H'wood's pol vault
Companies have given $12.8 mil to various candidates, parties and orgs
Sure looks like it, and in more ways than one, according to data compiled by opensecrets.org, a nonpartisan Web site that monitors political donations.
In the 2006 election cycle, the entertainment industry continues to favor -- surprise --Democrats, with New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who's received $506,000, benefiting the most. The first Republican -- Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) -- comes in at fifth place with $163,000.
But that may be changing. So far this year, entertainment and media companies have given $12.8 million to various candidates, parties and orgs, 59% of them Democratic, 41% Republican.
At that pace, the 2006 total will be less than the $33 million the same companies gave in '04 -- when Democrats got 69% of the cash and Republicans 31%.
And that's less than the $41 million showbiz doled out in '02, when it lavished Democrats with 77% and handed the GOP 23%.
The shrinking amounts given to Dems may be no surprise, given that Republicans still control D.C.
Then again, many experts have been predicting that control is likely to change in November -- which raises the possibility that the industry is placing its bets more shrewdly than before.
Santorum, for instance, has been no friend to showbiz interests, and he may not even win his race. But if he does win, he's a likely candidate for Senate majority leader.
"Nobody wants to be remembered for not giving to the next majority leader," says one industry contributor.
In fact, excluding donations to parties and orgs, looking only at cash to congressional candidates, showbiz largesse for '06 betrays barely any bias -- 52% to Dems, 48% to the GOP.
But media companies do have favorites. Cablers, for instance, have given the most money so far -- $1.09 million, 59% of it to the GOP.
Time Warner -- the second most generous, at $1.06 million -- gave 73% of its contributions to Dems.
Then there's personal vs. company giving. Rupert Murdoch and wife Wendi have given $25,000 to Republicans, zip to Democrats. But his News Corp. -- eighth place -- split $330,000 among Dems and the GOP almost evenly, 49% and 51% respectively.
Not that Rupe himself doesn't work both sides. He hosted a July fundraiser for Clinton's Senate re-election campaign. He's also pledged to support Sen. John McCain, a Republican, in a presidential election.
Disney may be paying the most attention to all those expert predictions: Through February, the Mouse House had given a total of $196,000, 44% to Democrats, 56% to Republicans. Now, the total is up to $394,000 -- with the percentages reversed.
