A Puzzlement

[stoutfellow]

The 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?

Comments

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Actors tend to support their politico or cause of choice, rather than running for office themselves.

That's true of most people. But it's a bit surprising, I think, that - among the minority of actors who do choose to run for office - the vast majority seem to be Republicans, especially if the majority tilt the other way.