Celebrities routinely weigh in on political matters, be it the Bradley Manning case or even the presidential elections. Their voices are amplified due to their fame, and sometimes they get their way.
Not this time.
Bette Midler led a star-studded fight against the use of plastic bags in California supermarkets, but in the end the politicians didn’t bend to Hollywood’s dictates.
Last week, a group of singers and actors went up against the plastics industry over a bill that would have banned single-use plastic grocery bags from California stores … this round went to the industry. The bill fell three votes short of the tally needed for passage, killing it for the year.
Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) argued the ban, supported by Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Rita Wilson, would eliminate 500 jobs in his district, many held by immigrant women.