# Should the democrats distance themselves from Hollywood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 17, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268 "2018-06-17T17:08:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/1 "2018-06-17T17:08:26Z")
In the light of Robert Denirr’s anti-Trump rant actor/activist Rob Reiner has gone on record saying such acts basically hand the country over to Trump. or as he puts it [“There’s a very fine line between energizing the base and energizing the other side”.](https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/the-wrap/article/Rob-Reiner-Shreds-Robert-De-Niro-for-His-F-13000959.php) So I’d like to ask. Should democrats distance themselves from Hollywood? This was also brought up with the [Harvey Weinstein mess as democrats](https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/10/17/the-democratic-partys-obsession-with-hollywood-celebrities-was-bound-to-blow-up/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.db9ca5cddfe5) , who was a top democratic fund raiser, suddenly has to explain their close relationship. Quite frankly, when I see outbursts like Deniro made and the audience all giving him a standing ovation I have to ask - do I really want such people running my state? Years ago when Micheal Moore was slamming Bush at the Academy Awards at least he got a few boos. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/2 "2018-06-17T17:15:46Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Quite frankly, when I see outbursts like Deniro made and the audience all giving him a standing ovation I have to ask - do I really want such people running my state? Years ago when Micheal Moore was slamming Bush at the Academy Awards at least he got a few boos. This might actually be meaningful if you didn’t support someone who’s said far worse things about his political opponents, and been credibly accused of sexual assault (as well as bragging about sexual assaulting both adult and teenage women/girls), as President. Further, Deniro and Hollywood are in no sense running any state, running the Democratic party, or likely to do so in any way whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/3 "2018-06-17T17:17:46Z")
Conservatives are already “energized” inasmuch as historically they are reliable voters. Largely populated by the elderly and single issue voters (guns, abortion, gay rights, etc.) the right has little trouble getting out the vote. Traditionally liberals, largely populated by the poor and minorities, are unreliable voters. When they came out in force in 2008 to vote for the first African American president it was a landslide win. When they stayed home in 2010 republicans did exceptionally well. So, it seems to me pissing off the right has little downside. A) They were never on the fence and going to vote for you anyway. B) They were already going to vote. The upside is in energizing your own base. I do not see a strategy of being conciliatory to the other side as a winning strategy. Liberals have been trying that shit for over two decades and it has not helped them. So I say keep going De Niro! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/4 "2018-06-17T17:28:59Z")
You’d think that by your [second thread on the subject](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=856655) you’d at least get the name right. This spelling is even worse than the first one. People need to distance themselves from Trump and not worry so much about what a bunch of privileged, but powerless, Hollywood liberals are doing. And De Niro is famously a New Yorker, not a guy who hangs out in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/5 "2018-06-17T17:44:33Z")
This is the same thing as the whole “we had to vote Trump because liberals are mean to use” aka “we had to be racist because you pointed out our racism.” So no. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/6 "2018-06-17T17:56:31Z")
In some ways, they probably should. People in hollywood do tend to trend democratic, but that is not a given, there are plenty of conservative people in the entertainment industry as well. Just as the conservatives tend to energize the democrats with their embrace of the religious right, gun advocates, and bigots, the democrats may energize the conservative base with entertainers daring to express their opinion on the going ons of their country. But, it needs to be balanced. Just as the conservatives, in order to stay in power, require the support of the religious right, gun advocates, and bigots, the democrats do need support from the entertainment industry to at least soften the damage done by the party that runs on intolerance and divisiveness as its platform. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/7 "2018-06-17T18:28:59Z")
If a conservative suggests that liberals should zig, then the sane course for liberals is always to zag. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/8 "2018-06-17T18:37:29Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > … Should democrats distance themselves from Hollywood? > > … Who is going to make the movies, then? Republicans? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/9 "2018-06-17T18:42:16Z")
I’m a lifelong Democrat. I have never voted for a Republican in a state or national election. I think it would benefit the party to distance itself from gun control and the entertainment industry. There are large numbers of blue collar votes we lose because of them matter. They don’t all go R. Lots just stay home or make symbolic 3rd party votes. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/10 "2018-06-17T19:21:05Z")
If Democrats didn’t say bad things about Republicans, Republicans would just make it up anyway. So there’s no point in trying to play nice. Let’s follow Truman’s lead: _“I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.”_ But thanks to the OP for his “concern”. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/11 "2018-06-17T19:30:57Z")
Anybody anywhere near the United States who’s NOT on an anti-Trump rant has no business calling themselves a Christian or reasonable or a worthwhile human being. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/12 "2018-06-17T19:43:16Z")
If my choice is Mean Hollywood or the Grand Old Pedophiles…well, I know who I want making movies. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/13 "2018-06-17T19:45:50Z")
How is that supposed to work actually? DeNiro: F-- Trump Pelosi: We strongly oppose DeNiro’s profanity and attack on the president. Think skinned potential D voter: Phew, I almost thought I would have to skip voting democrat there. Or is it the deplorable version you’re suggesting? You know, the “Entertainers shouldn’t talk about politics unless they are Trump supporters, in your faces snowflakes!” trope. DeNiro: F-- Trump Pelosi: Celebrities shouldn’t be involved in politics, just look at who it’s got us as presidents so far! Huh! I guess that version might actually work. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/14 "2018-06-17T19:45:54Z")
