'Screw the country. We’re going to whatever we do to get this black man'

[Hoosier Daddy]

Morgan Freeman laid down the chips on the Tea Party in a new interview with Piers Morgan that is due to air Friday night.

The Oscar-winning actor sat down with the British TV host and, amongst other things, discussed his belief that the right wing Tea Party's anti-Obama stance is rooted in racism.

When asked by Morgan whether Obama's presidency has made racism in the United States better or worse, Freeman, who once played apartheid-defying South African president Nelson Mandela, frankly stated that his time in office has made it worse, as he has become a target of the right's aggression.

"Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term," the actor said. "What’s, what does that, what underlines that? 'Screw the country. We’re going to whatever we do to get this black man, we can, we’re going to do whatever we can to get this black man outta here.'"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/morgan-freeman-tea-party-racist_n_978123.html

Right on, Mr. Freeman! The teabaggers and most congressional Republicans have made abundantly clear what they think of this president.

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. I'm looking forward to the interview.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

2. I love Morgan Freeman, but that was indeciferable...

:shrug:

[Hoosier Daddy]

5. Still better than Rick Perry!

Did you hear him last night??? Oy!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

26. I do not watch drivel I know is going to just piss me off.

I'd rather not have a heart attack, and my husband's ears cannot handle me screaming at the TV in hysterical, hypersonic rants.

[cliffordu]

35. so's your speling, but who cares???

(sic)


:hurts:

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

3. K&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[holdencaufield]

4. He PLAYED Nelson Mandela...

He ISN'T Nelson Mandela. There is a distinction. Morgan Freeman has a seriously cool voice, but does that give him some insight into politics that the rest of us don't have?

Seriously -- why do we feel compelled to listen to ANY celebrity (regardless of political bent) on any subject outside of their chosen profession?

[MisterP]

7. that was an "Ugly Americans" episode

[PurityOfEssence]

24. Brando has a great comment on this in his autobiography:

He was aghast at the way people attributed all good qualities to those who happened to be famous.

The incident at hand was where he was in a television interview, and the interviewer asked him for his opinion on quantum theory. His response was that he hadn't even finished High School...

He was being honest.

Here's the key: people tend to equate all things good and all things bad. If someone is "good", they're also educated, moral, astute, blah blah blah. Bad guys are slobbering nincompoops.

People hate complexity. They literally HATE it.

[holdencaufield]

25. You have distilled the essence...

... of the state of political discourse in modern society.

[Supersedeas]

28. complexity takes time and effort...and sometimes a little due diligence

[crazyjoe]

6. WTF does that have to do with racism? really, this shit does not help

So, because the republicans will do what they have to to see that obama only servers one term, is because he's black? Ah, really? And you expect people who are currently undecided to buy that? Most people who matter (the undecideds )will think that is bullshit race baiting, and i agree with them.
Oh, Mr Freeman played Nelson Mandela on TV!
Mr Freeman, you are no Nelson Mandela.
sorry, this shit pisses me off to no end.

[jaxx]

8. Are you giving racism a free pass?

It would be pretty hard to ignore the racist crap that has been used against President Obama. And now you put down Morgan Freeman for standing up and telling the truth? There are some double standards around here that are getting to be downright questionable.

[crazyjoe]

14. so i'm giving racism a free pass.....really?

I am not ignoring the racist crap that the right, and the tea party in particular, are spewing. What I commented on is the statement Mr Freeman made in the interview.

"Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term," the actor said. "What’s, what does that, what underlines that? 'Screw the country. We’re going to whatever we do to get this black man, we can, we’re going to do whatever we can to get this black man outta here.'"

That statement could have been made a lot better. As it stands, it's bullshit! And it is only going to piss people off. The right, including Fox news, limbaugh, hanity, and the rest, will use it to dismiss the racist talk and demonstrate that it's the left playing the race card.
Can't you see, it hurts us. Are you telling me Morgan Freeman couldn't come up with a better example than the right want's to win the election??!!

Friggin November is going to be a fuckin bloodbath if we don't get our shit together, which includes dickheads like Morgan Freeman to STFU.

[jaxx]

16. So it pisses the wingers off. Big whoop.

What they say pisses me off. When McConnell makes the public statement that his only goal is to make Obama a one-term president, Freeman can say whatever he wants.

Wow and you call him a dickhead!! Why don't you call those who are putting PBO down at every opportunity dickheads? They're the ones who need to get their shit together and stfu.

[crazyjoe]

32. I don't give a crap about the right wingers, they are going to vote for

the repuke no matter what. What I'm concerned for is the undecided independent type. They are the ones who are going to decide this election, just like they did the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that, ect.........

[johnaries]

9. But, he is black. and he is articulate. He also played God, but

no one thinks he is God. I'm looking forward to the interview.

[Avalux]

11. So....you think racism has nothing to do with the frothing at the mouth tea partiers?

The fact that a black man is president of this country is makes them insane with hatred.

[crazyjoe]

13. I would say nice try, but that would be giving you credit.

"Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term,"
OK, so the pukes want to get into power again, as much as the thought of that makes me ill, I, and most reasonable people, wouldn't call that racist.
how you get to "So....you think racism has nothing to do with the frothing at the mouth tea partiers?" is so ridiculous it's laughable.

[Hoosier Daddy]

17. Enjoy Mars?

That's obviously where you've been for the past two-and-a-half years.

[crazyjoe]

33. huh ?

[Merlot]

20. They're just doing their masters bidding.

They would be just as virulent if it were a white guy. He'd a DEMOCRAT. That's the REAL problem.

