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
Dog's name was Sam....
Dog's name was Sam....
When you compare the Duke's westerns, it's hard for me to pick a "best". But I like Rooster Cogburn a lot... "out here a man values a good woman almost as much as he values his horse..."
"Can I have an Amen, brothers and sisters!..."
We've got to keep the pressure on them. Money talks. People, please don't give any of your money to the likes of 'Brokeback', 'Pulp Fiction' or any other film that don't respect community norms.
Rush talking about this thread now...
"John Wayne was a FAG!"
Can I ask why you say that? Just curious.
John Wayne also had great taste in women.
Yes!!!! Thanks for stating that.
Bring out the GIMP!
BTW: John Wayne had GREAT taste in women. He was far from being a homo.
oops! Sorry about that. LOL
Oops, you used the 'Decency' word...That might get you labeled as one of 'those' people. Don't you know, decency (along with 'Truth') does't exist in the 'Post-Modernism' era we live in today.
Yes, you probable could sell millions of tickets to a beheading...Doesn't make it good or right.
There are only two 'stars' whom I wish I could have met: John Wayne and Frank Sinatra. I have met a few others; one of whom has been a dear memory to me. But these two are my only regrets.
One may wonder why I regret not meeting Sinatra. Let me tell you a story (although this is somewhat off topic): A close friend's family was in the undertaking business in a Chicago suburb. Another of their family's businesses was a limousine service. My friend was slated to pick up comedian Jack E. Leonard at his hotel and drop him off at a Chicago theater for a movie opening. It was raining quite hard during the drive to the theater. During that drive, Leonard proved himself to be an absolutely insufferable ass; to the point that, when they arrived at the theater, my friend parked the limo across the street, making Leonard walk through a downpour instead of letting him get out under the canopy.
Just prior to driving away, someone knocked at my friend's driver's window. It was the drive for Frank Sinatra, who handed my friend a $100 bill and told him that Mr. Sinatra insisted my friend be given the money as 'he can't stand the SOB either'.
My friend told that story often however I always considered it somewhat apocryphal. Some years ago, however, I saw a TV program about Sinatra which stated how Sinatra always carried a supply of $100 bills on him. If someone provided a service or friendly gesture that Sinatra considered 'exceptional' then he saw to it that someone in his entourage got a $100 bill to that individual. This has caused me to revisit my friend's story as likely factual.
Sinatra has always been my favorite entertainer. Hearing this of him has made me regret I never had a chance to meet him. Again, I realize this is somewhat off-topic but it is a great story and demonstrates that not all 'stars' are/were insufferable egoists.
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