Yep, Bruce Willis–ex-steel mill worker from New Jersey and former Montclair State student–is a limited-government Republican. He campaigned for Dukakis in 1988 but since then has supported Republican candidates.

The video is somewhat old, but I like it because Bruce Willis emphasizes the ideals that I value as to why he’s a Republican (Bill O’Reilly, eh, not so much… he likes to control the conversation too much, as you can see here too). Looking at 1:37 into the clip, he says “I do have contrarian opinions on it… small government, yeah, less taxes, yeah, less government intrusion, yes…”

In 2006, at the junket for the movie “16 Blocks,” Willis was being hounded by reporters and angrily said, “”I’m sick of answering this [expletive] question… I’m a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government, I want less government intrusion. I want them to stop [expletive] on my money and your money and tax dollars that we give 50 percent of… every year. I want them to be fiscally responsible and I want these [expletive] lobbyists out of Washington. Do that and I’ll say I’m a Republican… I hate the government, OK? I’m a-political. Write that down. I’m not a Republican.”

So, is he or is he not? To his credit, he works in an industry that is like 97% liberal Democrats, and you could count on your hand the number of self-identifying Republicans there–not to mention Hollywood’s coziness with Communist dictators… but I digress!

Willis is probably hounded for being a successful actor who does not fit the “mold” of the liberal monopoly in Hollywood, so I can understand why he is more adamant about the abstract principles than identifying with the Republican Party. Hey, I believe in those same core values and I only started calling myself a Republican less than two years ago.

Now that we are out of power, I think it’s time to recommit to the basic principles that Willis espouses: less taxes, less government intrusion, less lobbyists. Simple, but definitely not easy. However, if Republicans can build a coherent platform of  limited government like the 1994 Contract With America, we can start to win over the “Bruce Willis’s” of America again and regain a majority in Washington.