If the struggle is for equal pay, Hillary is not the right leader

Those wanting to see a political rant break out on this year’s Oscars show didn’t have to wait long for their wish to be fulfilled.

My wife and I are movie lovers. We watch four or five of them on our home screen just about every week.

We must be one of Redbox’s best customers, and when we can’t find what we want from one of their nearby dispensers, we turn to iTunes, or Netflix, or U-verse or our own library of several hundred DVDs.

Adding to our long engagement with the wonder of moving pictures is our enjoyment of following the success of family members working in the industry.

So you will find us among the legions of movie fans viewing the annual presentation of the Academy Awards.

It’s always a risk that our enthusiasm for the art and magic of moviemaking will take a hit when performers seize the occasion to reveal their political agendas.

I know, they are certainly as free as the rest of us to express their views, but I would like it much better if we didn’t know anything at all about the private or political lives of actors and actresses.

Sometimes such insight affects the ability to become absorbed in their films and takes the edge off the admiration of their exceptional talents.

Unsurprisingly though, some use their freedom of expression and celebrity to try to shape our society and align themselves with politicians who will pursue the results they want.

Preparations were well underway prior to this year’s event to advance the narrative of equal rights for women — a political issue that seems to loom high among the priorities in the upcoming race to elect the next president.

Helping to set the stage for what was to follow was a Hillary Clinton super PAC tweeting the hashtag #askhermore, a campaign supported by Hollywood activists to get beyond the “who are you wearing” meme that has dominated interviews with female stars on Oscar night’s Red Carpet.

The point is to rally again to the cause of equal pay for actresses and renew the overall myth of conservatives waging a war on women.

I have no problem with advancing compliance with the multitude of federal laws — some of which have been in effect for 50 years — that protect rights of employees to be free from discrimination and ensures equal pay for equal work.

But Hollywood would be wise to consider whether it has found the right stalking horse to advance the cause.

Just hours after this year’s best supporting actress Patricia Arquette’s rousing demand for women’s equality, Hillary’s record of what she paid her Senate female staff members came into view.

The next day, an analysis by the Washington Free Beacon political website had her paying women in her workforce just 72 percent of what men earned.

The website story went on to cite the conclusion of American Enterprise Institute economist Mark Perry: “Either Clinton is guilty of gender discrimination and pays her female staffers significantly less than men, or she is guilty of statistical fraud for spreading misinformation about the alleged gender pay gap at the national level.”

In spite of all her talk about breaking the “glass ceiling,” the one above her own office apparently remained fully intact.

Clinton has long enjoyed the support of Hollywood’s high-profile personalities. Whenever and wherever the heavyweights stage a fundraiser for her, millions flow into her campaign.

If, however, they are serious about furthering the mission of equal pay, they may want to rethink their choice.

Hillary may look the part, but her performance in the real world tells a different story.

Richard Greene is a former Arlington mayor and served as an appointee of President George W. Bush as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. mayorgreene@mayorgreene.com

This story was originally published February 27, 2015 at 6:57 PM with the headline "If the struggle is for equal pay, Hillary is not the right leader."