Eva Longoria will make her pitch for President Obama this week in Charlotte, N.C. From Gloria Steinem to Paul Newman to Frank Sinatra, celebrities who stumped for the Democrats.
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Will Republicans claim Eva Longoria’s appearance at the 2012 Democratic National Convention is proof of how desperate President Obama is? The Desperate Housewives star is one of many celebrities scheduled to speak in Charlotte this week, and is actually one of the co-chairs of his campaign. Appearing on Fox and Friends earlier this summer, Longoria urged voters to “really look at the candidates. If you like what Mitt has to offer and you think he has a better plan … really, it’s just about two different choices. It’s two fundamentally different ideologies. The choices are very clear for me, for a lot of people in the Latino community.”
During the 2008 election, will.i.am provided one of the cultural high points with his song (and star-studded video) supporting President Obama, “Yes, We Can.” The Black Eyed Peas’ frontman even performed his political anthem on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Denver. But three years later, will.i.am changed his tune—literally—when he addressed the president during his halftime performance at the Super Bowl XLV. While performing “Where Is the Love?” he sang some tough love: “In America we need to get things straight/Obama, let’s get these kids educated/Create jobs so the country stays stimulated.”
During the 2004 primary season, John Mellencamp threw his support behind John Edwards, performing his songs “Small Town” and “Pink Houses” at campaign rallies for the senator. And when Edwards was tapped as John Kerry’s running mate, Mellncamp took his act to the Democratic National Convention, where his then-wife, Elaine Irwin Mellencamp, was a delegate.
When Aretha Franklin opened the 1992 Democratic convention in New York with the national anthem, it was something of a make good. The Queen of Soul also sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 1968 DNC and reportedly forgot some of the words. Maybe that's why the Dems lost the White House that year.
When you think of Michael Dukakis, do you also think ... Run-DMC? MTV apparently did. The network had the legendary rap group perform their song “Mary, Mary” during a concert at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Also, in retrospect, the lyrics “Mary Mary, why ya buggin’/Mary, Mary, I need ya huggin’” seem more appropriate for the 1992 nominee, Bill Clinton, than for the Massachusetts governor.
At the height of the women’s movement, Gloria Steinem played a crucial role at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. In addition to supporting Shirley Chisholm for president, Steinem was an integral force in the battle to include abortion rights in the party’s platform and addressed the delegates in Miami. In the end, Democratic candidate George McGovern had the plank removed, and many feminists, including Betty Friedan and Germaine Greer, blamed Steinem.
Historians often point to the 1968 election as the turning point for celebrity activism. With the Vietnam War dividing the country, many actors, musicians, and other artists were similarly split on who to support for president. While many of the bigger names—including Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, and Lauren Bacall—went for Robert Kennedy, candidate Eugene McCarthy won several celebrity endorsements for his stance against the war. Most notable among McCarthy’s supporters was Paul Newman, who famously said at a campaign stop: “I am not a public speaker. I am not a politician. I’m not here because I’m an actor. I’m here because I’ve got six kids. I don’t want it written on my gravestone, ‘He was not part of his times.’ The times are too critical to be dissenting in your own bathroom.” Newman went on to speak at the 1968 convention and returned in 1972 to support George McGovern.
While Paul Newman supported Eugene McCarthy in 1968, actress Shirley MacLaine (and her younger brother, Warren Beatty) were firmly behind Robert Kennedy. They were even at the Ambassador Hotel on June 6, 1968, the night he was assassinated, and went on to the convention as delegates from California. MacLaine was interviewed at the convention and asked if she would ever run for office, as Shirley Temple Black had recently done. “I wouldn’t do it as she did it, I can tell you that,” MacLaine quipped. “For Shirley Temple to run as a hawk, that’s ridiculous.”
For the 1960 presidential election, the Rat Pack became the “Jack Pack” with Frank Sinatra throwing his considerable Hollywood clout behind John F. Kennedy. Sinatra, who had been active in politics going back to FDR, held fundraisers for Kennedy and sang the national anthem at the Democratic convention. And while he helped organize JFK’s inauguration, Sinatra was snubbed by the president a year later (due to his alleged mob connections), which caused Sinatra to shift his politics toward the Republicans. In 1980 Sinatra attended the GOP convention, where he supported his old friend Ronald Reagan.
In 1868 Susan B. Anthony hoped to broaden support of women’s suffrage by reaching beyond the Republican Party to the Democrats. While Anthony was denied a chance to speak at the party’s convention in New York, a statement by her advocating suffrage was read to the delegates, who immediately broke out in laughter and adjourned for the day. In 1920, 14 years after Anthony’s death, women earned the right to vote when the 19th Amendment was ratified.
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