National Journal: Hollywood Lobby Trumps NRA Clout

Much of the talk in the wake of the July 20 Aurora, Colo. theater massacre involved the influence of the National Rifle Association on gun laws.

Gun control advocates quickly seized on the lobbying group as either directly or indirectly to blame for the shooting which left 12 dead.

National Journal suggests the NRA’s lobbying efforts can’t compare to the power wielded by Hollywood.

But Republicans, weary of the NRA invincibility narrative, wonder why there’s no discussion of Hollywood’s lobbying clout….

For instance, Time Warner, the parent company of Warner Bros., the studio that produced “The Dark Knight Rises,” has given almost $22 million in campaign contributions since 1989, mostly to Democrats. And that’s just one of the six major studios. The NRA, by contrast, has given almost $19 million, mostly to Republicans, over the same amount of time. George Clooney’s Hollywood fundraiser raised almost that much in one night for President Obama. 

But more than the political money, both the gun and entertainment industries know how to play the Washington game. Both spend millions each year lobbying to keep government out of their business. And both have high-profile inside players representing them in Washington: Wayne LaPierre atop the NRA and former Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd at the helm of the Motion Picture Association of America.