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It’s no secret that Hollywood and the Democrat Party are political bedfellows. For decades, Democrats have cozied up to Tinseltown actors, musicians, and producers via their shared embrace of leftism. Meanwhile, those in the movie industry with a conservative worldview have tended to keep it to themselves.
But Hollywood is losing its power and influence.
This became evident in the final days of Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign when top-level celebrities performed a song-and-dance routine to inspire Americans to vote for a candidate without experience or substance. Clearly, their star power is waning. Harris got to mingle with Hollywood celebs, but Donald Trump got the votes.
There was a time when actors and singers would give their time freely to be seen with a Democrat presidential candidate, but now we know the Harris campaign couldn’t have won those celebrity endorsements without forking over some serious cash. So that’s how a billion dollars in campaign funds disappeared.
The Washington Times reports, “The Harris campaign spent a sizable portion of its war chest on star-studded events with Hollywood elites, who performed songs or hosted her rallies. Democrats are angry that the Harris campaign couldn’t defeat Mr. Trump and are pointing fingers at the spending decisions.”
According to the Times, the list of big names included rapper 2 Chainz, The Isley Brothers, Lada Gaga, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, and Bon Jovi. In the end, the performers pocketed the cash, and Harris lost the election. So much for Hollywood’s political power.
California governor Gavin Newsom still thinks wooing Hollywood celebs is key to winning the White House, and he’s bent over backward to keep them happy. He recently offered a hefty increase in the state’s film tax credit. Apparently, paying off the La La Land bigwigs now is better than begging for their endorsement when he runs for president in 2028.
“It’s enlightening,” write the editors of The Wall Street Journal, “to hear Democrats lambaste tax cuts for the so-called rich while they bestow government handouts on their Hollywood donors. Look no further than California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who … pitched doubling the state’s film tax credit, not long after raising taxes on other businesses.”
The Journal adds, “California’s tax revenue is exceeding budget projections this year owing to a buoyant stock market that has lifted capital gains. Mr. Newsom’s first instinct is to spend the money helping his Hollywood friends. On Sunday he proposed increasing the state’s film tax credit program to $750 million a year from $330 million.”
One reason why Newsom thinks Hollywood needs help is that movie producers are leaving California to make movies in states where it’s cheaper to do business. According to the Hollywood Reporter, “MasterChef. Supergirl. The Kelly Clarkson Show. These productions all initially filmed in California but were convinced to leave at least in part due to more lucrative tax credits in other regions. Now, as runaway production and Hollywood cost-cutting threatens the state’s hold on the film and television business, Gov. Gavin Newsom is stepping in.”
Too bad Newsom cares more about keeping the lights on in Hollywood than helping regular, hard-working Californians pay their own light bills. The Hollywood Reporter adds, “The move arrives after months of entertainment industry workers in the Los Angeles area speaking out about a lack of employment opportunities in the iconic production hub.”
Newsom and Democrats in the California legislature are so desperate to keep the movie industry in the Golden State that they’re actually cutting some programs — something they’d never do to help the working people they claim to care about so much.
How to keep the movie and entertainment industry satisfied? Here’s how: “Politicians had to cut a lot of pork and progressive programs this year to bring down the state’s estimated $46.8 billion deficit,” reports Deadline, “but the film and TV tax credits weren’t touched.”
Unfortunately for Democrats, some in Hollywood are beginning to wonder if it’s even worth publicly supporting political candidates. As Judy Kurtz and Amie Parnes write at The Hill, “Democrats are questioning their steady reliance on A-list celebrity endorsements after a brutal election loss by Vice President Harris that has triggered existential questions within the party about whether it’s fallen out of touch with working-class voters.”
You don’t say.
And Fox News reports that film director Adam McKay “went on a tear against the Democratic Party in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory Tuesday, declaring he’s ditching the party for good.”
Democrats have learned some hard lessons in this election cycle. Calling Donald Trump “an existential threat to our democracy” doesn’t work. Calling Trump’s supporters “garbage” actually gets them to vote en masse. And paying off Hollywood celebrities isn’t enough to salvage a failing presidential campaign.
