The youth vote was a key factor in President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory.
In a transparent and ill-conceived move to attract a block of voters mired in pop culture and celebrity adoration, both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions several celebrity appearances.
There’s nothing new about entertainers mingling with politicians, or even crossing over and becoming politicians themselves.
But there’s something different about this election. The high number of pop culture icons involved in politics is unprecedented and I have to wonder why.
The DNC featured actresses Eva Longoria and Scarlett Johansson, as well as Kal Penn of “Harold & Kumar” fame.
It’s entirely possible that these figures truly believe they should do everything in their power to encourage voter turnout and political participation.
I’m prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt.
However, it remains a cheap ploy by the Democratic Party to appeal to the younger demographic of an electorate that can name all the members of the Kardashian family but not the justices of the Supreme Court.
On the other hand, the appearance by conservative actor and director Clint Eastwood at the RNC was hardly an exercise in dignity or respect.
In fact, it was downright hypocritical for the Republican Party to embrace a member of Hollywood, when so many Republicans and members of the religious right disdain the “immoral” entertainment community as elitist and corruptive.
This kind of outpouring of political views from entertainers is often met with scathing comments from fans that’d prefer not to hear what celebrities think about health care or the war in Afghanistan.
Sometimes so much controversy arises from a political statement that a celebrity’s reputation can be tarnished for quite some time, as with the case of the Dixie Chicks in 2003. Singer Natalie Maines said she was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”
Actress Jane Fonda is notorious for her anti-war tour of Vietnam in 1972 and the pejorative “Hanoi Jane” label still follows her to this day.
The line between celebrities and politics has never been entirely clear, but it has become fuzzier.
Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of “Vogue,” along with Michael Jordan, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have all sponsored fundraisers for Obama’s campaign. Oprah Winfrey is also a well-known advocate.
Chuck Norris, Donald Trump and Jenna Jameson have each publicly supported Mitt Romney, while Trump’s wife Melania hosted a fundraising party for Ann Romney’s birthday.
There is so much talk these days about the “decline of America.” There’s always some new controversy that supposedly signals the end of so-called American exceptionalism and the expiration of our values, or else there’s some individual who represents everything that’s “wrong” with the country.
If there’s anything plaguing our national debate, it’s not one person or catastrophe. It is an electorate that has more interest in “American Idol” than American politics.
Reach the columnist at skthoma4@asu.edu or follow the columnist at @SavannahKThomas
