"A furious George (Clooney) hits gutless Dems"

[DeepModem Mom]

NY Daily News gossip column, "Lowdown," Lloyd Grove
A furious George hits gutless Dems


George Clooney has a message for Democratic office-holders who voted for the war in Iraq, only to claim later that they'd been misled by President Bush:
"F— you!"

The movie star's argument — directed at the likes of presidential wannabes Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Kerry and John Edwards — is actually more nuanced than that.

But not by much.

"The fear of being criticized can be paralyzing," Clooney writes today on Huffingtonpost.com — pumping up the volume after banging the drum of Hollywood liberalism in his Oscar acceptance speech.

"Just look at the way so many Democrats caved in the runup to the war. In 2003, a lot of us were saying, where is the link between Saddam and Bin Laden? What does Iraq have to do with 9/11? We knew it was bulls—.

"Which is why it drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, 'We were misled.' It makes me want to shout, 'F— you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic.'"...


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/399189p-338232c.html

[Trevelyan]

1. Good for Clooney. Where are the rest of the movie stars??

Where is "liberal" Hollywood? Steven Speilberg?? Oprah??? you visited the Katrina victims and used a lot of your own money to help them but many are in tents exposed to the elements and needing food and adequate shelter which only the government can provide and is why we paid our taxes all these decades. Why aren't you calling for the Bush controlled government to help???

[Imagine My Surprise]

9. With their unaffected, uninvolved heads up their asses

[formercia]

25. A lot of them are keeping their mouth shut and savoring their tax breaks.

Fu-k them too.

[Totally Committed]

2. He's absolutely correct on this!

"Which is why it drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, 'We were misled.' It makes me want to shout, 'F— you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic.'"...

Right effing on!

TC

[riona]

34. agreed

the information was there, they knew it, and they were too afraid to do what was right

[wtmusic]

3. HuffPost link

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-clooney/i-am-a-liberal-there-i-_b_17119.html

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Thanks, wtmusic! nt

[0007]

18. Huffington Post

I am a liberal. And I make no apologies for it. Hell, I'm proud of it.

Too many people run away from the label. They whisper it like you'd whisper "I'm a Nazi." Like it's dirty word. But turn away from saying "I'm a liberal" and it's like you're turning away from saying that blacks should be allowed to sit in the front of the bus, that women should be able to vote and get paid the same as a man, that McCarthy was wrong, that Vietnam was a mistake. And that Saddam Hussein had no ties to al-Qaeda and had nothing to do with 9/11.

This is an incredibly polarized time (wonder how that happened?). But I find that, more and more, people are trying to find things we can agree on. And, for me, one of the things we absolutely need to agree on is the idea that we're all allowed to question authority. We have to agree that it's not unpatriotic to hold our leaders accountable and to speak out.

That's one of the things that drew me to making a film about Murrow. When you hear Murrow say, "We mustn't confuse dissent with disloyalty" and "We can't defend freedom at home by deserting it at home," it's like he's commenting on today's headlines.

The fear of been criticized can be paralyzing. Just look at the way so many Democrats caved in the run up to the war. In 2003, a lot of us were saying, where is the link between Saddam and bin Laden? What does Iraq have to do with 9/11? We knew it was bullshit. Which is why it drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, "We were misled." It makes me want to shout, "Fuck you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic."

Bottom line: it's not merely our right to question our government, it's our duty. Whatever the consequences. We can't demand freedom of speech then turn around and say, But please don't say bad things about us. You gotta be a grown up and take your hits.

I am a liberal. Fire away.

[carnie_sf]

4. George Clooney for pres. nt

[CrispyQ]

6. "I am a liberal. And I make no apologies for it. Hell, I'm proud of it."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-clooney/i-am-a-liberal-there-i-_b_17119.html




snip...

This is an incredibly polarized time (wonder how that happened?). But I find that, more and more, people are trying to find things we can agree on. And, for me, one of the things we absolutely need to agree on is the idea that we're all allowed to question authority. We have to agree that it's not unpatriotic to hold our leaders accountable and to speak out.


