Whitehouse Goes Hollywood: Celebs Fund Senator’s Campaign
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Several top Hollywood executives, a former James Bond, Barbra Streisand and the creator of Lost all contributed to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s campaign last year, leading critics to question whether his support for internet piracy legislation was more of a fundraising ploy than a policy decision.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Whitehouse and his leadership Political Action Committee (PAC) received $247,114 from the television/movies/music industry in 2011, just as the industry ramped up efforts to curb piracy on the web.
Only President Obama, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and California Congressman Howard Berman received more individual contributions than Whitehouse from the industry.
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Whitehouse was a co-sponsor of the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), which Senate Majority Harry Reid placed on hold last week after many members of Congress on both sides of aisle expressed vocal opposition to the bill.
The Senator has not backed away from his commitment to the legislation and on Tuesday, Republican challenger Barry Hinckley blasted Whitehouse for siding with the entertainment industry over Rhode Islanders.
"As he has done in the past for the benefit of bankers and trial lawyers, Senator Whitehouse is now sponsoring legislation at the behest of the entertainment industry, from which he has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Hinckley said. “Sheldon Whitehouse is a Senator for sale, and unfortunately this problem is rampant in Washington. The result is crony capitalism, with Washington insiders like Sheldon Whitehouse working on behalf of the favored industries that fill their campaign coffers, rather than on behalf of the American people."
Major Donors
Hinckley, who has purchased the URL SenatorforSale.com, claims the amount received from the entertainment industry is just the latest example of a Senator who has lost touch with the issues Ocean State residents care about.
Of the Senator’s more famous donors in 2011 include:
Pierce Brosnan – The former James Bond donated $1,000.
Barbara Streisand - One of the world’s most famous female performers donated $1,000.
Bob Iger - The current president and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company contributed $5,000.
Philippe P. Dauman – The president & chief executive of Viacom contributed $2,500.
Alan Horn – The former Warner Brothers President gave the Senator $2,500.
J.J. Abrams – The creator of Lost contributed $2,500 to the campaign.
Steve Bing – The top investor for the Polar Express donated $5,000.
“Instead of worrying about the 60,000 Rhode Islanders out of work, Senator Whitehouse is focused on raising money in Hollywood in order to carry out [former Senator] Chris Dodd’s SOPA/PIPA agenda, which effectively is more big government legislation intended to circumvent due process of law,” said Patrick Sweeney, executive director of the state GOP.
Not Doing it Out of Goodness of Their Hearts
Whitehouse did not respond to a request for comment, but the Senator has defended his stance on the PIPA by noting that “American copyright and trademark holders create millions of jobs, generate billions of dollars in tax revenue, and manufacture products we use every day - from pharmaceuticals to computer software. Foreign websites dedicated to selling fraudulent products are part of a cybercrime industry that threatens those jobs.”
But the question of whether a large fundraising haul played into the Senator’s support for the legislation is a fair one, according Kay Israel, professor of political communication at Rhode Island College.
“One can legitimately ask whether the fundraising done in these various locations influence the candidates’ views or whether the candidates’ views influence the success of their fundraising,” Israel said. “Both may be true. Senator Whitehouse’s stance on issues such as Protect IP Act can be legitimately based on his legal and moral judgment. The legislation seems to be less partisan with support and opposition shared within both parties. So as Hollywood seems to be supporting those Democrats and Republicans for the bill, further north, Silicon Valley dollars are being sent to those opposed to it.”
Common Cause Executive Director John Marion said it can be difficult to know if campaign donations flow to someone because of the position they take, or if the position comes about because of the donations. He said that inability to establish a quid pro quo is what the Supreme Court cites as it slowly deregulates the campaign finance system in the United States.
“What we do know is that the private funding system makes all the parties suspect,” Marion said. “Corporations whose sole responsibility is to make profits for shareholders are dumping huge amounts of money into our campaign system, and they're not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.”
Living in Lala Land
In the end, the legislation was benched thanks to opposition from tech companies, according to Darrell West, Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C.
“Hollywood is well-organized in Washington politics,” West said. “It contributes money to many different politicians and seeks to influence the course of public policy. However, these efforts did not pay off in recent battles over stopping online piracy. Despite a big effort on the part of content providers, Hollywood interests were decisively defeated by tech companies. The latter effectively made the argument about the importance of an open Internet not regulated by government entities.”
But Ernesto Falcon, Director of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge, said it wasn’t just tech companies that led the way on killing the bill. He noted that while there was a major push by the entertainment industry to focus specifically on the Senate Judiciary Committee (which Whitehouse sits on), it was the overwhelming public opposition that managed to get the legislation tabled.
“I've never see a bill have so much defection,” he said.
As for the future of the legislation, Falcon said a lot remains to be seen.
”A lot of members of Congress are stubborn upfront,” he said. “They are living in lala land.”
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