When Lauren Boebert put some blame on Hollywood for forcing her to change Colorado districts in her reelection bid, she was simply the newest in an extended line of Republicans to focus on the trade and its lopsided help for the left.
Not a cycle goes by the place some GOP candidate doesn’t assault Hollywood, with a donor pool that overwhelmingly backs Democrats.
Talking over the weekend to Steve Bannon for his podcast, Boebert accused “Hollywood elites who’re attempting to purchase my present district.” “It’s not simply Aspen that the cash is coming from,” she mentioned. “It’s coming from Hollywood. When you could have Barbra Streisand coming in and donating to the Democrat, when you could have Ryan Reynolds coming in and donating to the Democrat, it exhibits you that Hollywood is attempting to purchase their means into Congress.”
Boebert was referring to Adam Frisch, the previous Aspen metropolis councilman who would have been her possible Democratic opponent within the basic election. Frisch, who almost beat Boebert within the 2022 midterms, raised about $8 million as of the top of September, way over Boebert.
However final week, Boebert introduced that she was switching districts, from Colorado’s third to Colorado’s 4th, ostensibly on the premise that she may have higher odds in an space that leans extra closely to Republicans.
Boebert instructed Bannon that switching districts would “shut down the cash, the darkish cash, that was flowing into our district to try to buy this seat,” as she had been a high Democratic goal.
Frisch did get contributions from Streisand and Reynolds, who every gave $1,000 final spring, together with different Hollywood names like Rob Reiner, Tony Shaloub and Richard Variety. However in line with the Heart for Responsive Politics, Frisch has drawn a complete of $75,583 from showbiz sources as of Sept. 30 — a big sum, however nonetheless only a fraction of his general haul. (His marketing campaign didn’t instantly return a request for remark.)
That mentioned, Boebert’s assault on her opponent for being bankrolled by the “Hollywood elites” is definitely a reasonably widespread tactic amongst Republicans, going again many, many cycles and with various levels of resonance.
For one, it will get media consideration, extra so than different industries — and right here we’re, responsible as charged. It additionally performs proper into the tradition wars: Boebert’s complete identification is tied up in that us vs. them attraction, notably amongst rural voters.
Whereas railing in opposition to the “elites” could have performed effectively in maximizing help within the third District’s rural areas vs. rich and movie star crammed Aspen, Boebert has a complete different problem in making it by means of the first in her new district, the place she faces a big area of different Republican candidates.
As a lot as she could complain concerning the outdoors affect of cash, Boebert not at all has restricted herself to hometown donors, drawing contributions from outside-the-district movie star figures like Jenny Craig (within the 2020 cycle), whereas Liberty Media’s John Malone, listed with a Florida tackle, gave the utmost $6,600 to her marketing campaign final yr.
In different phrases, they’re elites of a distinct kind. However in Boebert’s latest problem to carry on to a spot in Congress, in opposition to different GOP rivals, she appears to be hoping that a couple of swipes at Hollywood will assist her stand out from the group.
