Primary in rearview mirror, Hollywood givers ponder next moves

Barbra Streisand: Getty Images PhotoWhile U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) is reportedly urging her top presidential donors to provide funds to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), it appears that one constituency will need little convincing: those in the Hollywood community.

“We are already seeing Clinton supporters moving over,” Andy Spahn, who works as a political adviser for DreamWorks founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, told PolitickerCA.com.

Spahn also said the trio – each of whom has given extensively to the Democratic Party over the years -- would be holding a fundraiser for Obama in the near future.

It’s not the first big-name Hollywood fundraiser for Obama’s general election effort. The Illinois senator is scheduled to swoop into Los Angeles for a June 24 fundraiser at the Los Angeles Music Center, whose chairman, John Emerson, is a longtime Clinton supporter who served as deputy assistant to President Clinton. Attendees to the event will have the option of giving $2,300 to Obama or $28,500 to a joint campaign and Democratic National Committee account.

In Hollywood, where many donors adopt an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” approach, it is not uncommon to see big names giving to multiple candidates. “By and large, most people in Hollywood move between groups,” said Ted Johnson, the managing editor of Variety, an entertainment industry newsletter.

But this year’s hotly contested Democratic primary saw some stars taking sides. George Clooney, Laurie David, Matt Damon, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Hanks all lined up behind the Illinois senator. Barbra Streisand, Rob Reiner, and Speilberg are some of the figures who threw their financial support behind Clinton. The former first lady also had the support of Haim Saban, the billionaire proprietor of Saban Enterntainment.

Now, with the primary in the rearview mirror, the stars seem to be aligning for Obama.

“I’ve already seen a lot of people who are raisers for Hillary who are now raising for Obama,” said Lara Bergthold, a political consigliere for Hollywood activist Norman Lear who worked as U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s liaison to the entertainment community during the 2004 presidential campaign.

“My sense is, people will be jumping on the Obama bandwagon,” Johnson agrees.

Emerson, the former Clinton official, told PolitickerCA.com that the swift movement of Clinton backers in Hollywood to Obama’s side was owed in part to what he said was the Obama’s campaign hitting the right notes in its outreach. “They have been very gracious. Very understanding. This has been handled about as well by the Obama people as anything I have ever seen.”

The transition into the general election phase has also been met with some awkwardness. With the fall coming into view, there is only so much time and attention to go around. And, with the cachet and attention that comes along with hosting a large fundraiser for a presidential candidate, it is perhaps inevitable that the new personalities backing Obama and looking to help out will clash with the senator’s loyalists.

“It’s a delicate process. On the one hand you want to bring the new people in and make them feel important. On the other hand you want to reward the people who have been loyal to you along,” notes Johnson, the Variety editor whose blog, Wilshire & Washington, tracks the intersection of politics and entertainment.

Johnson recalled that John Kerry had support from some corners of the entertainment world in his 2004 primary campaign. But when he moved into the general election phase, some of his original supporters’ feathers were ruffled when those who had backed other candidates in the primaries jostled for attention.

Johnson said that “the next week or so is going to be a delicate dance” for the Obama campaign as it attempts to strike a balance between stroking the egos of his longtime supporters and his new backers.

But the general feeling is that the largely liberal Hollywood community has closed ranks around Obama. While Republican candidate John McCain has the support of such names as Jerry Bruckheimer, Brad Grey, and Ben Stein, recent fundraising totals show Obama taking in over $4 million from the entertainment industry, with McCain at a little over $600,000.

“The bottom line is that anyone who resists backing Obama is a f-----g idiot,” said Ken Sunshine, the high-profile public relations consultant who works as the political hand for Laurie David, who is planning on holding a fundraiser at the Democratic National Convention in August. “Most of the people that backed Hillary will back Obama.”

Emerson speculated that with a few exceptions, the former supporters of Clinton would come around to Obama and that the process would take one-to-two months.

But perhaps the biggest transition facing Hollywood givers is what appears to be a new small-donor dominated landscape in political donations. Obama’s campaign has smashed fundraising records, taking in over $265 million through April. The campaign has said that 90 percent of its donations come in packages of $100 or less.

Spahn, the political adviser for the DreamWorks trio, said the entertainment industry “has been very significant as a source for Democratic politics,” but this cycle it was becoming at least slightly less so because of the rise in predominance of the small donor.

Bergthold, the former Kerry adviser, was more explicit.

“If he’s raising $100 million in June, a small portion of that is coming from Hollywood,” said Bergthold, referring to recent estimates floated by national fundraisers. “The model for doing bigger and splashier events is over.”