George rocks! We need to hear from more 'stars' who feel this way.

[Presidentcokedupfratboy]

49. Exactly right!!!!

And you know what we should be saying to these neocon idiots?

"Yes, we're proud to be liberals. Liberals have given you voting rights, civil rights, unemployment insurance, employee protections, education, social security, pure food and drugs, and consumer protection.

When has the modern GOP EVER supported any of these things? NEVER."

That's what we have to tell the people.

[BigYawn]

50. You won't hear from the "stars", they are savoring their huge taxcuts

Georgie gave them.

[SaveElmer]

7. I'm a Clooney fan...but I disagree with him...

But who agrees with everyone 100% of the time...

[NVMojo]

8. this story came out in December, glad to see it still survives

[w13rd0]

11. True.

And Edwards has since made a helluva respectable mea culpa on his vote. Was it for political reasons? Maybe, but frankly, I don't care. There's enough public support for these dems to make their mea culpas now, rather than try to hem and haw until November and beyond. They should do so now, rather than waiting to be stuck on a sinking boat with Bush and Lieberman.

[karynnj]

17. Kerry did as well - BEFORE Edwards

In addition, unlike Edwards, Kerry spoke out against the war prior to its start. Bush missused the authority and invaded after the inspectors were in, were finding no WMD, and Saddam was destroying missiles. This week's NYT reports that Saddam was on the verge of losing power. If Bush would have followed what the IWR asked, there would have been no invasion. (Unless we, as part of the world went into fix a Yugoslavia type situation.

Consider why the relatively conservative NY Daily News (likely Archie Bunker's paper - the Post was liberal then) would print comments from December. The war is going out of control - who do these quotes blame? - the Democrats.

[MH1]

26. And remember, it wasn't just a vote by Edwards.

He co-sponsored IWR.

[FrenchieCat]

30. and said that it was a war for Geopolitical reasons......

so he understood why Bush was "misleading" him.

"Congress must also make clear that any actions against Iraq are part of a broader strategy to strengthen American security in the Middle East.

Iraq is a grave and growing threat. Hussein has proven his willingness to act irrationally and brutally against his neighbors and against his own people.

Iraq's destructive capacity has the potential to throw the entire Middle East into chaos, and it poses a mortal threat to our vital ally, Israel. Thousands of terrorist operatives around the world would pay anything to get their hands on Saddam Hussein's arsenal and would stop at nothing to use it against us. America must act, and Congress must make clear to Hussein that he faces a united nation."
http://www.usembassy.it/file2002_09/alia/a2091910.htm
John Edwards Op Ed in the WAPO dated 9/17/02

[sendero]

10. That is exactly...

.. what I think, and I've said it early and often. There is NO EFFING WAY that the senators running this country didn't know what was really up. They were just afraid of the politics, and now that being against the war would be politically helpful, they don't have the history to be taken seriously even on that.

It's pathetic.

[Jacobin]

12. He states my sentiments exactly

They were cowards. There is no other spin or explanation for it and I've heard all the spin and explanations.

[BoneDaddy]

13. Totally correct

I am in total agreement GC!!

The lame, impotent, lie that the Dems "were mislead" is a bunch of bullshit. As the real progressive media was challenging the war, the vast majority of Dems were backslapping and heehawing with the Republicans as they beat the drums of war.

What was really happening was this. GW still had a strong approval rating, Americans were crazy with revenge and looking for a target, the media facilitated the propaganda because, afterall, war is NEWS and they could make a killing in ratings, and all ate at the trough of Rove like starved wolves.

The real truth is that the Democrats were scared to death of going against the war for fear of losing their political capital with their constituents who, repubs and dems alike, were blinded by the intensity of the jingoistic fervor that gripped the nation. Shame they had little forethought, cause if they did, they would have listened to the progressive folks who were talking about how it could not POSSIBLY work for the very reasons that we are having trouble now (civil war, increasing the recruitment for terrorist orgs, inflaming anti-US sentiment, etc..). If they played their cards right, they could have been sitting on an easy ride into the 06 elections.

