Stake that, George Bush!: 'Buffy' creator joins the John Kerry 'Fray'

The above subject line may be the stupidest-sounding "Buffy" reference I've ever made, but I'm incredibly heartened to see John Kerry support coming from Joss Whedon, creator of my favorite television show of all time. Whedon has agreed to do a nationwide conference call to all those who host home-based fundraising parties for Kerry-Edwards. If you have a party, your guests pay a minimum of $35 at the door and then get to hear from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon.

There was a time I worried a little about Mr. Whedon when, in the seventh and last season of "Buffy," my favorite Chosen One started rounding up potential vampire slayers to pre-emptively strike a group of uber-vampires living beneath Sunnydale. Some of Buffy's rhetoric sounded similar to what was coming less articulately out of the mouth of George W. See below for an example.

Buffy : You're right. We don't know how to fight it. We don't know when it'll come. Can't run, can't hide. Can't pretend it's not the end 'cause it is. Something's always been there to try and destroy the world, and we've beaten them back. Well, we're not dealing with them anymore. We're dealing with why they exist. Evil. The strongest. The First.
Giles : Buffy, um, I-I know you're tired...
Buffy : I'm beyond tired. I'm beyond scared. I'm standing on the mouth of hell and it's gonna swallow me whole. And it'll choke on me. We're not ready? They're not ready. They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do. I'm done waiting. They want an apocalypse? We'll give them one. Anyone else who wants to run? Do it now, 'cause we just became an army. We just declared war. From now on we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out. We will find them and cut out their hearts till the First shows itself for what it really is. And I'll kill it myself. There is only one thing on earth more powerful than evil, and that's us. Any questions?

I thought, NO! Joss cannot support this war in Iraq. He cannot support this president. Joss, after all, is a decent, thinking person who creates great television.

I'm glad for liberal Hollywood. I'm sick of the beating actors, directors and writers take when they throw their support behind a particular cause or candidate ... well, if that cause or candidate is a liberal or Democratic one. Charlton Heston can advocate that every U.S. citizen gets a rifle at birth, but Martin Sheen marches in a few protests and he's told to mind his own business.

Sorry, but the issues -- and especially this election -- are everyone's business. Don't tell me that Sean Penn or Susan Sarandon or Tim Robbins shouldn't talk about voting because they don't know the issues or what's going on.

These people are still parents. They see what world their kids will get stuck with under four more years of the Bush regime. These people travel the world for their work. They certainly know better than Joe Suburbia what other nations think of America right now. They're Americans and, granted, privileged Americans at that. But they have the visibility to start discourse in this country about the issues and attitudes that need to be addressed.

I'm guessing that the Right Wing gets upset about the celebrity endorsements mainly because their lists of celebrity supporters is so small and the celebs they do have as backers are so INCREDIBLY LAME: I mean, Ricky Martin, Ted Nugent, Don King, Jim Nabors? (I'm admittedly a little disappointed that Buffy-embodier Sarah Michelle Gellar appears on the list, but I'd rather have the show's creator.)

I mean, the right-wing celebrities don't draw flak for their views: How many times do I have to watch Mr. Heston caress his guns? How many times do I have to hear Toby Keith singing about putting boots up terrorists' asses? Why did I need to know that Jesus freak Mel Gibson wanted to kill Frank Rich's dog?

Well, actually, none, none and I don't (though hearing Mel Gibson talk about putting someone's intestines on a stick and killing the same person's dog was great, considering he released the quote while publicizing a Christ movie.)

I turn away. And if you're a right-winger that just can't stand your favorite celeb is taking an impassioned stand for something, you can do the same if it means that much to you. And be proud, cause Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are still on your side.