Hollywood’s political odd couples

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Hollywood celebrities continue to pucker up to Bill Clinton and his party, giving $4.7 million to Democrats during this election cycle (and just $890,000 to the GOP), including gifts from party veterans such as Barbra Streisand ($71,500 to Democrats) and would-be politicos, like Playboy bunny-cum-MTV host Jenny McCarthy ($1,000 to Clinton/Gore).

But a review of this year’s campaign finance records shows some surprising disputes — and agreements — among famous Hollywood pairings.

Glenn Close tormented Michael Douglas and his family in Fatal Attraction — but had they talked politics, that bunny might still be alive. Douglas ($33,500) and Close ($500) both gave to Democrats. Things aren’t as cozy in Douglas’ real family: His father, actor Kirk Douglas, gave $1,000 to Republican Pete Wilson’s presidential bid.

Steamy moments in Bull Durham aside, Susan Sarandon and Kevin Costner have played on different political teams — Sarandon contributed $500 to Democrats, while Costner, a switch-hitter, gave $1,000 to GOP hopeful Phil Gramm’s presidential bid and $5,500 to Democrats.

Sylvester Stallone didn’t pack much political punch, with only $500 to the Republicans. But it must disappoint his old Rocky trainer, Burgess Meredith, who gave $200 to the Democrats.

Famously at odds on “All in the Family,” Archie (Carroll O’Connor) and Meathead (Rob Reiner) are in full political agreement, with O’Connor handing over $5,000 to the Democrats and Reiner a whopping $52,500.

But life can imitate art. “The Odd Couple” really do seem to disagree on everything. Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, or Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, gave $1,500 and $200, respectively, to the Republicans and the Democrats, respectively.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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