[FrenchieCat]

14. Ya go, George Clooney!

He speaks for me! :thumbsup:

[oneold1-4u]

15. If they admit error

And stand today for IMPEACHMENT it could be a start back to remaining leaders of the party. Otherwise they can forget about a lot of votes in the future!

[Catrina]

24. Yes, but they just voted for the Patriot Act last week, almost all of them

and how many of Bush's nominees have they stopped? I'm fed up with them and will only support Democrats like Kucinich from now on and Rep. Conyers and others who have voted the right way, against the war and Patriot Act eg.

I've never seen so many excuses made to defend those who broke our hearts, when they voted for the IWR eg. There is no defense, unless those who voted against it were wrong?? How come Kucinich, Byrd, et al were not fooled?

Edwards apologized a long time ago, btw, way before Kerry ~ I get angry just thinking of how they let us all down, and gave Bush and his friends the go ahead to kill and plunder and lie and cheat and torture.

George Clooney is right, absolutely ~ he wasn't fooled, most of the inhabitants of the planet weren't fooled, and anyone who was is not fit to be president, so I hope they decide not to run. I would worry about what they might be fooled by next.

[FrenchieCat]

28. The war is 3 years old.....Edwards apologized in November

or something. That's not very long ago in my book....if fact, seems like it was just about when the polls started to indicate that the American people did not support this war in the majority. Coincidence?

John Kerry never supported the war in the way that John Edwards did....so he didn't need to "apologize" in the manner that John Edwards needed to.

But in the end, I agree.....that I wasn't fooled and either should they have been....so anyone apologizing using that as an excuse is lying....far as I'm concerned! Especially those who sat on the Intelligence committee....

[Jacobin]

33. Oops, I fucked up and helped kill thousands and waste a trillion$

so sowwy.

Now, vote for me for president.

We have few good choices in this country for leadership.

[GreenArrow]

36. anyone who voted for that sorry crap

need not run for federal office again, as far as I'm concerned. Even if they have "apologized". They knew what they were doing.

[Catrina]

35. Actually, Edwards and Kerry were both asked about the war in a debate

before the election. They were asked 'are you now sorry that you voted for the war? If you had it to do all over again, would you do it?' Edwards, 'yes I am sorry, and no, I would not vote for it again'. Kerry gave a long, roundabout answer ~ I can't really remember what he said ~ but that was the first time I heard Edwards say he wished he had not voted for the war.

We'll have to agree to disagree ~ but imo, anyone who voted for the IWR either did so for political reasons or they were easily fooled. 21 Dems in the Senate voted against it. One Independent and one Republican, a total of 23.

If they knew, and we knew and millions around the world knew, they should have known that this administration (after all many of them were former felons) could never be trusted with that kind of power ~ the world was begging them to try to stop them. They let us down, they let the Iraqi people down, and the world ~ and the results of that vote have been a disaster on a major scale, which many predicted would happen ~

I agree that apologizing now is too late and I really do believe now that anyone who voted for it should not be president.

[GreenArrow]

37. no, Edwards did not say he was sorry for his vote

he said he took "responsibility" for it, with a big grin on his face. Kerry gave a roundabout answer that answered nothing; talked about how he carried an M-16, or some such rubbish.

I think it was the Wisconsin primary debate.

I pretty much agree with the rest of your post, especially the last paragraph. If you voted for it, GET LOST.

[FrenchieCat]

39. What debate was that where Edwards say he was sorry about

voting for the IWR? I'm surprised it wasn't news...considering that he was standing up for his vote as he did here in this Hardball interview DURING the '04 primaries (Cause if he had gone from what he saying below to what you are saying....some might have said he Flip-flopped)....

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3131295
MATTHEWS: Let me ask but the war, because I know these are all students and a lot of guys the age of these students are fighting over there and cleaning up over there, and they’re doing the occupation.

