Once upon a time (like Sunday after the Emmys) conservatives used to grouse that Hollywood was filled with liberals who disdained America and fancied themselves internationalists.
Well, on Tuesday we learned that Hollywood is more patriotic, responsible and tough when it comes to Russia than is President Donald Trump, who fails to this day to acknowledge conclusive evidence that Russia interfered with the election on his behalf.
Rob Reiner has put together a group called the Committee to Investigate Russia designed to explain Russia’s international behavior and its attempt to subvert Western democracies. (I can’t help but recall other committees, such as the Committee on the Present Danger, created by hawks, once Democrats who migrated to the GOP in the Cold War.) Its website explains:
“Using hacking, Twitter armies, and fake news, the Kremlin engaged in an aggressive effort to subvert the American democratic process. Now, only months into his term of office, the President and his staff are facing multiple investigations in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and by a Special Counsel for the Department of Justice.
“The Committee to Investigate Russia is a nonprofit, non-partisan resource provided to help Americans recognize and understand the gravity of Russia’s continuing attacks on our democracy. All relevant information is aggregated in one place to provide context and allow users to see the full picture of what Russia has done and will continue to do unless we start paying closer attention.
“For generations, people have fought to protect democracy. Now it is our turn.”
That simple effort — acknowledge Russia’s conduct, explain how it came about and call on the president and others to make certain it does not happen again — is deeply important. It highlights just how peculiar a situation we are in when the “real” president, who prides himself on America First, cannot defend America from the cyberwar Russia launched on our democracy.
The effort kicks off with a video with Morgan Freeman, who has been cast as the president of the United States. Did you ever think we’d see the day when Hollywood is tougher on Russia than the GOP president? Like Trump, Freeman plays the role of president; the difference is that Freeman grasps what is going on and is capable of using the bully pulpit to defend America.