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Ron Silver - A True Hollywood-Hero
By Lisa Sarrach
September 6, 2004

Being a native New Yorker, I've always loved Ron Silver's work and every time I hear him speak, it reminds me of home. He has a very typical New York accent.

No one was more surprised than I was when he came out last year and began publicly supporting President Bush's position on the War on Terror.

A typical New York Liberal, Mr. Silver disagrees with much of the president's domestic agenda, especially as it relates to the social issues.

But when it comes to the safety and security of this country, Ron Silver knows who's going to get the job done. He knows that without safety and security in this country there is no domestic agenda, no jobs and no social programs, there is only chaos and fear. What Ron is saying is that he knows who can't get the job done. The very party he's voted for most of his life.

He was wonderful Monday night at the Republican convention. He bravely took to task the Hollywood Elite's ridiculous positions that sympathize with the repressed but excoriate the use of force sometimes needed to free the repressed.

Ron Silver joins other famous liberals and Democrats this year in understanding what this election is all about. As an aside, just how many famous Republicans were asked to speak at the Democrat's convention - zero, zip, nada.

But at this week's Republican convention, we have Ron Silver, Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City and Zell Miller, the conservative democrat from Georgia. 12 years ago, Zell Miller gave the keynote for Bill Clinton in the same arena, but this Wednesday he will be delivering the keynote speech for the first Republican he intends to vote for in his entire life.

Why? What is making these people cross party and ideological lines to support President Bush? It's the security, stupid.

We all want to live to fight another day about the issues that are important to us. More importantly, we all want to live in safety and security and most of us believe that in order to do that in this post 9-11 world, you have to take the fight to the terrorists so we don't fight them in our cities and neighborhoods.

John Kerry can salute himself all he wants trying to paint himself as a war time candidate for president. But the sad reality for Senator Kerry is that the rank and file within the Democrat party does not support his war talk bravado.

They are fervently anti-war and are holding out hope that Kerry's real persona will emerge if elected and will relegate our foreign policy decisions to the U.N., just as he advocated back in the seventies. Ed Koch thinks so too, saying recently that if Kerry is elected he will be forced to defer to the anti-war Left on foreign policy matters. The Dems figure he's just putting on a show of strength for those undecided voters he needs to go over the top, and they're more than willing to put up with it if it gets him in the White House.

But here's a piece of reality for Camp Kerry - when push comes to shove, all but the most radical element of the anti-war movement are going to realize that President Bush is the right man, for the right time, in the right place.

The Left wing of the Democrat Party is once again about to discover that they are on the wrong side of history.

These brave democratic souls are on the right side of history and are going out on a limb to say so:

Ed Koch - I've never before supported a Republican for president but I'm doing so this time because of the one issue that trumps everything else: international terrorism. In my judgment, the Democratic Party just doesn't have the stomach to stand up to the terrorists. But Bush is a fighter.

Zell Miller - I remember when most Democrats were in favor of projecting America's power abroad, because we believed that America was a great force for good over evil.

For decades, the Democratic Party maintained peace through strength. We worked with Republicans to ensure that freedom and democracy would not falter in the face of any threat.

These days, it seems like some people in my party are motivated more by partisan politics than by national interest.

John Kerry has the wrong idea about how our country should respond to the threat of terrorism.

Ron Silver - Excerpts from Republican Convention Speech

We will never forgive. Never forget. Never excuse!

We are again engaged in a war that will define the future of humankind. Responding to attacks on our soil, America has led a coalition of countries against extremists who want to destroy our way of life and our values.

This is a war we did not seek.

This is a war waged against us. This is a war to which we had to respond. History shows that we are not imperialists ...but we are fighters for freedom and democracy.

Even though I am a well-recognized liberal on many issues confronting our society today, I find it ironic that many human rights advocates and outspoken members of my own entertainment community are often on the front lines to protest repression, for which I applaud them but they are usually the first ones to oppose any use of force to take care of these horrors that they catalogue repeatedly.

Under the unwavering leadership of President Bush, the cause of freedom and democracy is being advanced by the courageous men and women serving in our Armed Services.

The President is doing exactly the right thing. That is why we need this President at this time!

I am grateful for the chance to speak tonight to express my support for our Commander-in-Chief, for our brave troops, and for the vital cause, which they have undertaken.

Ron Silver took a big risk appearing at the Republican National Convention and publicly stating his support for President Bush. He knows that his phone might stop ringing for acting jobs. He has been outed as a traitor to the Hollywood Left.

Appearing later in the evening was actress Angie Harmon, formerly of "Law and Order" and her husband, NFL quarterback Jason Sehorn, in a tribute to Medal of Honor winning veterans. They both publicly endorsed and praised President Bush.

Congrats, to these brave souls from Hollywood.

It's a real disappointment that the likes of Bruce Willis, James Woods, Patricia Heaton, Dennis Franz, Robert Duvall, Kelsey Grammer, and a host of other celebrities who proclaim to support President Bush are not out there supporting him publicly, not campaigning for him, not at the convention.

Hollywood-Hero has asked for their support, the RNC has asked for their support. They appear to be either too busy or too afraid to stand up and declare their support for our president and his war against the terrorists. It's a crying shame...but hey, it's not too late Bruce, there's still time, give me a call. In the meantime, we send our heartfelt thanks to:

Ron Silver, Angie Harmon, Stephen Baldwin, the Gatlin Brothers, Daryl Worley, Rip Torn, Brooks & Dunn, Travis Tritt, the View's Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Sara Evans, Bo Derek, and singing cop Daniel Rodriguez for standing up and supporting President Bush.

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Lisa Sarrach is president of Hollywood-Hero (www.hollywood-hero.us), GOPUSA.COM (www.gopusa.com) national columnist and freelance writer focusing on cultural and domestic policy issues. You can contact her at lsarrach@hollywood-hero.us

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.