Clint Eastwood - Politics

Politics

Eastwood registered as a Republican to vote for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and endorsed Richard Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns. However, during the subsequent Watergate scandal, Eastwood criticized Nixon's morality and later his handling of the Vietnam War, calling it "immoral". He has disapproved of America's wars in Korea (1950–1953), Vietnam (1964–1973), Afghanistan (2001–present), and Iraq (2003–2011), believing that the United States should not be overly militaristic or play the role of global policeman. He considers himself "too individualistic to be either right-wing or left-wing", describing himself in 1974 as "a political nothing" and "a moderate" and in 1997 as a "libertarian". "I don't see myself as conservative," Eastwood has stated, while noting in the same breath that he isn't "ultra-leftist", either. At times, he has supported Democrats in California, including liberal United States House of Representatives member Sam Farr in 2002 and Governor Gray Davis, whom he voted for in 1998 and hosted pricey fundraisers for in 2002 and 2003. A self-professed "liberal on civil rights", Eastwood has stated that he is pro-choice on abortion. He has endorsed same-sex marriage and contributed to groups supporting the Equal Rights Amendment for women, which failed to receive ratification in 1982. In 1992, Eastwood acknowledged to writer David Breskin that his political views represented a fusion of Milton Friedman and Noam Chomsky. In 1999, Eastwood stated, "I guess I was a social liberal and fiscal conservative before it became fashionable." Ten years later, in 2009, Eastwood said that he was now a registered Libertarian.

Despite being heavily associated with firearms in his Westerns and cop movies, Eastwood has publicly endorsed gun control since at least 1973. In the April 24, 1973, edition of the Washington Post, the star stated that "I'm for gun legislation myself. I don't hunt." Two years later, in 1975, Eastwood told People magazine that he favors "gun control to some degree". About a year later, Eastwood remarked that "All guns should be registered. I don't think legitimate gun owners would mind that kind of legislation. Right now the furor against a gun law is by gun owners who are overreacting. They're worried that all guns are going to be recalled. It's impossible to take guns out of circulation, and that's why firearms should be registered and mail-order delivery of guns halted." In 1993, he noted that "I was always a backer" of the Brady Bill, with its federally mandated waiting period. In 1995, Eastwood questioned the purpose of assault weapons. Larry King wrote in the May 22, 1995, edition of USA Today, "My interview with Eastwood will air on 'Larry King Weekend' ... I asked him his thoughts on the NRA and gun control and he said that while people think of him as pro-gun, he has always been in favor of controls. 'Why would anyone need or want an assault weapon?' he said."

As a politician, Eastwood has made successful forays into both local and state government. In April 1986, he won election as mayor (a nonpartisan position) of his adopted hometown, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California – a small, wealthy village and artists' community on the Monterey Peninsula. During his two-year term, Eastwoood supported small business interests while advocating environmental protection and constructing a library annex, along with public restrooms, beach walkways, and a tourists' parking lot. In 2001 Eastwood was appointed to the California State Park and Recreation Commission by Governor Davis, then reappointed in 2004 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. As the vice chairman of the commission, in 2005 along with chairman Bobby Shriver, he led the movement opposed to a six-lane 16-mile (26 km) extension of California State Route 241, a toll road that would cut through San Onofre State Beach. Eastwood and Shriver supported a 2006 lawsuit to block the toll road and urged the California Coastal Commission to reject the project, which it duly did in February 2008. In March 2008 Eastwood and Shriver's non-reappointment to the commission on the expiry of their terms prompted the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to request a legislative investigation into the decision. Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Eastwood to the California Film Commission in April 2004. He has also acted as a spokesman for Take Pride in America, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior which advocates taking responsibility for natural, cultural, and historic resources.

During the 2008 United States presidential election, Eastwood stated that he would be voting for John McCain, citing the fact that he had known McCain since he returned to America in 1973 as a recently released POW. Saying of the famous war veteran, "I met him years ago when he first came back from Vietnam. This was back when (Ronald) Reagan was the governor of California and he had a big function for all of the prisoners of war who were released. I thought he was a terrific guy, a real American hero." Nevertheless, Eastwood, in an expression of patriotism, wished Barack Obama well upon his subsequent victory saying, "Obama is my president now and I am going to be wishing him the very best because it is what is best for all of us." However, Eastwood has seemed to want stronger leadership from President Obama, stating in 2010, "I think he's a nice fella and I enjoyed watching him come along and I enjoyed watching him campaign and win the job. But I'm not a fan of what he's doing at the moment. ... I just don't think he's governing. I don't think he's surrounded himself with the people he could have surrounded himself with." In January 2011, Eastwood told the UK's Daily Mail that "I loved the fact that Obama is multi-racial. I thought that was terrific, as my wife is the same racial make-up. But I felt he was a greenhorn, and it turned out he didn’t have experience in decision-making." As for McCain, Eastwood reflected, "I voted for McCain, not because he was a Republican, but because he had been through war (in Vietnam) and I thought he might understand the war in Iraq better than somebody who hadn't. I didn't agree with him on a lot of stuff."

In August 2010, Eastwood wrote to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to protest the decision to close the UK Film Council, warning that the closure could result in fewer foreign production companies choosing to work in the UK.

On August 3, 2012, Eastwood attended a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, stating that Romney would boost the country and "restore a decent tax system... so that there's a fairness and people are not pitted against one another as who's paying taxes and who isn't." During a speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention, Eastwood talked to an empty chair as if President Barack Obama were sitting in it.