SOS
12-08-2005, 12:31 PM
Group Opposed to Nominee Rallies Its Hollywood People (http://........com/cjzyr)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 - With a battle over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. just around the corner, a little slice of Hollywood arrived in the capital Tuesday night to raise money for People for the American Way, the liberal advocacy group leading the charge against the judge's confirmation.
The star-spangled awards benefit at the Kennedy Center featured the actresses Sharon Stone, Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly, as well as a performance by original cast members from the musical "Rent." It was expected to raise several hundred thousand dollars for the advocacy group, and it was just the kind of event conservatives love to hate.
Five hundred guests who had paid $250 each mingled over chardonnay and hors d'oeuvres during a cocktail hour while black-clad celebrities posed before flashing cameras. The attendees represented a Who's Who of liberal groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Alliance for Justice, which also opposes Judge Alito.
"The religious right already controls the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives," Ralph G. Neas, president of People For, as the group is known in Washington and Hollywood circles, said in a speech as the awards ceremony began.
Now, Mr. Neas warned, the right is planning to "pack the Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues."
Ms. Stone arrived with her extended family - grandparents, niece and brother-in-law included - wearing four-inch heels and a plunging neckline set off by an oversize crystal brooch that, she said, she received as a "wrap present" after making the film "Basic Instinct."
"I think it's really important that the people who are going to make decisions for other people have fair, truthful and compassionate regard for all people, not just some people," Ms. Stone said when asked about Judge Alito.
Did that mean she supported People for the American Way's work opposing his nomination?
"That's why I'm here, sister," she replied.
Founded 25 years ago, in part by the television producer Norman Lear, People for the American Way describes itself as an organization committed to freedom of speech, freedom of religion and civil rights. Tuesday's event was intended to honor Ms. Stone and the others for their work on behalf of those causes.
But to conservatives, who have long deplored the influence of Hollywood in Washington, the Kennedy Center gala was proof that "unreconstructed 60's radicals" are behind People for the American Way, said Sean Rushton, executive director of the Committee for Justice, a group supporting Judge Alito.
And if the Kennedy Center scene was not enough to raise conservative eyebrows, People for the American Way was running another fund-raiser, an online auction of items donated by its Hollywood friends. The biggest attraction: a guided private tour of Wisteria Lane, the fictional street made famous by the television comedy "Desperate Housewives," with the show's creator, Marc Cherry.
"This shows the degree to which liberal Hollywood is financially supporting the leading groups attacking the president's court nominees," Mr. Rushton said.
Not so, Mr. Neas said. Though his group is adept at using its Hollywood connections to raise money around the country, he said that just 7 percent or 8 percent of its budget, which was $27 million last year, came from Southern California.
"We're very proud and happy to receive the support of people like Sharon Stone and Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly," he said. "These are progressive people who have been active in progressive causes."
And though Ms. Stone, in a speech about freedom and liberty, did refer to "asinine leadership" without being specific, Mr. Neas escaped a repeat of last year's gala, in which the actor Chevy Chase used an expletive to describe President Bush. Mr. Neas later apologized.
"It was," he said, "an interesting evening."
I don't see what is so progressive.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 - With a battle over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. just around the corner, a little slice of Hollywood arrived in the capital Tuesday night to raise money for People for the American Way, the liberal advocacy group leading the charge against the judge's confirmation.
The star-spangled awards benefit at the Kennedy Center featured the actresses Sharon Stone, Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly, as well as a performance by original cast members from the musical "Rent." It was expected to raise several hundred thousand dollars for the advocacy group, and it was just the kind of event conservatives love to hate.
Five hundred guests who had paid $250 each mingled over chardonnay and hors d'oeuvres during a cocktail hour while black-clad celebrities posed before flashing cameras. The attendees represented a Who's Who of liberal groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Alliance for Justice, which also opposes Judge Alito.
"The religious right already controls the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives," Ralph G. Neas, president of People For, as the group is known in Washington and Hollywood circles, said in a speech as the awards ceremony began.
Now, Mr. Neas warned, the right is planning to "pack the Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues."
Ms. Stone arrived with her extended family - grandparents, niece and brother-in-law included - wearing four-inch heels and a plunging neckline set off by an oversize crystal brooch that, she said, she received as a "wrap present" after making the film "Basic Instinct."
"I think it's really important that the people who are going to make decisions for other people have fair, truthful and compassionate regard for all people, not just some people," Ms. Stone said when asked about Judge Alito.
Did that mean she supported People for the American Way's work opposing his nomination?
"That's why I'm here, sister," she replied.
Founded 25 years ago, in part by the television producer Norman Lear, People for the American Way describes itself as an organization committed to freedom of speech, freedom of religion and civil rights. Tuesday's event was intended to honor Ms. Stone and the others for their work on behalf of those causes.
But to conservatives, who have long deplored the influence of Hollywood in Washington, the Kennedy Center gala was proof that "unreconstructed 60's radicals" are behind People for the American Way, said Sean Rushton, executive director of the Committee for Justice, a group supporting Judge Alito.
And if the Kennedy Center scene was not enough to raise conservative eyebrows, People for the American Way was running another fund-raiser, an online auction of items donated by its Hollywood friends. The biggest attraction: a guided private tour of Wisteria Lane, the fictional street made famous by the television comedy "Desperate Housewives," with the show's creator, Marc Cherry.
"This shows the degree to which liberal Hollywood is financially supporting the leading groups attacking the president's court nominees," Mr. Rushton said.
Not so, Mr. Neas said. Though his group is adept at using its Hollywood connections to raise money around the country, he said that just 7 percent or 8 percent of its budget, which was $27 million last year, came from Southern California.
"We're very proud and happy to receive the support of people like Sharon Stone and Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly," he said. "These are progressive people who have been active in progressive causes."
And though Ms. Stone, in a speech about freedom and liberty, did refer to "asinine leadership" without being specific, Mr. Neas escaped a repeat of last year's gala, in which the actor Chevy Chase used an expletive to describe President Bush. Mr. Neas later apologized.
"It was," he said, "an interesting evening."
I don't see what is so progressive.