Another Hollywood star aligns with GOP

Rob Schneider

TV and movie star Rob Schneider was the keynote speaker and comedian at a recent fundraiser in Hollywood – but it wasn't for a Democrat, as is usual in Hollywood. It was for Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly.

Schneider hit the scene in the '90s as a cast member of "Saturday Night Live." He is now known for his comedic lead movie roles, including Deuce Bigelow, and supporting roles alongside his good friend Adam Sandler.

He credits Sandler for nudging him to the political right, and he is not shy about voicing his disdain for California's current path.

Schneider told WND he is frustrated that red tape in the policies of Gov. Jerry Brown forced him to move his vitamin business out of California. It became too expensive and time consuming for him to comply with state regulations.

Although the best production staff, hair and makeup people are in California, he has not done a film in the Golden State in seven years.

Brown and the supermajority of Democrats in the legislature, Schneider said, have created a hostile work environment for its most prized industry – filmmaking.

Schneider said that no state has more to offer in terms of talent, climate and resources than California. He wants to do more work in the state but blames the Democrat supermajority and its hostility to business for the the industry's struggles.

He asks others in the industry: "Do you really want to fly to Louisiana to do your next movie or would you love to do it here in California?"

Schneider isn't alone among Hollywood stars who have leaned right politically.

Along with Ronald Reagan, there's Clint Eastwood, Patricia Heaton, Morgan Brittany, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Angie Harmon, Bruce Willis, Heather Locklear, Shannon Dougherty, 50 Cent, Cheryl Ladd, Tom Selleck and Allen Covert.

And James Woods, Jon Voight, Jeff Foxworthy, Chuck Norris, Dennis Miller, Adam Baldwin, Kurt Russell, Nick Searcy, Kirk Cameron, Andy Garcia, Kelsey Grammer, Ron Silver, Ben Stein, Pat Boone, Mel Gibson, Adam Sandler, Scott Baio and Kathy Ireland.

And Shirley Temple, Dean Cain, Kevin Sorbo, Jessica Simpson, Jaclyn Smith, Gary Sinise, Dwight Schultz, Fred Grandy, Yakov Smirnoff, Drew Carey, Jamie Farr, Lou Ferrigno, Fess Parker and Sylvester Stallone.

And Hunter Tylo, Bruce Boxleitner, Eduardo Verastegui, Janine Turner, Heidi Montag, Arnold Schwarzenegger and more.

See Schneider's comments:

It was in the 2012 elections when California voters delivered Democrats a two-thirds supermajority in both the Assembly and the Senate, joining Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown for unchecked control.

The glee of organized labor and other components of the left-of-center coalition contrasted with the fear of many regarding just how far left the Democrats would take the state.

Los Angeles is suffering so much of a decline in the industry that newly elected Mayor Eric Garcetti has launched a search for a film czar. Neighboring Riverside County launched a stop-gap measure to offer a package of tax credits and fee waivers from production work there.

The decline of Hollywood is just one of many problems that have prompted Schneider to support a Republican for governor.

He described the birth of his daughter and his resentment at being told that California law requires he vaccinate his baby for Hepatitis B.

"That is spread by sexual contact. We weren't too worried about that happening to a baby, but we were told, 'Too bad, that's the law.'"

So Schneider went to the state capital to complain about the law. While the Democrat majority would not listen, one Republican assemblyman did, Tim Donnelly.

Traditionally, left-wing Hollywood activists have been very public about their views, while conservatives have been quieter, concerned about retribution. Additionally, the Hollywood left has been known to give large amounts of cash. Many, like Stephen Spielberg, have maxed out to politicians like Jerry Brown to the cap of $27,200.

Some say Brown is too rich and powerful to be defeated by Donnelly or anyone else. He has amassed a bankroll of $10 million with the help of the Hollywood elite. But the new Hollywood drift is casting doubts.

In another interview, TV and movie star Morgan Brittany told WND that she switched parties during the Reagan years.

"It certainly helped in Hollywood to be a Democrat. It became tough for Hollywood Republicans during the '80s. There was really no blacklist until then," she said.

After the Carter years, she supported her first Republican.'

"I campaigned for Ronald Reagan and never looked back!"

At the fundraiser for Donnelly, Schneider said he doesn't agree with Donnelly on all of the social issues, "but that is not what this is about."

"This is about California," he said. "We need to wrestle control from the two-thirds majority who are ruining California.

"Still," he added, "the more I am with Tim, the more I like him."