The fact that he's black is just icing on their hate-filled cake.

[itsallhappening]

31. Some of it is probably racism. But the blanket accusation is nothing more

than something people say in an attempt to silence the other side.

There are plenty of criticisms of the teabaggers without having to resort to crying wolf.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Now, THAT'S saying it like it is.

Right on, Morgan Freeman!

[MadMaddie]

12. I think people are complicating this Morgan is speaking as

a black man in America who has lived through some shit that I and others have never been exposed to.

His belief is not rare in the minority community.

The way I look at a problem is I look at the root cause and then I adapt.
The facts are
1. The TeaParty did not exist before President Obama took office.
2. During the history of the U.S has never been disrepected as Joe Wilson with his "you lie" during the State of the Union.
3. The Debt ceiling has never been held captive in previous adminstrations, even in Clintons
4. The first lady has never been attacked as Mrs. Obama has just for promoting her healthy kids initiatives.
5. When has the American birth place of a President ever been questioned. The media and the Teabaggers had every opportunity to attack McCain for being born in the Panama canal but they didn't
6. Why are several states attempting to redistrict liberal and minority areas out of existence?
7.Racism is alive and well in this country, the KKK has increased it's membership enormously.....what would cause that?
8. When the Michelle Bachmans say they want to take the country back....what do you think she is talking about?
9. The Republicans in Congress are voting against the very things that they wanted years ago....
10. Listen carefully to the language, "Tar Baby".....was used by a TeaPartier who then tried to say he didn't know the meaning of it....I guarentee you minorities in this country knew exactly what it meant....


For those that are questioning does race play a factor in what is happening to this sitting president....unless you have walked in his shoes...you cannot definitively say it is not racism.

The facts also mean
1. The black family in the WH does not fit the Republican mantra of all black families are dysfunctional
2. President and Mrs Obama do not fit the Repug meme that minorities can be successful

If you want a country that does not display and act on the things I noted above it is critical to get out and vote, fight redistricting and remove the Republicans and Teapartiers.

[FrenchieCat]

15. That's about the size of it.

That's the song of quite a few.

[PurityOfEssence]

18. Yes, it's all about that.

He can pull religion into the debate where it wasn't before from the left. He can drag the country to the right and show himself to be weak to the right at the same time. He can buttress corporatist interests and hide behind Congress, but it's all about race.

He can strut and fret his hour upon the stage as an exercise of his individual greatness, but policy is a fig, and the rest of us not caught up in the mystique are enemies of all that's good.

This is the worst kind of hero-worship: one that expects all to fall in step, regardless of policy.

WAR WAR WAR. Fuck the law. Fuck the UN Participation Act, Fuck the War Powers Resolution, Fuck the NATO Treaty; plunder Libya for profit and shut the fuck up.

Fuck the environment, fuck the working stiff, promulgate "victories" on health care and finance reform that are nothing short of collusion, and expect us to revel in some kind of victory. It seems to be a consistent self-aggrandizing thrust to be a transcendent political figure, regardless of the reality suffered by the shirtless. The worst of all elements of this is the cringing need of the stalwarts to not be questioned in their moral purity of being correct.

This is not just disgusting, it's abusive.

On and on and on and on and on we're being whipped into line with the cries that to not defend everything our President does is some kind of evil racism. That's stupid, simplistic, morally abusive and just plain wrong. It also hurts our cause: if we're going to bleat about bigotry if anything this man meets resistance, we will be seen as fools and unprincipled assholes.

There are MANY reasons to not support specific maneuverings of this man. To equate any dissent as racism is abusive.

[Merlot]

19. Replace "black man" with "democrat" and I'll believe it.

Racism is helpful to stir up the racists, but if Obama were lilly white I doubt that things would be any different.

If it was Hillary, they'd use sexism. If it was J. Edwards, they'd go the "character" route (a playbook finely tuned during the Clinton Administration).

If it were Biden, it would be agesism.

There will always be an "ism" to hide the real truth - democrats get in the way of corporations.

[loyalsister]

21. That was a good interview

I liked where he pointed out that Obama has been idealistically trying to keep his promise to be president of us all. And, that it was time to give it up. Perfect assessment IMO.

[McCamy Taylor]

22. It's true Obama polarizes...however, the racists are the minority.

Most Americans continue to like him as a person even if they hate the economy. That means that most people either are race neutral or they view his being African-American as a plus.

[Hoosier Daddy]

23. Reminder: The repeat of Piers Morgan just came on

Night, all. :hi:

[DCBob]

27. The problem is conservative America was simply not ready for a black man with a scary muslim name..

to be sitting in "their" WH and the teaparty "revolution" was the knee jerk racist reaction to that. Hopefully in time during his next four years in office they will get over it... but Im not holding my breath.

[Hoosier Daddy]

30. Conservative America STILL isn't ready for a black president

Of any name. The guy could be James Smith and it wouldn't make any difference, in four years or 40...

PS: Just in case you didn't notice it, there's a video of Morgan's comments in PV. :-)

[mmonk]

29. Agreed.

[DrunkenBoat]

34. I don't believe that. The same forces went after Clinton. There may be baggers who are racist,

but the Koch-funded Teaparty is the same old divide-&-rule.

The Kochs & their ilk don't fund such things out of racism, but in order to maintain & increase their *own* power by dividing people into increasingly smaller interest groups & preventing them from making common cause.

Same with religion, abortion, racism, sexism -- it's all about maintaining control over money & power: economics.