SlowpokeBlog

I was suffering from both a migraine and a respiratory infection when this one was due, so this cartoon doesn't "leave the ground" as much as I'd like, but it does make a point I feel is important. More than once I've received email from wingnuts accusing me of taking my cues from actors, which strikes me as utterly bizarre, seeing as I believe the cult of celebrity is contributing to our democracy's implosion. You hear it all the time: Howard Dean was mocked in that commercial as a "Hollywood-loving" liberal. Sean Hannity's "Enemy of the State" segment laughably paired images of dictators with Alec Baldwin and other entertainers who've dared to criticize the Bush administration. Hollywood righties like Charlton Heston, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Tom Selleck, and Dennis Miller never seem to enter the equation. Let me reiterate the point that Ronald Reagan was a Hollywood actor.

But however Hollywood celebrities vote, it's irrelevant. They're not at all representative of the average voter, and the idea that Democrats everywhere are worshipping these people is absurd. Americans as a whole -- of all political stripes -- do worship celebrities, in a non-political sense, but that's another matter altogether.

I'm reminded of a thought I had while reading What's the Matter With Kansas? not long ago -- an absolute must-read for anyone interested in how the Republicans have convinced so many working-class people to vote against their own self-interest. One begins to wonder whether some people have so few progressives in their social networks that it becomes easy for them to believe that Hollywood celebrities are indicative of the norm. I say this as someone who grew up in rural Lancaster County, PA and who lives in a rural area now, albeit not far from fairly cosmopolitan Charlottesville. The "Hollywood liberal" meme fits so perfectly with the "liberal elite" smear -- the right-wing frame that convinces non-elites to vote for politicians who serve the real elites -- that we would do well to recognize it as part of their strategy.