# Alec Baldwin and his promise **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 19, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026 "2004-02-19T16:13:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/21 "2004-02-19T19:18:50Z")
> [@bosnywash1](#): > > Any other famous people make bold statemnts that didn’t make them leave? Ahhhhh…didn’t the President make a bold statement about WMD? > [@](#): > > 1. Can anyone comment on my conspiracy theory? Is Hollywood really left, or secretly conservative? Can’t say anything about the conspiracy theory. Secretly Conservative? I have been thinking of all the celebrities turned policitians and they mostly seem to be Republicans. My list so far (forgive me if I don’t know their names) Republicans: 1. Ron Reagan 2. Ahhhhnold 3. Clint Eastwood 4. Gopher from the Love Boat ( I think he’s a Repub.) 5. Sonny Bono 6. The DA now on Law and Order (Who happen to be in Hunt for Red October w/Baldwin -and great Movie) Democrats: 1. Bill Bradley (sports not hollywood) 2. ??? Independent 1. Jesse Ventura I am sure there are others. BTW, anyone who votes for a candidate just to vote against a celebrity needs to put their priorities in order. ---
**Author:** ![bosnywash1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@bosnywash1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bosnywash1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/22 "2004-02-19T19:20:23Z")
Sparkly-Shiney Speakers? Isn’t that like when one politician throws his support to another-- their delegates are supposed to blindly follow suit? C’mon, politicians depend on people following the crowd. They depend on political groups (NOW, NRA) voting exactly how their leaders tell them. Thats bad enough, but stars are trying to force you to their point of view without ANY political overtones. And they expect you to defer to their opinions because they have acheived fame in a non-related genre (movies, pop music, etc.) Sorry, Baps. I don’t care if you’re a ardent disciple of Bush or hate his guts (the latter being the choice in this forum). I hate obnoxious bullies who expect you to do their bidding simply because they say so. Hence, the Human Turd Alec Baldwin. And the fact he wants people assasinated. I’m glad people at least agree with me on the “Baldwin isn’t good” point. It’s nice to be in a room of similar tastes. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/23 "2004-02-19T19:24:48Z")
> [@bosnywash1](#): > > 1. I realize I was asking for a bunch of skewed politcal views when I brought up the Pres and his opponents. But can we please lay off the liberal/conservative rhetoric and do something everyone likes: bash Loud Hollywood idiots? No, I’d rather bash loud online idiots who post inane OPs just because some high-profile celebrity said something they disagreed with. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/24 "2004-02-19T19:46:08Z")
OK, I’ll bite. Who does Baldwin want assassinated? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/25 "2004-02-19T19:48:58Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > OK, I’ll bite. Who does Baldwin want assassinated? (And of course, don’t forget to cite your claim) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/26 "2004-02-19T19:59:12Z")
Yay. The weekly celebrity-bashing thread. How breathtakingly novel. Can we just go to the Pit already? ---
**Author:** ![bosnywash1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@bosnywash1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bosnywash1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/27 "2004-02-19T20:18:19Z")
1. Henry Hyde. He either said it on the Charlie Rose Show (unlikely) or on CNN (Crossfire). He siad he wants him dead. 2. Oh yeah, I’m loudmouthed. I’m sure if I started bashing Bush blindly while making this claim, you’d be on my side. But this isn’t about politics. This about abuse of celebrity. I DON’T CARE ABOUT HIS BELIEFS. HE’S BULLYING, USING HIS CHEAP CELEBRITY AS A PULPIT TO TELL ME HOW MUCH SMARTER HE IS THAN ME, AND HOW WE SHOULD DO WHAT HE SAYS. THAT’S WHAT I DISLIKE. But I do dislike people who defend people simply because you share the same politcal beliefs. Ralph Nader and Michael Moore agree philisophically on many issues, but Nader thinks Moore (rightly, imho) is a cheap publicity stunt artist with some friends at the Acadamy. ---
**Author:** ![bosnywash1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@bosnywash1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bosnywash1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/28 "2004-02-19T20:19:33Z")
Damn my spelling. Damn it all to Alec Baldwin hell. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/29 "2004-02-19T20:27:04Z")
You may want to check the spelling in your sig line too. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/30 "2004-02-19T20:29:54Z")
