By: Alex Isenstadt
POLITICO
July 31, 2011 11:25 PM EDT
The last time Pat Boone shot to the top of the Billboard charts — with syrupy swooners like “Love Letters in the Sand” — Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House.
Almost six decades later, the iconic crooner is professing his love in a different way — by endorsing and promoting GOP candidates. At 77, Boone, one of the top-selling artists of the 1950s and early 1960s who was the baby boomer generation’s American Idol, is a conservative heartthrob.
Boone endorsed nearly 90 congressional contenders and recorded robocalls that went to an estimated 7 million households during the 2010 midterms. He writes a weekly column for the Republican-aligned website Newsmax and serves as the lead spokesman for the 60 Plus Association, a group that bills itself as the conservative counterpart to AARP. He’s now wading into the contentious debate over entitlement reform.
“He’s just been an extremely active guy,” said Jim Martin, chairman of the 60 Plus Association, who doubles as Boone’s political consigliere. “He’s extremely prolific.”
Boone, who hosted the hit “Pat Boone Chevy Showroom” variety show on ABC during the late 1950s, has distinguished himself as one of the few voices in the Republican Party who connects with the all-important 65-and-older set — a bond that dates back decades.
When they picked up their phones last fall, millions of seniors heard a friendly Boone on the other end — a familiar, comforting voice from the past just checking in to let them know that Tim Scott or Kristi Noem or Stephen Fincher was running for Congress and, well, they ought to vote for them.“This is Pat Boone singing the praises of Andy Barr,” Boone said in one call boosting the ultimately unsuccessful Kentucky GOP congressional contender. Boone signed off, “This is Pat Boone saying, ‘So long.’”
“Pat Boone is like the Ben Affleck for seniors,” said Florida Rep. Bill Posey, a Boone acquaintance. “He was an all-American boy and just seemed to represent things that were good in the day. He has not been in trouble and has not blemished that reputation and has been a person of trust. A lot of seniors identify with him.”
During the closing days of a surprisingly competitive 2008 reelection contest, California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher called in Boone, who recorded a robocall praising the longtime Southern California congressman.
“If there was one fellow in the campaign I wouldn’t part with, it was Pat Boone. He captured the spirit I was trying to present,” Rohrabacher said. “He’s well respected by the 65-and-older set, and he really adds a really great deal to the campaign.”
Perhaps most critical to Boone’s potency as a surrogate: his down-home familiarity to a wide swath of the senior electorate. While many of the most prominent voices in the Republican Party — firebrands like Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Florida Rep. Allen West and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul — enjoy vast followings among grass-roots conservatives, they’re less recognizable to older voters who aren’t as well versed in the newer brand of smash-mouth tea party activism.
“He’s a unique talent in the conservative pantheon,” said former New York Rep. Bill Paxon, a onetime National Republican Congressional Committee chairman. “He’s a strong memory for senior citizens, and he hasn’t worn out the brand. He’s not a fixture on cable TV, and he’s not in the press all the time. People see him as an icon of the past.”
Boone, who’s known to cram Fox News appearances into his schedule, takes pride in how active he is on behalf of the conservative cause and for candidates like West — the controversial freshman House Republican who, Boone argued, would make a good vice presidential candidate. During the midterms, he cut 500 robocalls targeted to specific homes, using the first name of the person expected to pick up the phone. He’s also become active with the Beverly Hills tea party.
Boone, who doesn’t ask for money for his endorsements, claims candidates have approached him to say that he’s made a difference in their races.
“I was willing to put in the time and effort and in a lot of cases, the candidates credited the robocalls with winning the race,” Boone, who first became active on behalf of Republican causes in the 1970s as a delegate for then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, told POLITICO. “They think I tipped the races.”
Boone, who during the late 1950s appeared in black-and-white Chevrolet TV commercials, boils down his appeal to a wholesome image and an ability to stir memories of a more innocent period of American life.
“Thank God I have been able to keep my nose clean and my reputation intact,” he said. “Because of the life I’ve lived and the reputation of my life, a lot of people in Middle America see me as someone who is older, perhaps a senior statesman.”
“When you look at Pat Boone, you’re reminded of the good ol’ days when things were simpler and more enjoyable,” said Brent Bozell, president of the conservative Media Research Center. “He’s kind of what Steve Allen became in his later years — iconic, someone who’s transcended entertainment. He’s become a real fixture in the American cultural scene.”
Despite his well-honed clean-cut image, however, Boone’s political endorsements have also stirred controversy. Boone recorded a robocall in the 2007 Kentucky governor’s race warning voters that Democrat Steve Beshear “has consistently supported every homosexual cause.” “Now, do you want a governor who’d like Kentucky to be like another San Francisco?” Boone asked. In 2008, Boone wrote a WorldNetDaily article in which he appeared to liken the raging protests against California’s Proposition 8, an anti-gay marriage measure, to the horrific Mumbai bombings that killed 170 people. Boone’s “commentary marks a new low in anti-gay rhetoric,” Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said at the time.
Boone is now taking his conservative crusade to the debate over the controversial House GOP-led plan to rewrite Medicare. In May, Boone blasted out a statement through the 60 Plus Association accusing Democrats of attempting to fool “seniors with the ‘Mediscare’ tactics,” and in June, he took to the conservative Townhall.com to praise House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan for what he called a bold proposal.
To Republicans, Boone has distinguished himself as probably the most prominent, if not the only, senior citizen public figure to defend the blueprint — a voice for a party that has risked incurring the wrath of older voters by introducing it.
“Pat Boone is an icon in this country,” said Fincher, a freshman Republican. “He’s not a guy who’s going to pull the wool over people’s eyes. He’s going to tell them the truth.”
While Hollywood is one of the GOP’s favorite punching bags, party figures also acknowledge that there’s inherent value in an entertainment star who’s reached iconic status. The GOP, however, often has to resort to B-listers such as Tom Selleck or Chuck Norris.
While Boone hardly compares with such heavyweight Democratic supporters as Steven Spielberg, George Clooney and Matt Damon, for a certain crowd, the singer has mega-wattage.
“We have a dearth of Hollywood talent,” Paxon said. “Pat Boone is one of the few.”
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