Keep the Batman conspiracy theories coming, Rush Limbaugh, because “The Dark Knight Rises” star Morgan Freeman is now pulling for team Obama with a fat seven-figure check. Freeman confirmed that he dropped a $1 million donation to the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action last month in hopes to balance out the powers of third-party spending in the 2012 elections. Freeman says:
“President Obama has done a remarkable job in historically difficult circumstances. He ended combat operations in Iraq, put in place sensible reforms of Wall Street, saved the auto industry and protected the health care of every American. He has led our nation to be more tolerant and placed impressive, accomplished women on the Supreme Court. In return, he is the target of hundreds of millions of dollars from right-wing sources.”
News of the donation piggybacks on Freeman’s time in the limelight as the third and final installment of that latest Batman blockbuster hits theaters this week. A top adviser to Priorities USA told the Los Angeles Times that Freeman was a “national treasure” and that they were “honored that he has lent his power voice to our cause.”
He now joins the ranks of comedians Bill Maher and Chelsea Handler, along with directors J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg who have entered the super PAC arena in support of Obama’s re-election efforts.
But as NOW host Alex Wagner warns, Democratic-leaning super PAC donations like Freeman’s are rare as liberals have proven less likely to donate in droves to super PACS in comparison to their GOP brethren. From Warren Buffet to George Soros to Lester Crown, and handful of potential heavy hitters for Democrats are opting to stay on the sidelines away from donating to Priorities USA. “They’re playing themselves as financial underdogs,” msnbc host Willie Geist said of Priorities USA. “They’re saying ‘we’re the guys without the money in this.’”
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