Hollywood's Campaign Cash Holdouts

Huffington Post   |  Katherine Thomson   |   October 18, 2007 06:34 PM


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Third quarter contributions are out, and perhaps more noteworthy than the celebrities who have given are the many who have not. Especially if you consider how many of Hollywood's heavy hitters are outspoken politically.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has yet to donate. That's particularly of interest considering he took John Edwards with him to yoga in July 2006 and continues to dine out on the story as of last month. Yet, no donations.

Also outspoken, at least in 2004, were Howard Dean campaigners Martin Sheen and Rob Reiner. While Reiner has ponied up for four candidates so far this year, nary a Sheen or Estevez has given a dime.

Meanwhile, many of John Kerry's supporters are also holding their cards close their chest this time around, giving nothing so far. Among the non-givers are Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Matt Damon, and Alec Baldwin. Even singer Joan Jett, a Kerry and Dean check writer, hasn't given this cycle.

Hollywood's activist golden couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie still hasn't given. Neither has Jolie's estranged father, Jon Voight.

Speaking of activists, green-promoting celebrities must be waiting for Al Gore, as many draw blanks. A search for Gore-buddy Leonardo DiCaprio donations shows nothing, as do searches for Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Adrien Grenier, Alicia Silverstone, and Daryl Hannah.

And what about those who love politically charged work? The new film Redacted is a critical look the media's coverage of the Iraq war, but writer/director Brian De Palma has yet to give. Another Iraqi-themed release, In the Valley of Elah, stars Tommy Lee Jones, James Franco, Susan Sarandon and Charlize Theron. Jones, South African Theron, and Franco appear to have given nothing. Haggis, a well-known Scientologist, has given just to Kucinich ($2100) and Sarandon has given to Obama ($3000) and Richardson ($250).

Another politically-charged film Rendition opens this Friday and is full of politically-ungiving Oscar winners and nominees. Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Alan Arkin star. None of them has given to a 2008 candidate. Neither has director Gavin Hood or writer Keeley Sane.

Other politically-outspoken holdouts include, but are not limited to, Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Gwyneth Paltrow, Patricia Heaton, director Michael Moore, and Tim Robbins.
And celebrities who have taken USO trips yet won't commit to a candidate include Wilmer Valderrama, Henry Rollins (nee Garfield), Kid Rock (nee Robert Ritchie), and Kathy Griffin.

One of the few politically outspoken celebrities who gave for the first time in the third quarter was actor/director Sean Penn. His donations in the 2008 campaign now stand at $4600 to John Edwards and $2300 to Dennis Kucinich.


See who is bankrolling the 2008 Presidential election. Search by name or street address to see the cash donations and political leanings of your boss, neighbors, relatives, friends, and favorite celebrities with Huffington Post's FundRace.

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HILLARY DID RUN THE CLINTON MAFIA (HILLARY'S CELL PHONE SPYING)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 2:42 PM

HILLARY QUOTE: "I have a million ideas but you can't afford them all."

HILLARY SPIED ON AMERICAN CELL PHONE CONVERSATIONS(Newsmax)
Queen Comrade Hillary listened to a secretly recorded conversation between political opponents. Former New York Times investigative reporter Jeff Gerth and Times investigative reporter Don Van Natta Jr. wrote that during Bill Clinton"s 1992 presidential campaign, "Hillary"s defense activities ranged from the inspirational to the microscopic to the down and dirty. She received memos about the status of various press inquiries, she vetted senior campaign aides; and she listened to a secretly recorded audiotape of a phone conversation of Clinton critics plotting their next attack."

SMOTHERING BILL CLINTON'S AFFAIRS
Newsmax reported in June, "The tape contained discussions of another woman who might surface with allegations about an affair with Bill. Bill's (and Hillary"s) supporters monitored frequencies used by cell phones, and the tape was made during one of those monitoring sessions."

HILLARY'S ILLEGAL ACTTIVITIES
Mickey Kaus at Slate magazine noted: "Isn't [secret phone monitoring] not so legal? ¦ Several legal experts told The Hill newspaper that it was illegal to intercept cell phone messages in 1992.

FLIP-FLOPPING HILLARY HYPOCRISY?
In August, Clinton voted against an emergency law that temporarily expanded the government"s power to conduct surveillance on American soil without a warrant. A month earlier, she outlined her privacy bill of rights, which includes the right to sue when privacy rules have been violated. "Hillary Clinton"s campaign hypocrisy continues to know no bounds. It is¦unbelievable that Clinton would listen in to conversations being conducted by political opponents, but refuse(s) to allow our intelligence agencies to listen in to conversations being conducted by terrorists as they plot and plan to kill us.

SneakyLiberalHillarismIsNotAFamilyValue

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:02 PM on 10/21/2007

I don't think the FundRace search engine is very accurate.

