Hugh Hefner gives $2,300 to Clinton’s ’08 campaign
By The Hill Staff
Posted: 04/16/07 08:49 PM [ET]
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is seeking to become the first woman president, and a man who has published countless pictures of naked women is pitching in for her White House bid.
Hugh Hefner, the founder of the Playboy Enterprises empire, is among the many celebrities who have picked their favorite candidate to succeed President Bush in 2009.
Hefner contributed $2,300 (the maximum allowed in the primary) to Clinton’s campaign on March 28, identifying his occupation on the fundraiser form as “editor-in-chief” of Playboy magazine.
Hefner has given thousands to Democrats over the years, including $2,000 to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004 and $1,000 each to Al Gore and then-President Clinton in the 1990’s. Hefner’s favorite on Capitol Hill is Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.); he has given her $13,200 since 1996, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Sanchez attracted controversy by planning to hold a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion during the 2000 Democratic National Convention in California.
Other Clinton backers include Chevy Chase, TV personality Jerry Springer, and Barbra Streisand.
Clinton’s campaign did not return a phone call seeking comment.
An early review of celebrity donations shows that Sen. Barack Obama (D) is grabbing most of the big names in Hollywood. Jennifer Aniston, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Tobey Maguire, Edward Norton and Ben Stiller have opened their wallet for the junior senator from Illinois.
Dennis Haysbert, the black actor who portrayed the president in the Fox show “24” before his character was assassinated last year, also gave to Obama.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) attracted the financial backing of Rob Reiner, while Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) got Steve Martin, Paul Newman and “Saturday Night Live” honcho Lorne Michaels. Singer Don Henley and actor/writer Larry David contributed to former Sen. John Edwards’s (D-N.C.) war chest.
Some celebs have several horses in the field. Rosie O’Donnell gave to both Clinton and Richardson. Michael Douglas is a fan of Dodd and Richardson, based on fundraising information culled from PoliticalMoneyLine.
Most of Hollywood gave to Democratic candidates (shocking), but there were a few exceptions.
Actors Kelsey Grammer, Adam Sandler and John O’Hurley (J. Peterman on “Seinfeld”) cut checks for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R).
A chart, representing a sampling of celebrity endorsements/donations for the 2008 race for the White House, follows:
Clinton Candice Bergen Christie Brinkley Chevy Chase Hugh Hefner Christine Lahti Barry Manilow Marla Maples Rosie O’Donnell Jerry Springer Barbra Streisand
Obama Jennifer Aniston Jackson Browne Morgan Freeman Tom Hanks Dennis Haysbert Tobey Maguire Barry Manilow Branford Marsalis Eddie Murphy Ed Norton Ben Stiller Gene Wilder Dodd Edie Brickell Michael Douglas Steve Martin Lorne Michaels Paul Newman Elisabeth Shue Paul Simon Joanne Woodward Edwards Larry David Seth Green Don Henley
Kucinich Mark Ruffalo
Richardson Michael Douglas Rosie O’Donnell Rob Reiner
Giuliani Kelsey Grammer John O’Hurley Adam Sandler Ben Stein
Rep. Mark Souder, Juror #2
Some House lawmakers went on codels during the congressional recess. Others went on vacation. Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), meanwhile, had jury duty.
Before Souder could serve his civic responsibility, he was asked by the district attorney whether he could find the defendant not guilty of the pending misdemeanor battery charge, according to a report in the South Bend Tribune.
A smiling Souder responded, “I found [President] Clinton not guilty of three of four articles of impeachment.”
Souder was picked to serve (he was Juror #2, for the record) and sure enough, the defendant was found not guilty of the charge.
Honoring an Alaskan ‘Hulk’ Senator
Senators last week took time out from their usual partisan squabbling to honor Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) for becoming the longest-serving Republican senator.
There were plenty of amusing Stevens stories recounted on the floor about the combative, “Hulk” tie-wearing 83-year-old who is fondly referred to in Alaska as “Uncle Ted.”
Our favorite Stevens tale was told by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who recalled a young Stevens calling a Democratic chairman an “SOB” on the floor for reneging on a legislative promise.
Stevens was moved by the many bipartisan tributes, including one from Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving senator. But Stevens made sure to applaud his current and former staffers, inserting an alphabetical list of all of their names into the Congressional Record. It was a lengthy list, though that’s to be expected when you’ve been in the Senate for nearly four decades.
And, oh yeah, Stevens is running for reelection next year.