Were we right to go to this war alone, basically without the Europeans behind us? Was that something we had to do?

EDWARDS: I think that we were right to go. I think we were right to go to the United Nations. I think we couldn’t let those who could veto in the Security Council hold us hostage.

And I think Saddam Hussein, being gone is good. Good for the American people, good for the security of that region of the world, and good for the Iraqi people.

MATTHEWS: If you think the decision, which was made by the president, when basically he saw the French weren’t with us and the Germans and the Russians weren’t with us, was he right to say, “We’re going anyway”?

EDWARDS: I stand behind my support of that, yes.

MATTHEWS: You believe in that?

EDWARDS: Yes.

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about-Since you did support the resolution and you did support that ultimate solution to go into combat and to take over that government and occupy that country. Do you think that you, as a United States Senator, got the straight story from the Bush administration on this war? On the need for the war? Did you get the straight story?

EDWARDS: Well, the first thing I should say is I take responsibility for my vote. Period. And I did what I did based upon a belief, Chris, that Saddam Hussein’s potential for getting nuclear capability was what created the threat. That was always the focus of my concern. Still is the focus of my concern.

So did I get misled? No. I didn’t get misled.

[karynnj]

41. Edwards appologized in November

Kerry in October. Kerry was never for the war - he called for regime change at home when Bush invaded and had called on Bush not to invade when it was clear he was. Edwards was for the far at least for 9 or so months after Bush invaded.

[derby378]

16. In addition to another nomination...

This thread gets a moving flash on freedom as well:

http://www.bozzetto.com/freedom.htm

[Pithy Cherub]

19. Keep on saying it G, Loud and Proud! Those craven

IWR aye voters knew exactly what they were voting for and to claim to be misled is to be ironically enshrined in the "too stupid to be president" club. They failed America on conceptual and practical levels by hitching their wagons to W's tail pipe. All they got was the mind-numbing CO2 exhaust and they breathed it in liberally. To this day some of the presidential wannabes, won't admit how wrong they are. Those that don't have the necessary intestinal fortitude to admit it, don't deserve the votes of patriotic Americans who believe in Freedom, Justice and Liberty for All.

Those morally culpable for their IWR Aye votes, know intrinsically it was abjectly wrong. To defend it is lunacy because it is defending the actions of weak people making political calculations and not doing what was right on behalf of their constitutionally sworn oaths. Those Aye IWR voters should be speaking to We The People and shouting from the rooftops and mountaintops that Bush's outrageous and felonious lies have compromised America. They are OBLIGATED to consistently and continuously call for investigation and oversight into the conduct of the administration.

To state that IWR Aye voters were misled is being mealy mouthed and dishonoring again every single person who has been hurt by this War. They knew bush was declaring war - and when he went why was not one of them shouting that this was a misuse of the authorization and wholly unsanctioned by the Congress. They didn't because those IWR Aye voters are complicit in the death and destruction of the US Constitutional way of life. The IWR aye voters wanted to be president or support a future president, more than they wanted to do the right thing and be amongst the humble and noble in the pantheon of historical great leaders.

Go George Go - that is the hallmark of a leader - speaking up when it is unpopular and standing strongly in the in the face of overwhelming crticism. That's classy Courage!

[AX10]

20. KICK and recomended!

[Jeffersons Ghost]

21. back then there was a senator who WAS considered unpatriotic

FEINGOLD

[ProSense]

22. I like who he supports

Democrats

$10,000 Democrat

OBAMA, BARACK (D) Senate - IL
OBAMA FOR ILLINOIS INC $2,000 09/15/04

BOXER, BARBARA (D) Senate - CA
BOXER / DSCC '04 $2,000 09/10/04

KERRY, JOHN F (D) President
JOHN KERRY FOR PRESIDENT INC $2,000 03/03/04

CLOONEY, NICK (D) House (KY 04)
CLOONEY FOR CONGRESS $2,000 12/09/03

CLOONEY, NICK (D) House (KY 04)
CLOONEY FOR CONGRESS $2,000 12/09


http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/George_Clooney.php

[Atman]

23. In a (mild) defense of "the other movie stars"

George is a very brave man. No one ever gave out awards in Hollywood for bravery. In fact, Hollywood, perhaps more than any other "industry" or town, bore a oversized brunt of the McCarthy witch hunts, during which many big stars found themselve unable to work.

