Hollywood's 'Secret Society' of Conservatives

Want a quick way to end a promising Hollywood career? If you're a conservative in Tinsletown, the anonymity of the closet is the safest way to avoid calamity:

"They learn very quickly, if they know what's good for them, to donate to the Democratic Party," said Andrew Breitbart, co-author of "Hollywood, Interrupted." "If they were to donate to the Republican Party, they would be exposed to career-ending ridicule, period."

That hasn't stopped some conservatives from stepping up and donating to GOP candidates for President. At the same time, the donors go out of their way to avoid any publicity of the fact that they are supporting conservatives:

So far, just a handful of actors have come forward to support Republican hopefuls. Adam Sandler, who cast former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in a cameo role in his 2003 movie "Anger Management," has contributed $2,100 to Mr. Giuliani's campaign. The two met recently on Mr. Sandler's movie set in New York.

Former "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammar and his wife also have tossed in $6,900 for the mayor. But neither would comment about their support. In fact, not a single one of the dozen actors contacted for this story who have been identified as conservative leaning would comment publicly.

"Bo isn't available ... sorry," said Bo Derek's handler. "Mr. Costner is not available to be interviewed," said Kevin Costner's publicists. "I'm sorry, but unfortunately Mel is unavailable to contribute," said Mel Gibson's people.

Some Hollywood righties like producer Joel Surnow of 24 have made no bones about his conservative leanings in the past. But Surnow is the exception to the rule, an established producer with a hit TV show. For others, it is simply a matter of career protection to keep their political profile as low as possible.

The reason? An incredibly small number of people actually run Hollywood. They make the deals for the big movies that can propel a performer into the big time. The fact is, with the overwhelming majority of producers, directors, and the few actors who get involved in their own projects being liberal, if a conservative was too forward about their politics, they may not even be offered certain roles - roles that could make or break their careers.

This hasn't stopped GOP candidates from hitting Hollywood up for donations. It's just that they aren't as near successful doing it as Democrats:

In the first nine months of this year, Sen. John McCain of Arizona pulled in $390,000 from Hollywood, with Mr. Giuliani close behind at $360,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research group based in Washington.

Those numbers pale in comparison to Democrats. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York drew $2.2 million from the movie, music and TV industries over the same period. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois pulled in $2.1 million from some A-list actors, including Tom Hanks, Tobey Maguire, Eddie Murphy, Edward Norton Jr., Morgan Freeman and Ben Stiller.

While Hollywood will not be quite the motherlode of money for conservatives as it is for liberals, those fund raising numbers suggest a sizable number of people in the closet who, for one reason or another, feel more comfortable with a cloak of anonymity to hide their political affiliations. As sad commentary on those tolerant, kind-hearted "liberals" who make up Hollywood's elite.