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
I wonder, does the Navy has a ship named for him?
Ya see, pilgrim, if yud stop botherin' the American people with your screwball ideas ... they might like ya a lot better ... But I doubt it.
Jeez, I can hear him saying it.
Not yet.
Too bad.
i'm one of the kids who's dad and grandfather made me watch john wayne.. well, they only had to make me watch one.. i asked for the rest. :)
and yessir.. i convert everyone i can into john wayne fans.
I'm sorry, but I'm a staunch Bush supporter and cringe everytime I see him doing the "ranch" thing. It's just not that convincing to me.
He's a Yale educated, MBA type. A businessman, a former baseball franchise owner. And he's an astute politician. He's the son of a president/CIA Director/Ambassador, for goodness' sake. I understand he's a born-again Christian and I assume a recovering alcohlic. Just doesn't fit the "cowboy" mold to me.
John Wayne and Ronald Regan, now that's a different story!
Oooh, nice picture. That's from Hondo, isn't it? One of my favorite movies of all time, and also one of my favorite Louis L'amour books.
And now the bonus question, what was the dog's name?
That was a very funny movie!
John Wayne said in Back to Bataan;
Colonel Madden (Back to Bataan):
"This kind of war, you've gotta believe in what you're fighting for."
Even tho it was only a scripted line in a movie it is something we all should remember.
Me too I have a collection of about 35 John Wayne movies and all my children are forced (willingly I might add) to watch them. Lotta good messages in John Wayne movies.
Dog
His Congressional Gold Medal simply says "John Wayne - American" that says it all!
Nope! Watch it again!
Only John Wayne.
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