It couldn't possibly be true that Arianna Huffington hasn't contributed to any candidate???

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:59 PM on 10/21/2007

Ug, again the cries from unknowing inconciderate idiots "Entertainers are stupid, why should we listen to them?". Get off it. Do you think that all the hard work the people mentioned in the article did to get where the are has somehow drained them of the same brain cells you and I have for political contemplation? Are they somehow less worthy of being citizens of this country than anyone else? (ok, so Theron isn't, but she has a stake here).

And what of the celebrity of politics? The celebrity of Limbaugh, Hanity, or the minor Boortz, and whats his name... Ann Coulter?

They are all entertainers, and say so regularly, all are idiots, but where are the cries that "Entertainers are stupid" in their context?

We live in a society that is overly interested in celebrity, so get over it.

Frankly, I haven't given a dime to any candidate yet. And neither will I until it makes sense to do so. It is my personal protest, and when called on it, I let the DNC caller know, "No, I will not give you my money, because you are not doing what we put you in office to do".

But after Arianna's interview with Pelosi, I think I will start giving to Cindi Sheehan.

Impeach
Convict
Imprison

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:01 PM on 10/21/2007

Who gives a crap about these Hollywood types? Why should any clear thinking human care what some overpaid, self-centered hypocrite thinks. These nitwits make a living pretending to be someone their not for God's sake. Then they stand in line to pat each other on the back to feel good about themselves. These shallow people are the most insecure humans on the planet.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:59 AM on 10/21/2007
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Unless you work in the industry or have family members in it, you have no basis in fact re your nasty comments. There have been plenty of actors over the years who have proven to be down-to-earth, caring individuals, including Audrey Hepburn, Myrna Loy, Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Irene Dunne, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Valerie Harper, Daryl Hannah, et al.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:01 PM on 10/21/2007
- LenP I'm a Fan of LenP permalink

If you've ever seen her show "My Life on the D-list" you'd know that Kathy Griffin HAS no money.

And she lacks the social conscious to donate to a candidate anyway.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:27 AM on 10/19/2007

Sorry, LenP, I don't think YOU'VE ever seen her show. Have you SEEN that house she lives in??

You'd be a fool if you think Kathy is D-list with her finances. Don't you get it? It's part of her 'act'.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:42 AM on 10/19/2007
- Hart I'm a Fan of Hart permalink
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Uh, I've watched the show and it seems quite clear to me considering her house and its location that she has quite a bit of money. In addition, her supposed lack of social consciousness is fiendish for it has motivated her to perform/host countless charitable benefits, raise (a lot of) money through E-bay for charity, advocate for GLBTs and actually go to Iraq (Baghdad, itself!) to entertain troops. No money? Lack of social consciousness? You must live in upside down, bass-ackwards land, 'tard.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:53 AM on 10/19/2007

i'm thinking there is more than a bit of amusement by those who present this sort of drivel. most everything i read, whether who gives the most, who's in the lead, who said what to whom and pissed off a floating armada of sea urchin is no more than fodder to extract the dinero. most of what is posted here is political fluff. arrianna huffington has no platform or agenda passed her own self-serving interest: money (mainly), and the glamour associated with rubbing elbows with the rest of the hacks here. impeachment? end the war? raise new orleans from the swamp? fuck that! she needs all of those "beautiful" people to contribute their screeds, quid pro quo of the worst kind: still no one representing the common person.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:03 AM on 10/19/2007
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If we think there is too much emphasis on celebrity behavior in the news, why is Huffington Post spending so much time with their opinions and donations? It seems wrongheaded.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:36 AM on 10/19/2007
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Nice name, Viva. Just saw Elia Kazan's film. Great stuff....

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:47 AM on 10/19/2007
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Personally, I think Hollywood should support NO candidate. Washington will always try and screw the entertainment industry no matter what they do. Artists/entertainers are such an easy target for both the Republicans (who bash them mercilessly, unless they're Republican), and Democrats (the Clintons, the PMRC Gore, and the Lieberman types).

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:18 PM on 10/18/2007

"Third quarter contributions are out, and perhaps more noteworthy than the celebrities who have given are the many who have not."

No, what is noteworthy is that liberals are looking to celebrity contributions to decide on which horse to back.

Pathetic on the highest level! Hilarious!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:29 PM on 10/18/2007
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Not all of the celebs are liberals, dude. Patricia Heaton & Tom Selleck, for instance, generally vote Republican.

But yeah, I agree in general that caring what my fav actors vote for is stupid. Knowing that the normally level-headed Susan Sarandon has donated 3K to rank homophobe Barack Obama certainly makes me wonder how open-minded she really is.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:06 PM on 10/21/2007
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