Actor has become '9/12 Republican'

SAN FRANCISCO — For years, Ron Silver was a partisan Democrat — a one-time president of the Actors' Equity union and co-founder of the Creative Coalition, which encourages left-leaning political activism among celebrities. He even played Bruno Gianelli, the Machiavellian political consigliere to Democratic President Jed Bartlet on TV's "The West Wing."

But everything changed for Silver after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Now he calls himself a "9/12 Republican."

A strong supporter of Israel and the war in Iraq, Silver spoke at the Republican National Convention and is featured prominently in a new documentary, "Fahrenhype 9/11," a searing indictment of Michael Moore's blockbuster film.

Silver says his political change of heart and outspoken support of President Bush has exacted a high professional cost in Hollywood, where Republicans are a decidedly rare breed.

"It's affected me very badly. I can't point to a person or a job I've lost, but this community is not very pluralistic," Silver said. "I haven't worked for 10 months."

It's been just a few weeks since the Republican gathering in New York where Silver made his first high-profile splash on Bush's behalf. Skeptics in the entertainment industry question how Silver can trace a drop-off of career opportunities in such a short time.

When Silver decided to hit, he hit hard — using his convention speech in large part to lash out at Hollywood and the hypocrisy he sees in its politics.

"I find it ironic that many human rights advocates and outspoken members of my own entertainment community are often on the front lines to protest repression, for which I applaud them," Silver said. "But they are usually the first ones to oppose any use of force to take care of these horrors that they catalogue repeatedly."

Silver shows particular venom for Michael Moore, whose "Fahrenheit 9/11" documentary broke box-office records and just came out on DVD. In "Fahrenhype 9/11," Silver teams with former Clinton adviser Dick Morris and others to deconstruct Moore's movie. They score strong points when some of the subjects — an Oregon state trooper, a maimed soldier, the aunt of a young man killed in Iraq — say Moore had no business involving them in his film.

Silver's film has sold more than 200,000 copies on the Internet since its release Oct. 5.