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Home Front: Politix
Hollywood pumps cash to save Senate majority for Democrats
2014-08-14
[THEHILL] Hollywood is pouring money into the midterm elections, with A-listers such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Barbra Streisand all coughing up blockbuster bucks.

The donations are largely aimed at keeping the Senate in Democratic hands. Republicans, who have the political winds at their backs, need to pick up six seats to win control of the upper chamber.

Streisand, a longtime Democratic donor, opened her checkbook in several competitive Senate races, according to Federal Election Commission data collected and analyzed by The Hill.
In addition to a $10,000 donation to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and $2,600 to House Minority Leader Nancy San Fran Nan Pelosi
Congresswoman-for-Life from the San Francisco Bay Area, born into a family of professional politicians. Formerly Speaker of the House, but it's not her fault they lost. Really. Noted for her heavily botoxed grimace...
 (D-Calif.), Streisand gave $1,000 to the campaigns of Democratic Sens. Mark Udall (Colo.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Jeff Merkley, (Ore.) and Mark Begich (Alaska), all top GOP targets.

One of the biggest recipients of the entertainment industry's dollars is Kentucky Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, whose is in a tight battle against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R).

Her donor list reads like a who's who of Tinseltown: producer J.J. Abrams, Ben Affleck, comedian Jack Black, "Avatar" director James Cameron, Nicolas Cage, Danny DeVito, Cameron Diaz, DiCaprio, Jennifer Garner, director Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld, Mike Myers, and "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm all giving $5,200 each, the maximum amount an individual can give to a single candidate in a two-year election cycle.

Other Grimes donors include DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Woody Allen, Ted Danson, America Ferrera, Leonard Nimoy, Streisand, "West Wing" writer Aaron Sorkin, Ben Stiller and Chris Rock.

While the Bluegrass State race has attracted lots of attention, less-headline-making political matchups also caught the eye of some famous names. Louis-Dreyfus, who plays a fictional vice president on HBO's "Veep," waded into the real-life political world with a $2,600 donation to Rep. Lois Capps's (D-Calif.) campaign coffers.
Posted by:Fred

#8  Idiots that don't know anything about the real world are paying for idiots who don't know the real world to "rule it".
Posted by: newc   2014-08-14 16:24  

#7  "Stop purchasing their products. Don't go to the movies. Don't watch TV. Find something else to do for entertainment."

Did that years ago, NMU.

Somehow I'm still alive.
Posted by: Barbara   2014-08-14 15:01  

#6  No surpises on the list except Nick Cage. More of a surprise how many lefties didn't cough up cash.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2014-08-14 14:38  

#5  JohnQC, I've timed the commercials on some of the movie channels. They give you 10 minutes of movie then five minutes of commercials. There are some channels that don't do that. I don't watch the ones that do. I can't. It grates that badly on me. I like watching old episodes of cowboy and detective shows. Some of the premium channels border on pr0n. But then, some of the channels at the high end of the dial really are pr0n. I guess you have to pay extra for them but I never really checked. Reading a book is better.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2014-08-14 11:07  

#4  Someone once referred to TV as the "vast wasteland." They had no idea what it was to become. At one time there was some morality on TV and few commercials. When cable first was available, there were no commercials. I guess the thought was that you were paying for TV, you shouldn't have to endure commercials. That gradually morphed into what we have to day; incessant commercials and not much program. I swear, I think TV is inducing this epidemic of ADD/ADHD that kids today seem to have. Movies, not much better. Hollywired/Hollywierd tries to "raise (or maybe lower) our consciousness" with their B.S. morality. The movies are vapid and boring for the most part--little story or plot--not much acting--all special effects.
Posted by: JohnQC   2014-08-14 10:37  

#3  End the de facto royal patents the Founders despised. Bring back the original 14 year copyright period, with one extension to the 'individual' artist, not corporations or fronts set up to avoid that limitation. Watch that culture suck wind.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2014-08-14 08:49  

#2  Stop purchasing their products. Don't go to the movies. Don't watch TV. Find something else to do for entertainment.

Ask your reps and senators to repeal the Clinton era Hollywood tax breaks for entertainers.
Posted by: no mo uro   2014-08-14 05:23  

#1  In addition to a $10,000 donation to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and $2,600 to House Minority Leader Nancy “San Fran Nan” Pelosi...

I think economists refer to this sort of thing as 'misallocation of resources'.
Posted by: Raj   2014-08-14 00:30  

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