Yes, progressives should distance themselves from film and theatre as a subculture and as a sector in a general sense. We must treat the industry as suspect. It is after all playwrights and filmmakers who have most successfully and most avidly romanticized firearms while lying to the world about how they work. That said, there are a few civic-minded filmmakers who will make movies about this country’s issues in a responsible way, and we can accept their indirect help in this fashion. But in no way should progressives serve the interests of the studios. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/15 "2018-06-17T19:49:00Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Anybody anywhere near the United States who’s NOT on an anti-Trump rant has no business calling themselves a Christian or reasonable or a worthwhile human being. This reminds me of a pretty great Twitter rant from last week: > [@](#): > > Fuck Trump. > > Now, if your response to that was GASP TUT TUT, WHAT LANGUAGE, THIS IS HOW WE LOSE THE NEXT ELECTION – > > You’ve fallen into the trap of holding liberals and Democrats to a ludicrously high – and utterly un-fucking-realistic standard! – while simultaneously holding the GOP and the right-wing to a standard so low, you could kneel down and still piss on its head. > > If you’re mad at Samantha Bee, or Michelle Wolf, or De Niro, for saying NAUGHTY WORDS OOOOH, you’re a fucking dipshit. Newsflash: our president confessed to sexual assault in the baldest of terms. The admin is separating kids from families. The Trump family stole CHARITY MONEY. > > It’s an awfully weird time to be fucking tone policing, isn’t it? “OH GOD I’M BEING EATEN BY A FUCKING TIGER FUCK FUCK OW FUCK” “Whoa whoa whoa, Dave, maybe your _toilet mouth_ is why the tiger has chosen to eat you. Try a little politeness from now on, fella.” > > The idea here is that somehow we’re turning off potential anti-Trump voters by – oh no! – saying salty words about the man. Yeah, bad news. If that train can truly be derailed with so tiny a pebble, it wasn’t even gonna reach its destination, okay? > > If they’re turned off by a little smidge of profanity, but _not_ considerably more off-kilter thanks to the ACTUAL VULGARIAN in the White House who is basically using us, the flag, the Constitution as toilet paper – they were never gonna vote against him, not ever. > > Real-talk: at this point I distrust anybody who _doesn’t_ liberally pepper their statements about him with rage-froth vulgarisms. If you don’t uncontrollably utter “FUCK TRUMP” at least _twice a day_ you’re probably of dubious judgment anyway. > I’m practically like a songbird whose only chirp is that one word. FUCK TRUMP FUCK TRUMP fucktrump fucktrump FUCKITY-FUCK FUCKITY-FUCK FUCKYOUUU FUCKYOUUU > > But see, that’s the trick. That’s how the GOP have this narrative. They constantly play the aggrieved underdog. They kick a homeless guy in the ribs and then say he attacked them and broke their foot. And the media, somehow, inexplicably, buys it every time. > > The right has crafted a sneaky narrative, one where they get to walk away with every atrocity in the book – while simultaneously holding full court press against the teeniest slight cast by someone on the left. “Yes, I killed a baby, but that Democrat was RUDE about it.” > > What’s fucked up is when we, on the left, buy into that narrative. “Well, maybe that IS why we lost, maybe we SHOULD be better.” We’re so in love with the high-road narrative that we police our own on that high road instead of watching the saboteurs driving the road beneath us. > > … > > SOURCE: [Chuck Wendig via Twitter](https://twitter.com/ChuckWendig/status/1007604299713667073) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/16 "2018-06-17T19:50:05Z")
DeNiro probably should have suggested shoving a gun up Trump’s ass. That’s the kind of shit that is welcomed by Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/17 "2018-06-17T20:36:02Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > This might actually be meaningful if you didn’t support someone who’s said far worse things about his political opponents, and been credibly accused of sexual assault Since he has not been convicted you cannot so state. Trump is laughing his arse off at de Niro - and (by extension) the Dope. There’s an old maxim which says you should never stop an enemy when they’re making a mistake. The more the abuse that is hurled at Trump, the more the paranoid fantasies are aired, the more the accusations without evidence are levied, the bigger the winner he becomes. Trump lies as naturally as breathing. To combat him, all we need to do is stick to the truth and keep hammering at the truth. Remember that other maxim: you can con some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot con all of the people all of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/18 "2018-06-17T20:42:16Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Since he has not been convicted you cannot so state. What you cited says “accused”. Since Trump is on tape stating he “grabs them by the pussy” and “moves in on them like a bitch” and “I just start kissing them, it’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.” the accusations are also “credible”. So yeah, it can be so stated. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/19 "2018-06-17T20:50:14Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Since he has not been convicted you cannot so state. It’s a fact that he’s been accused, and it’s a very reasonable opinion that those accusations are credible. It’s also a fact that he bragged about sexual assault, as well as bragging about barging into the changing rooms of teenage beauty pageants and ogling these teen girls without their consent. These are facts. > [@](#): > > Trump is laughing his arse off at de Niro - and (by extension) the Dope. There’s an old maxim which says you should never stop an enemy when they’re making a mistake. The more the abuse that is hurled at Trump, the more the paranoid fantasies are aired, the more the accusations without evidence are levied, the bigger the winner he becomes. > > Trump lies as naturally as breathing. To combat him, all we need to do is stick to the truth and keep hammering at the truth. Remember that other maxim: you can con some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot con all of the people all of the time. Then why are you criticizing me for stating facts? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268/20 "2018-06-17T20:53:49Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > DeNiro probably should have suggested shoving a gun up Trump’s ass. That’s the kind of shit that is welcomed by Republicans. Sodomy is probably a good bit more welcomed by the people on the other side of the aisle. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-democrats-distance-themselves-from-hollywood/816268.md?page=2)