May 17, 2012
George Clooney and Barack Obama
Thankfully, not everyone follows the herd. Actor Vince Vaughn phoned Texas Congressman Ron Paul last year merely to ask for textbook suggestions. He”d been introduced to the academic side of the “End the Fed” debate and wanted to further his understanding of how the Federal Reserve dampens our economy.
Comedian Jon Lovitz is a rare gem in Hollywood who refuses to obsess over Obama, referring to the president as a “fucking asshole” a few weeks ago when Democrats were busy complaining that the wealthy weren”t paying their fair share in taxes for bureaucratic crap.
But people such as Lovitz and Vaughn will always be exceptions because the presidency is a cult of personality, and Hollywood is forever focused on personality rather than ideas. And voters, many of whom get their political ideas straight from Hollywood, admire presidents who do things because hyperactive politicians are the ones who end up in the history books. Since voters are weaned on these history books by no choice of their own, this cycle is a never-ending plague on our republic. When was the last time you heard a public-school lesson claiming that Warren Harding ended a severe depression after World War I by making sure the government did less than usual, namely through drastic budget and tax cuts?
It’s difficult to glorify presidents whose political ideals involve leaving people alone as often as they possibly can, and that’s why the political right will never have Hollywood on its side. But the world’s businessmen back the free market, and when everything comes crumbling down they”ll be the only ones left standing. America needs a little less of the statist millionaire George Clooney and a few extra doses of the libertarian billionaire Peter Thiel.
