"Hollywood 85" Subject To Letter-Writing Campaign

Hey, not the biggest deal in the world that they're being subject to pressure from folks over their politics. They'll survive, and, look, expressing pro-Israel sentiments in Hollywood isn't really a career-killer.

Still-- I'd like to point this out to all the liberals who cry "McCarthyism!" when people boycott the Dixie Chicks and the like.

Is it wrong, or is it legitimate, to express displeasure with an entertainer when he or she takes a controversial political stand?

The answer's either "It's always wrong" or "It's always legitimate." Not "It's legitimate if they're damned Zionists, but it's a chill wind of McCarthyism if they're good progressives just 'speaking the truth.'"

Thanks to Larwyn. Overly wordy, rambling rant on a slightly related topic follows.

An idiot lefty wrote the other day that it was "obvious" the right is "jealous" of the star-power aligned with the Left.

Well... no frickin' duh, dude. Celebrities are glamorous and beloved by the public (well... many of them are), and of course when they speak they get a lot more attention, and are a lot more persuasive due to their charisma, than, say, the average spokesman for the Heritage Foundation.

Plus, a lot of celebrities do seem pretty cool, and it's annoying to find out a cool person is viscerally, nastily opposed to your politics. I'll admit-- I thought Alec Baldwin was pretty damn funny before he started going all mental on everyone. I guess he probably still is pretty funny, in objective terms, but he's turned me off so much I put on the Deadpan whenever he tries to make a joke now.

So yeah, the right is -- or at least I am -- jealous of the near-monopoly of star-power on the left. They're effective in shaping public opinion, or at least moreso than the Average Joe. When Robert Redford came to speak with Michael Dukakis near my home in 1988, there was a big audience, and I assure you they weren't all there to hear the dulcet tones of Michael Dukakis' voice.

Although adults largely tune celebrities out when they talk politics, they're very influential in shaping the opinions of the young. If a kid doesn't know where he comes down on something, but all his MTV favorites are "Rockin' the Vote" one one side and other side there's William Bennett and Newt Gingrich, well, as big a fan as I am of Bennett and Gingrich, they don't really have that rock-star quality to them.

I think that's part of the reason Ann Coulter is so wildly popular. She's good with a quip and makes good points, but an important part of her appeal is that she's got a touch of Elvis about her.

So, that's my long way of saying, in response to accusations that I'm jealous: No frickin' duh, dude. In related news, water is wet, and brown people are frightening.

Hypocrisy: Allah keeps getting pestered by lefties asking, "What about the Shut Up and Sing argument?"

As he said: "I didn't write that book."

posted by Ace at 02:39 PM

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