Dems cash in with Oscar nominees

[WestVirginiaRebel]

The Hill:

Democrats are the biggest winners when it comes to raking in political donations from Academy Award nominees.

 

Some of the Oscars’ most famous contenders — including this year’s hopefuls Reese Witherspoon, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo, Bradley Cooper, and Meryl Streep — are delivering big bucks for the left.

 

Norton plays an egotistical movie star in “Birdman,” — which snagged him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at Sunday’s awards — but the real-life film star is one of Hollywood’s biggest Democratic donors.

 

An analysis by The Hill of political donations made by past and present Oscar nominees in the award show’s top categories shows the entertainer, who has publicly urged Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to make a 2016 White House bid, has given tens of thousands of dollars over the years to Democratic causes and candidates.

Norton donated $53,000 to the Democratic National Committee over a four-year period and has also poured money into a slew of now-lawmakers’ campaigns, including Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), and Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), among others.

 

Witherspoon, who earned her second Best Actress nomination this year for “Wild,” has also donated generously to Democrats, according to Federal Election Commission records. The 2005 Oscar winner gave $1,500 to Warren’s camp in 2012. She's also given in excess of $6,000 to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and $1,500 to then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

 

While Clint Eastwood, the director behind Best Picture nominee “American Sniper,” is known for his support of Republican candidates — famously delivering his “empty chair speech” at the 2012 Republican National Convention — the film’s star, Bradley Cooper, gave $750 to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid. Cooper is vying for Best Actor for his portrayal of real-life Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in the record-breaking movie.

 

Other A-listers who double as Democratic donors and are up for Oscars this year include “Birdman” star and Best Actor nominee Michael Keaton, who gave $2,500 to President Obama’s reelection campaign,

 

“Foxcatcher’s” Best Supporting Actor nominee Mark Ruffalo, who has contributed more than $13,000 to Democrats in the last decade, Best Supporting Actress nominees Patricia Arquette and Laura Dern, "Boyhood's" Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep.

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Hollywood's lock-step rank and file.