To be sure, the old studio system under which that was allowed to happen no longer really exists, but I'd be willing to bet that especially the old-timers have a special recollection about what happens to public figures when you speak out against the government.

[Iowa]

31. I know what you're saying, but....

the spectre of the loss of work for a multi-millionaire isn't much to fear. In my neck of the woods we call that a vacation. Some of these people could make a difference. They choose not to.

[killerbush]

27. I wish Cloonetywould hit O'Reilly and Foxnews more

[mzmolly]

29. I love this statement:

"It's not merely our right to question our government, it's our duty. Whatever the consequences," he lectures.

"We can't demand freedom of speech, then turn around and say, 'But please don't say bad things about us.' You gotta be a grownup and take your hits."

[Placebo]

32. Clooney for President!

:patriot:

[FogerRox]

38. & FOOK YOU TOO -----spinless DEMS

[Admiral Loinpresser]

40. Gore/Clooney 2008! n/t

[stillrockin]

42. I'm with George--

I have absolutely HAD it with the gutless Dems in Congress.

[fearnobush]

46. Not so gutless when you look in to reality and see the fascists

control the House, Congress, the SCOTUS and yes... the media.

[fearnobush]

43. Bull Shit! I seem to remember everyone being scared shit-less

in to this war. Sure, there were a lot of Dem's (Hillery) who backed the resolution, but over all I strongly disagree Mr. Clooney. Congress and the Senate were fed bogus intel and cherry picked intel, making Saddam look like Hitler times ten. We STILL DON'T HAVE PHASE TWO OF THE SENATE INTEL REPORT FOLKS! Ever take take a guess as to why we don't have that yet! Most elected Dem's and the vast majority of the American public were dope feened in to this war. One the heels of 911, a nation still in shock and sorrow, itching for revenge, it was a real easy psychological sale to go to war with Iraq. We were duped plain and simple. A nation made in to suckers. Thats the reality of it. Ego's aside - we were had by a group of Neo-Fascist called the Bush Administration.


Ripping our party as a whole over the war resolution is playing right in to Rove's hands people. We were totally fucked over in to this war. The death of Paul Wellstone is testiment to that cold harsh reality.

[zulchzulu]

44. GOP framing: "...voted for the war"

I'd like to ask Clooney if he knew that the IWR was critical for getting inspections in Iraq. I'd also ask him where in the IWR does it say that Bush could attack Iraq unilaterally and use distorted lies and chosen faulty intelligence to race into war.

George, stop staring at yourself in the mirror and do a little homework, buddy.

[fearnobush]

45. Thankyou.

[zulchzulu]

47. Would Edward R. Murrow use GOP framing and release inaccurate statements?

Um...I don't think so.

Murrow would not have used GOP framing as part of a statement that also completely doesn't understand the text and meaning of the IWR. Without it, there would have been no inspections. He would have been a tad more responsible and concise in his view.

In other words, Murrow would chastise Clooney for being an ass.

[IndianaGreen]

48. These Democrats are as cowardly as those that remained silent in the 1950s

for fear of reprisal from Joe McCarthy.

Russ Feingold is our Edward R. Morrow!

[wiley]

52. Wow, I agree!

Edwards? Edwards? Oh stop!

:rofl:

[TankLV]

51. He'll get no argument from me.

Truth hurts, doesn't it!

[Neil Lisst]

53. I think "furious" is an editorial comment

I agree with the gist of Clooney's statements, but to characterize anything he said as "furious" is playing loose with the language.

[DeepModem Mom]

54. I think maybe they meant to rhyme with "Curious George" --

the childrens' book character, for a clever head.