Thanking Tinseltown for Four More Years

Right-wing activists at Citizens United have raised enough money to erect at least three billboards within spitting distance of the Kodak Theatre, host to this month’s Academy Awards ceremony. The billboards, which thank liberal Hollywood for driving voters to Bush, are a publicity stunt that's playing well in conservative circles. They're just one part of the right's relentless campaign to paint the movie industry as elitist and anti-American, and Hollywood stars as bumbling actors out of touch with the red-state reality of the American heartland. (photo: Cinemocracy)

One billboard features Barbra Streisand, Ben Affleck, Sean Penn and other progressive actors in sheepish poses under the headline "W. Still President. Thank You Hollywood." The message is meant as a slap to those members of the Hollywood establishment who campaigned vigorously to oust Bush from the White House.

The mastermind behind the Tinseltown taunt is right-wing hatchet man David Bossie. His Citizens United Foundation, a subsidiary of Citizens United, bills itself as "a non-partisan, non-profit research and education foundation. . . . dedicated to informing the American people about . . . traditional American values, including: the Constitution as the supreme limit on federal power, a strong national defense as the primary role of the federal government; free enterprise as the economic system that has enabled the American people to attain and maintain an historically high standard of living; belief in God and Judeo/Christian values as the fundamental attribute of our way of life; and the recognition of the family as the basic social unit of our society."

Bossie, is actually a dirt mover for the Republican Party; and he has a history to prove it. In 1998, he was fired from his job as an investigator working for Representative Dan Burton (R-IN) on the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee in 1998. Bossie was canned, as the Washington Post subsequently reported, for his role in releasing doctored transcripts of former Clinton administration official Webster Hubbell's prison conversations -- an ethical violation that caused even Newt Gingrich to blush.

According to Eric Boehlert, Bossie's MO during the Starr investigation was to lob "scattershot allegations" at an over-eager press corps that rarely bothered to fact-check his attacks before running them in their news outlets.

Democratic strategist James Carville once said, "[Bossie] made collective fools out of about 80 percent of the national press corps." He has since commanded media attention for making other unsubstantiated claims, including a statement that former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay was closer to the Democratic and not Republican Party, and that he had evidence that proved Bill Clinton was responsible for the September 11 attacks.

That a prankster like Bossie has managed to maintain visibility in Washington, particularly among the press, is one of the sad truths of our enfeebled Fourth Estate.

The 2004 publication of Bossie's quickie rant -- "The Many Faces of John Kerry: Why This Massachusetts Liberal is Wrong for America" -- is another affront to Citizens United's "non partisan" billing. None of the Foundation's -- filled with non-partisan platitudes necessary to substantiate the organization's 501 (c) 3, tax exempt status -- seems to be taken seriously.

Next on Bossie’s hit list is "Hollywood liberals." While the billboards seem to contradict Citizens United's allegedly "non-partisan" stance, they are a brilliant effort to get across a central Republican talking point: that the elite entertainment establishment -- on both left and right coasts -- is at odds with red-meat America.

Now the right-wing has glommed onto the billboard story to further push their notion that Tinseltown is the mouthpiece of a liberal agenda: "Already, word of the billboards has Hollywood in a tizzy and the Citizens United campaign has been featured on CNN and Fox News,” boasts right-wing news service NewsMax.

"Making the experience more painful for the disappointed Hollywood big wigs is the location of the three billboards -- their proximity to the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards."

Clearly, the right is hoping this story will gain more traction in traditional press, amplifying their anti-Hollywood message for more to hear. If past experience is any guide, Bossie will succeed in making this a mainstream news item. The Billboards went up on February 1 and will run through the month. The Academy Awards occur on the 27th. Let’s see how far this hot-air balloon flies.