Posted on 01/26/2006 8:08:23 AM PST by areafiftyone
The latest poll is not good for the Democrats. I am not talking here of the one showing George Bush's approval rating inching up. I'm talking about the recently released Harris Poll showing John Wayne, one of the most popular movie stars of 2005. The one thing he and the Democratic Party have in common is that they are both dead.
Wayne was the quintessential anti-Democrat. Everything he stood for - from support for the Vietnam War to antipathy to the '60s and '70s counterculture - was in consonance with GOP positions. More important, though, his iconic man-on-horseback image has been adopted by virtually the entire Republican Party.
The Harris people tell us that Wayne, tied for third with Harrison Ford, is a particular favorite of men. Tom Hanks (No. 1 two years in a row) is beloved by women, and both Wayne and Hanks are the choice of conservatives. (Liberals chose Johnny Depp).
Wayne personifies the gender gap, the virtually habitual way white men vote Republican. There are many reasons for this - Democratic feminism, affirmative action, etc. - but one of them surely is that the John Wayne-style of the GOP appeals to the cowboy in most men. Even I, Eastern dude that I be, would rather follow the Duke than, say, Johnny Depp. Sorry, my man, but that's the way it is.
Back when I met Wayne, he was a dated, pro-war caricature. It was 1977 and the Duke had somehow been invited to Jimmy Carter's preinaugural gala at the Kennedy Center. When he was through addressing the crowd, he walked right at me, looming as huge and formidable as he seemed on the screen. John Wayne did not play in Westerns. John Wayne was a Western. (Actually, he hated horses and never rode if he could possibly avoid it.)
Since that night, Ronald Reagan has come and gone. Now we have another Wayne in the White House, another rancher who doesn't ranch, a cowboy who doesn't ride.
No matter. George Bush shed his family's Eastern ways just as surely as Wayne did his prosaic Iowa upbringing as Marion Morrison, son of Clyde the pharmacist.
You can scan the length and breadth of the Democratic Party and not find any breadth, and no Wayne figure either. None of the Democratic leaders seems to have what it takes to appeal to white male voters. But if you should happen to be in room 241 of the Russell Senate Office Building, you'll find Wayne galore: pictures of John McCain in various Arizona settings. He's a twofer - a military hero and a Westerner. Democrats, beware.
Okay, Bill Clinton won twice and he ain't no cowboy. So it can be done. But in the Harris Poll, Wayne's ahead of Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, George Clooney, Sean Connery and Sandra Bullock. Democrats take note. The Duke is still king.
Originally published on January 25, 2006
Amamzing! The Duke has been dead for over twenty years and he's still one of the most popular movie stas!
In essence, strength, character and a belief in America as a beacon of hope and freedom still matter.
Nice Picture!
All my heros are cowboys.
Good one
"George Bush shed his family's Eastern ways just as surely as"
Another lib with no clue.
The Duke was really something. He's never mentioned in the same breath as an actor with Olivier, Guiness, Gable or Power or even Jimmy Stewart. But he had more presence than any of them and seemed to personify something uniquely American. For my money, there is no comparison to a John Wayne / John Ford Western in all of cinema to date!
The real point of the article - but John McWayne? I don't think so. ;)
Hollyweird should take note, but no, they try to shove gay cowboys at their customers.
Until the current 40 and older crowd is gone. All of my kids were forced to watch John Wayne movies with me when they were young and know they are out converting others their age.
Now hold on a moment??
!
Miller: John Wayne was a fag.
All: The hell he was.
Miller: He was, too, you boys. I installed two-way mirrors in his pad in Brentwood, and he come to the door in a dress.
From Repo Man, a funny movie.
Don't flame me! I love JW movies.
American hero:
http://www.geocities.com/jhirsch.geo/
Demlib hero:
http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Bayou/3385/MidnightCowboy.html
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