> [@bosnywash1](#): > > 1. Henry Hyde. He either said it on the Charlie Rose Show (unlikely) or on CNN (Crossfire). He siad he wants him dead. A few seconds on Google, and I see he said that on “Conan O’Brien”, and it clearly was a pathetic attempt at humor, and not a serious death threat. > [@bosnywash1](#): > > I DON’T CARE ABOUT HIS BELIEFS. HE’S BULLYING, USING HIS CHEAP CELEBRITY AS A PULPIT TO TELL ME HOW MUCH SMARTER HE IS THAN ME, AND HOW WE SHOULD DO WHAT HE SAYS. THAT’S WHAT I DISLIKE. Chill out. People need to get over the fact that celebrities will have views, and sometimes state them. They are not trying to take over the world. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/31 "2004-02-19T20:31:14Z")
What about when a celeb endorses right wing candidates and causes? Do you instantly want to vote for the other guy? Bruce Willis supported Bush in the last election. Is he abusing his celebrity? ---
**Author:** ![emulsified](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emulsified/32/2915_2.png) [@emulsified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emulsified)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/32 "2004-02-19T20:38:10Z")
> [@gatopescado](#): > > He made the same claim to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. It should be very easy to confirm this. Any way you look at it, he’s full of shit. But he was damn funny on SNL. Well, it ain’t easy for me. The best I can find after a brief but frenzied Google search is the following: > [@](#): > > [Some site](http://www.jonstewart.net/tran/2001/01_0707vancouver.html) > The next night, facing Alec Baldwin – a political activist whose liberal leanings lie somewhere to the left of Martin Sheen, and who reputedly said he would leave the U.S. if Bush were ever elected president – Stewart took a different tack: “Don’t think there’s any other place that’s safe by leaving the country. He’s everywhere, Bush.” Is that what you meant? Maybe not, as it doesn’t seem very damning. I’m not trying to come off as the biggest Alec Baldwin fan in the world, because really, I don’t care. (Neither do I care what any other movie star thinks about politics, unless they happen to be the President or Governor or something.) However, the guy was excellent in Glengarry Glen Ross, good in Hunt for Red October, great in State and Main, always funny in SNL, and is supposedly good in The Cooler, but I ain’t seen that one. Apart from blabbing about politics now and then, which IMO you have to go out of your way to see, I don’t see a lot of reason to hate the poor schlub. ---
**Author:** ![bosnywash1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@bosnywash1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bosnywash1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/33 "2004-02-19T21:23:41Z")
1. What about when a celeb endorses right wing candidates and causes? Do you instantly want to vote for the other guy? ----Yes. definitely. Anytime someone so insecure as to desperately latch onto fame endorses something or someone, I automatically think, “Bullshit. The opposite is right.” 2.Bruce Willis supported Bush in the last election. Is he abusing his celebrity? ----If he came out on talk shows and made speeches and such, he definmitely did. Leave politics to their own professional sleazebags. Actors/movie types should stick to their own baliwick. However, if he just gave money or showed up at a few rallies, then no. If Baldwin did the same, he wouldn’t be abusing, either. 1. As to the spelling thing, I apologize. I cling to the notion that language is a mode of communication, so spelling (which wasn’t regularized in our language until fairly recently, and, indeed, still has many variations (“color” v. “colour”),) is less important. Hey, it worked on my 4th grade teacher. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/34 "2004-02-19T21:29:34Z")
> [@bosnywash1](#): > > …but stars are trying to force you to their point of view without ANY political overtones. And they expect you to defer to their opinions because they have acheived fame in a non-related genre (movies, pop music, etc.) > > Sorry, Baps. > > I don’t care if you’re a ardent disciple of Bush or hate his guts (the latter being the choice in this forum). I hate obnoxious bullies who expect you to do their bidding simply because they say so. Where do you see ANY of the people you’ve mentioned “bullying” and using the “because I say so” argument? I’ve never seen it. Never. They have strong opinions (probably not as strong as YOURS!) and they use the means afforded them to get the word out. I’m not a huge fan of Baldwin’s, but I’m NO friend of Bush’s and I certainly don’t need Alec to tell me Bush is a bad guy. ---
**Author:** ![bosnywash1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@bosnywash1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bosnywash1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/35 "2004-02-19T21:32:36Z")
1. the Conan o’brien thing was mocking himself from before. Like many things Conan does, it was dead-on, funny, and interesting. Witness David Bowie in a similar skit, lampooning himself. 2. I WAS YELLING TO EMPHASIZE A POINT THE OTHER GUY HAD MISSED. 3. Celebrities have opinions. Thanks Sherlock. I forgot. Geez, and have you heard the rhetoric that comes out of Stresand’s or Norman Lear’s or Nugent’s or Moby’s mouth? Sounds like they want to take over the world to me, or at least dictace voting policy. 4. I’m glad Moby just came out and became a cover band. The whole techno disguise was wearing thin. {yes, cheap shot at Moby, but hey, its celebrity-bashing time} ---
