn (Republican) Kirt Russell (libertarian) Bruce Willis (part-time Republican) Bo Derek (Republican) Sonny Bono (Republican; now desceased) Mel Gibson (pro-gun) Lech Walesa Ward Connerly (businessman and activist) Dinesh D’Souza (author and scholar) Dixi Carter (Republican) Pat Boone (Republican) Sarah Michelle Gellar (pro-gun) Tom Selleck (pro-gun, somewhat conservative) Karl Malone (pro-gun NBA star) Arnold Swatzenager (Republican, fiscal conservative, but liberal on some other issues) Nolan Ryan (pro-gun Hall of Fame pitcher) Steve Largent (pro-gun Hall of Fame receiver and U.S. Representative) J.C. Watts, Jr. (pro-gun all-American quarterback and U.S. Representative) Tom Clancy (pro-gun) Brad Johnson (pro-gun) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/34 "2000-10-11T19:38:41Z")
You can add Dave Barry (Libertarian). Tom Hanks has made Libertarian overtures, but he’s currently a Gore supporter. Bill Maher is a Libertarian. But still, the number of Liberals in Hollyweird outnumbers the conservatives by at least 10-1. As to why we haven’t seen more of them in office - partly because they make too damned much money in Hollywood. Any of the ‘A’ list stars would take a huge cut in pay if they went into politics. Perhaps that’s one reason why most of the actor/politicians we’ve seen were either small-time actors like Grandy, or part-time politicians like Eastwood. Also, another reason is because many Hollywood stars are completely unelectable due to extreme viewpoints, past drug abuse and arrest records, etc. Most of them also simply don’t have what it takes. I think 90% of the people here could tear Rosie O’Donnell or Martin Sheen to pieces in a real debate. These guys never have to really justify their opinions, because they are surrounded by yes-men who agree with everything they say. Acting doesn’t require a high IQ, but I guarantee that every big time movie and TV star thinks he’s a genius. Watch ‘Politically Incorrect’ some time and you’ll see just how abysmal the debating skills are of your typical hollywood activist (with some exceptions - Alec Baldwin is pretty quick, although I don’t agree with anything he has to say). > [@](#): > > \> What no one’s mentioned Jerry Springer ? Former > \> polititian, keen to get back into office…it’s going to > \> happen. > > Well, no, it’s not. Just because someone claims that they’re going to go into politics doesn’t mean that they can get anyone to vote for them (or even to nominate them). Jerry Springer was already in politics. He was the mayor of a large city if I recall. Baltimore? Something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/35 "2000-10-11T19:54:06Z")
**Crafter\_Man** , I believe you may be confusing Lech Walesa with Vaclav Havel. Havel was a Czech playwright and dissident, Walesa was a Polish shipyard worker and trade unionist. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by John Corrado_ > **Moriarty’s interest in politics is intense, because he believes he has little time to carry out his mission to save North American society from a "socialist takeover."** Damn! The sonofabitch is on to us! _picks up the phone and dials_ Yeah, there’s a package in Canada that needs delivery… ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/36 "2000-10-11T20:32:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Jerry Springer was already in politics. He was the mayor of a large city if I recall. Baltimore? Something like that. Keep him as far from the East Coast as possible. I think it was Cleveland or Cincinnati. Perhaps Wendell Wagner was thinking of Geraldo Rivera, who was making noise about running for mayor of New York. I don’t know that he could get anyone to vote for him (then again, it is New York…). ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/37 "2000-10-11T22:37:15Z")
Don’t forget Ben Stein - started out in the Nixon administration and THEN became an…actor…well…entertainer…um, I mean person on TV. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/38 "2000-10-11T23:34:29Z")
Jerry Springer was mayor of Cincinnati. As for Sonny Bono, I don’t believe he was running in a district that the Republicans thought he would lose. The Palm Springs area is predominantly Republican. I don’t think he was the Republicans’ first choice for a candidate in that district, but he had name recognition. His widow, Mary, hasn’t had much trouble getting reelected in that district. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2000, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/39 "2000-10-12T02:22:28Z")
Olentzero writes: \> Keep him [Jerry Springer] as far from the East Coast as \> possible. I think it was Cleveland or Cincinnati. Perhaps \> Wendell Wagner was thinking of Geraldo Rivera, who was \> making noise about running for mayor of New York. I don’t \> know that he could get anyone to vote for him (then \> again, it is New York…). I was not the one who claimed that Jerry Springer was from Baltimore. That was Sam Stone. Please be careful when you quote people. I think it’s probably not true that “the number of liberals in Hollywood outnumbers the number of conservatives by at least 10-1”. Cultural liberals vs. cultural conservatives, perhaps yes. But the people in Hollywood are no more economically liberal than any other random group of Americans of middle-class to rich means. I think it’s as least as correct to think of most Hollywood people as being libertarians as being liberals. (To be fair to libertarians, while most of these Hollywood people might more or less act according to something that resembles a libertarian philosophy, they have hardly come to those opinions by a process that resembles thinking. The average person who argues for libertarianism on the SDMB has a coherent defense of their position. The average Hollywood person acts like a libertarian because (in my view) libertarianism is the default position of most upper-middle-class to rich Americans.) I think there’s another reason why you tend to hear about more Hollywood people speaking as liberals than as conservatives. Look at it this way: Why does anybody need to publicize their political philosophy at all? It’s because they think that there’s someone they need to impress. There are doubtlessly many actors with strong political positions, both liberal and conservative, who never discuss their views or publicize their charitable contributions. On the other hand, show-off conservatives mostly want to impress rich people. They don’t give a damn about what average people think about them. They just want to be invited to the right fund-raisers and to rub elbows with other rich and powerful people. Show-off liberals want everybody to love them. They want average people to think that they are God’s gift to humanity. As far as I’m concerned, a show-off is a show-off. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2000, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031/40 "2000-10-12T02:25:38Z")
Boy, I blew this big time. I complained about being misquoted, and in the process I misquoted someone. I meant to say: johnson wrote: \> Keep him [Jerry Springer] as far from the East Coast as \> possible. I think it was Cleveland or Cincinnati. Perhaps \> Wendell Wagner was thinking of Geraldo Rivera, who was \> making noise about running for mayor of New York. I don’t \> know that he could get anyone to vote for him (then \> again, it is New York…). Sorry about that, Olentzero. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywood-gop/36031.md?page=3)