Friday, July 16, 2004

"Hollywood Donor" Canard

In the news and in recent talking points the Republicans have been making the noise again about how the Democratic party is so strongly supported by entertainers and the entertainment industry. But when you look at the numbers at opensecrets.org the is no story there.

In the TV/Movie industry the giving is $10 mill to $5 mill for the Democrats.
For lawyers it's $73 mill to $35 mill for Democrats.
For labor it's $28 mill to $5 mill for Democrats
Dems ahead by $66 mill

For finance/insurance/real estate it's $107 mill to $70 for Republicans
For health it's $42 mill to $23 mill for Republicans
For construction it's $27 mill to $10 mill for Republicans
For agribusiness it's $20 mill to $8 mill for Republicans
For defense it's $6 mill to $4 mill for Republicans
For energy it's $21 mill to $7 mill for Republicans
For transportation it's $20 mill to $7 mill for Republicans
For misc business it's $64 mill to $36 mill for Republicans
Republicans in these areas ahead by $129 mill

Which nets to $63 mill ahead for the Republicans.

Sure, there's a few big donors in the entertainment industry. But they are more than offset by the big donors in other businesses. The Republicans are doing quite well in the money department and it is disingenuous for them to be whining.

In terms of the top contributors to the presidential campaigns it may seem disconcerting for educational institutions to be listed but the note to the side indicates that these are bundled contributions from individuals associated with the institution rather than from the institution itself.

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