RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
Red State
The Celebrity-in-Chief heads to a Hollywood blockbuster fundraiser this afternoon. George Clooney stars as the host. Chef Wolfgang Puck plays a supporting role as caterer. And Obama is expected to rake in as much as $12 million, making it the biggest presidential fundraiser ever.
Of course, President Obama has a long history of hobnobbing with the Hollywood glitterati. He’s pitched movies to mogul Harvey Weinstein. He had Davis Guggenheim direct a documentary on his first term. He even hosted a secret “Alice in Wonderland” costume ball at the White House, decorated by Tim Burton and featuring Johnny Depp.
But, most notably, he’s taken their money—so much of their money. The president himself readily admits he depends on celebrity cash to fund his campaign.
“I’m going to need you,” he told Hollywood supporters a February fundraiser. “You’re going to carry this thing like you did in 2008.” From the looks of it, they have obliged.
The president is “getting an especially warm embrace from Hollywood and the broader entertainment industry,” reports the Washington Post.
“Entertainment industry donors contributed about $7.1 million to the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee,” found the Wall Street Journal.
But at what cost?
While he’s noshing with notables, courting celebrities, and soliciting stars, the middle class is being squeezed.
Since President Obama took office, the unemployment rate has increased from 7.8 percent to 8.1 percent. Today, 23 million Americans are struggling to find work; they’re unemployed or underemployed, or they have given up looking for work altogether.
Over the last three and a half years, far too many middle class families have lost their home or lost their jobs. Those that are working have seen their paychecks get smaller, even as gas, groceries, and healthcare become more expensive.
The latest census numbers reveal the middle class has shrunk during the Obama presidency. And 49.1 million Americans are living in poverty — a heart-breaking record.
The president mortgages our children’s future with record deficit spending, adding $5 trillion to the national debt already and no plan to stop.
With the president appearing increasingly out-of-touch, and his policies leaving Americans out of work, it’s unsurprising that only 19 percent of voters believe Obama’s policies favor the middle class, according to a CBS-New York Times poll.
The Clooney fundraiser will be Obama’s 133rd fundraiser since declaring reelection. No president has held nearly as many fundraisers as President Obama. Then again, no modern president has had to paper over such a dismal record.
But with middle class Americans reeling from the effects of Obama’s failed leadership, not even Hollywood magic can cover up the truth.
With a first term this disastrous, we can’t afford to see the second—because if we’ve learned anything from Hollywood, it’s that the sequel is always worse.