|
 But in famously liberal Hollywood, long used as an ATM by
Democratic campaigns, Sanders' message is not resonating as
loudly as in other progressive bastions. The more moderate
Hillary Clinton has far outpaced the Vermont senator in
fundraising and has a deep line-up of A-list stars and top
executives among her backers.
Celebrities don't sway votes, but they can persuade people to
listen to a candidate's message, said historian Steven Ross,
author of "Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped
American Politics."
"It puts a candidate on their radar," he said.
Hollywood actors, studio executives and other employees of the
film, TV and music industries have donated at least $8.4 million
to Clinton's campaign and the independent Super PAC that
supports her bid, Priorities USA Action, according to a Reuters
analysis of campaign finance data through March 31.
A pair of Clinton fundraisers held by actor George Clooney this
month, at which tickets went for as much as $353,000 per couple,
is not included in that total, but were reported by Deadline
Hollywood to have raised an additional $15 million.
By contrast, Sanders' campaign had raised about $1 million from
entertainment industry donors through March 31, according to the
campaign finance data. The Vermont senator, who called the price
of the Clooney event "obscene," is not associated with a Super
PAC and says he does not court wealthy donors. (Graphic on
Hollywood flows to Sanders and Clinton: http://tmsnrt.rs/1U98K4g)
All Republican presidential candidates combined collected
$460,000, roughly 5 percent of entertainment industry donations,
the data showed.
Clinton's support in Hollywood can be traced back to strong ties
her husband built during his first presidential campaign in
1992, said Donna Bojarsky, a Democratic public policy consultant
who worked as national entertainment coordinator for Bill
Clinton's campaign.
Bill Clinton connected deeply with Hollywood, she said, in part
because "he showed a real respect for and appreciation of pop
culture. He followed it, and he enjoyed it."
Another reason for Hillary Clinton’s success in Hollywood is the
backing of executives. While business people in Hollywood may be
liberals, they are less likely to embrace a candidate who
attacks corporations, said Ross, the historian. Sanders
describes himself as a democratic socialist who wants higher
taxes on wealthy people and corporations to help pay for
college, healthcare, and other programs.
"Corporate Hollywood is about business and the bottom line,"
Ross said.
DICK VAN DYKE FOR SANDERS
The biggest Hollywood contributors to date are behind-the-scenes
figures rather than stars, with about two-thirds of Clinton's
industry support through March coming from just three donors.
Haim Saban, CEO of Saban Capital Group, contributed $3.5
million, while DreamWorks Animation <DWA.O> CEO Jeffrey
Katzenberg and director Steven Spielberg donated $1 million each
to Clinton and funds supporting her.
But it is the celebrity backers who make headlines for a
candidate, even if they're not making hefty contributions.
Pop singer Demi Lovato performed at a Clinton campaign rally,
and "Scandal" star Kerry Washington recorded radio and TV ads
for the former secretary of state.
"I really believe in her capacity to deliver on her messages,"
Washington said in an interview.
Sanders welcomed the band Vampire Weekend onto a stage in Iowa,
where they joined the candidate to sing "This Land Is Your
Land." The Red Hot Chili Peppers performed at a Sanders
fundraiser in Los Angeles.
[to top of second column] |
Clinton's celebrity support skews toward older men and women, and
she attracts more minorities, while younger personalities gravitate
to Sanders, said Dan Schnur, director of University of Southern
California's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics and a former
Republican political strategist.
These leanings reflect those of voters in general, Schnur said,
though there are plenty of exceptions.
Ninety-year-old actor Dick Van Dyke, a Sanders supporter, is happy
to buck the trend.
"People in my generation are set in their ways," Van Dyke said in an
interview. "Some people are afraid he might get a little too
drastic, that he might do something to upset the apple cart."
Sanders, not known for his sense of humor, has also attracted a
number of comedians as supporters, including Danny DeVito, Bill
Maher and Sarah Silverman.
"Bernie is not for sale," says Silverman, a one-time Clinton backer,
in a pro-Sanders video viewed more than 32 million times on Facebook.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate who genuinely represents the
people."
Schnur finds Sanders’ support among some comedians understandable.
"If you decide to perform comedy for a living, you've probably got a
little bit of an anarchist streak," he said, and Sanders "challenges
the establishment."
THE BERNIE-HILLARY SPLIT
At times the Sanders-Clinton divide in Hollywood has grown heated.
When actor Susan Sarandon, a Sanders supporter, said in an MSNBC
interview last month that she wasn’t sure she could vote for Clinton
if she was the Democratic nominee, the reaction in Hollywood was
intense. Her comments were seen as lending support to Trump.
Actor Jamie Lee Curtis, a Clinton supporter, tweeted that she
respected but disagreed with Sarandon, calling her position
"dangerous 2 women, minorities & migrants."
Debra Messing, one of the stars of NBC sitcom "Will and Grace," also
joined the Twitter fray, criticizing Sarandon for representing “the
Bernie or BUST position which is so dangerous for our country.”
Sarandon, who has donated $2,700 to Sanders, said her comments were
reported incorrectly. “Of course I wouldn’t vote for Trump,” she
said in an interview with Reuters. She is unrepentant in her support
for Sanders.
"We have to do something more than incremental change," Sarandon
said. Sanders is "about real change, progressive change," she said.
She said she worries about an industry backlash against Sanders
supporters, given the reaction to her statements, as well as
negative comments from feminist Gloria Steinem and former Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright about women supporting Sanders.
"It's a much easier thing to be supporting Hillary than to be
supporting Bernie if you are a woman in the industry."
In the end, Hollywood's Democrats will unite behind Clinton if she
wins the nomination, predicted USC's Schnur. "A Sanders-nista is not
going to flip over and vote Republican," he said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine, editing by Sue Horton and Ross Colvin)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