**Author:** ![bosnywash1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@bosnywash1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bosnywash1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/36 "2004-02-19T21:41:30Z")
We know everything you say will end with “I hate Bush”. This is not about your leanings. This is about LOUDMOUTHED CELEBRITIES. For those of you who care to look check out a showing of Politcally Incorrect (Now called Real Time on HBO). (this is a mostly left-leaning show, but you can check out a radio show for a conservative version of these jerks as well—or even Colin Quinn’s Tough Crowd show- which veers more right -for the same obnoxious example). These celebrities play to the audience’s cheers. (Say it with me–“Celebrities on Tough Crowd?!”) They simply make snarky comments, override with sarcasm, or make fools out of people with opposing viewpoints, instead of discussing the problem rationally or logically. Baldwin does this in his editorials, et al., but because he’s Alec Baldwin, and we’re all supposed to bow down to him. Can you or I engage him in a politcal debate in public, and not have him use his charisma to degrade you in front of others? The bottom line is Baldwin has the odds stacked in his favor in this debate, yet for all the wrong reasons. And he bullies his way to the top. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/37 "2004-02-19T21:50:45Z")
Did Alec Baldwin steal your girlfriend or something? Look, we live in a Democracy. That means that everyone should participate in the discussion. That includes the movie star as well as the professor and Mary Ann. Everybody gets a voice and, in theory, everybody gets a vote. I’m pretty sure that when you step into the voting booth that Baldwin does not twist your left arm to make you vote for someone of his choosing with your right. No you can’t debate Baldwin. On a earlier version of PI with Bill M he sometimes had just a regular person on the panel with the other famous people. That was about the only chance to had to take on Alec but of course his excellent charisma score would negate any of your talking points. BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO DEBATE HIM DIRECTLY! You can come here and say, ‘This is what Alec Baldwin says and this is why he is wrong.’ Then you just need to prove it to us. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/38 "2004-02-19T21:52:07Z")
> [@bosnywash1](#): > > We know everything you say will end with “I hate Bush”. This is not about your leanings. This is about LOUDMOUTHED CELEBRITIES. > > For those of you who care to look check out a showing of Politcally Incorrect (Now called Real Time on HBO). (this is a mostly left-leaning show, but you can check out a radio show for a conservative version of these jerks as well—or even Colin Quinn’s Tough Crowd show- which veers more right -for the same obnoxious example). > > These celebrities play to the audience’s cheers. (Say it with me–“Celebrities on Tough Crowd?!”) They simply make snarky comments, override with sarcasm, or make fools out of people with opposing viewpoints, instead of discussing the problem rationally or logically. Baldwin does this in his editorials, et al., but because he’s Alec Baldwin, and we’re all supposed to bow down to him. Can you or I engage him in a politcal debate in public, and not have him use his charisma to degrade you in front of others? > > The bottom line is Baldwin has the odds stacked in his favor in this debate, yet for all the wrong reasons. And he bullies his way to the top. Or maybe you’re just too easily swayed. This may be about loudmouthed celebrities, but you haven’t made a case for yourself. There isn’t one celebrity you’ve mentioned that does any of the things you attribute to them. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/39 "2004-02-19T22:37:36Z")
All right, enough already. First off, flaming isn’ t permitted in \*\*IMHO. \*\* You can attack ideas but not posters. Second, this mess belongs in the **Pit.** , and there only marginally. Off it goes… TVeblen, IMHO mod ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026/40 "2004-02-19T22:49:54Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > Not to hijack this thread, but I feel much the same way about Jeaneane Garofolo. Didn’t she claim on O’Riley’s show that if Iraqis were dancing in the streets and welcoming American soldiers with smiles on their faces, that she would crawl to the White House on broken glass or something and apologize to Bush for the things she said? I didn’t see the show myself but it’s my understanding this is what she said. Haven’t heard a peep out of her since. OK, some Iraqis danced in the streets. Others (in case you’re not up on current events) are blowing our boys up every day. I’d say our reception has been mixed, at best, and let Garofolo off the hook on this one. I think she also included “finding WMD” as part of the condition, and there’s nothing mixed about that one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-and-his-promise/230026.md?page=3)