A Puzzlement
Jan. 16th, 2006 09:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowThe following is not intended entirely seriously.
There is a general perception that Hollywood and the USAn entertainment industry in general are hotbeds of political liberalism. I find it striking, therefore, that all the actors who have been elected to office, at any level, that I can bring to mind have been Republicans.
Think about it. George Murphy. Ronald Reagan. Fred Grandy. Fred Thompson (OK, that's a marginal case; he was a lawyer and a politico before he was an actor). Sonny Bono. Clint Eastwood. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Am I missing anybody?
If you extend the definition of "entertainer" to include athletes - not a notoriously liberal bunch - the picture changes a little. Jim Bunning, Vinegar Bend Mizell, Bob Mathias, J. C. Watts, Tom Osborne - all Republicans. Bill Bradley was a Democrat, of course, and Jesse Ventura ran on the Reform ticket. Does Gerald Ford count? Byron White comes to mind - he was a Democrat, though he proved to be quite conservative on the Supreme Court - but he wasn't elected to anything.
Anybody else?
There is a general perception that Hollywood and the USAn entertainment industry in general are hotbeds of political liberalism. I find it striking, therefore, that all the actors who have been elected to office, at any level, that I can bring to mind have been Republicans.
Think about it. George Murphy. Ronald Reagan. Fred Grandy. Fred Thompson (OK, that's a marginal case; he was a lawyer and a politico before he was an actor). Sonny Bono. Clint Eastwood. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Am I missing anybody?
If you extend the definition of "entertainer" to include athletes - not a notoriously liberal bunch - the picture changes a little. Jim Bunning, Vinegar Bend Mizell, Bob Mathias, J. C. Watts, Tom Osborne - all Republicans. Bill Bradley was a Democrat, of course, and Jesse Ventura ran on the Reform ticket. Does Gerald Ford count? Byron White comes to mind - he was a Democrat, though he proved to be quite conservative on the Supreme Court - but he wasn't elected to anything.
Anybody else?
