# Did any of the celeb liberals who swore they'd leave the US if Bush won do so? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 29, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494 "2003-12-29T01:03:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/21 "2003-12-31T12:33:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gyrate \* > **I vaguely recall a similar bunch of conservative types claiming they’d leave the UK if Labour won the 1997 election (OTTOMH, Paul Daniels said something to that effect).** I think that Paul Daniels’ announcement swung more than a few floating voters. Wasn’t there a national newspaper that (after the election) sent one-way airline tickets to the celebs who said they would leave? ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/22 "2003-12-31T12:34:40Z")
I’ll leave if Charles Kennedy ever gets in. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/23 "2003-12-31T13:17:11Z")
Actually, Bush did not win, so what’s all the fuss about? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/24 "2003-12-31T16:39:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spectre of Pithecanthropus \* > At least for those celebrities who are American citizens, threatening to leave only underscores their eliteness. It’s very difficult for an ordinary American to emigrate to any other First World country, due to the difficulty of getting working papers and finding a job. By threatening to leave the country, the elites are simply reminding us that they have the financial wherewithal to pack up, move to wherever, and buy/lease a house without breaking a sweat. If that’s supposed to be some sort of slam at liberal elites, it’s got some real blowback in the direction of Bush’s tax policy. You see, this mega-mobility is true for economic elites of all political persuasions: the rich are effectively citizens of the world, while those just scraping by are pretty much stuck where they are. So the idea that cutting taxes for the rich boosts _our_ economy somehow is a chimera: they spend all over the world, and they invest all over the world, and to the extent that cutting their taxes creates economic benefits for “the economy”, only some of those benefits will accrue to _our_ economy. Sorry to take this in a direction other than WMDs, **John Mace** ; I hate to disappoint you, but there’s so _many_ things to slam Bush about! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/25 "2003-12-31T16:49:05Z")
Oops! It was in _another_ thread I was reading at the same time that John Mace said any thread remotely having to do with Bush would eventually find its way to WMDs. My bad! ---
**Author:** ![Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Age_Quod_Agis)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/26 "2003-12-31T18:41:09Z")
> [@](#): > > _Airblaxxx:_ > In other words, there is no direct quote coming from Alec Baldwin published anywhere in the world that stated he would move abroad if Bush were elected. Can anyone refute this? Yes. Please see the language I quoted from [snopes.com](http://snopes.com) above. > [@](#): > > _Airblaxxx:_ > When this phenomenon takes on a political overtone, it seems to me to be done most often, but by no means exclusively, at the expense of left-leaning figures and institutions. I assure you the twisting and distortions fly equally from both sides. Maybe it seems that way to you because you buy into the left-leaning distortions more than the right-leaning distortions. For example, you seem to be unaware that there were many reasons advanced for the war in Iraq, and not just a belief that Saddam was behind 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/27 "2003-12-31T19:07:19Z")
Indeed there were! First and foremost was the clear and present danger of Saddam arming ObL with Invisible Pink Unicorns equipped with 1920’s Style Death Rays! Wait, no, it’s because of the imminent threat of sea-based drone aircraft armed with nuclear anthrax! No, wait, it turns out that GeeDubya, that celebrated disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, simply could not bear the oppression of the Iraqi people another moment! Poor, poor man, that he should suffer so! And didn’t Fearless Leader himself come out and firmly deny such a connection? Well, several months after the fact, but he’s a busy, busy man. And in the deathless words of Condi Rice “the President is not a fact checker.” Striding the world like a collossus of stern virtue is very time-consuming, he barely has enough time for fund raising… ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/28 "2003-12-31T20:32:17Z")
And don’t forget. **elucidator**. that he is so busy he has to have the newspapers read for him. At least he commits the time it takes to read the headlines. Must make his lips tired. > [@](#): > > As for newspapers, Mr. Bush said, “I glance at the headlines” but “rarely read the stories.” The people who brief him on current events encounter many of the newsmakers personally, he said, and in any case “probably read the news themselves.” ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/29 "2003-12-31T20:53:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Age Quod Agis \* > \*\*Yes. Please see the language I quoted from [snopes.com](http://snopes.com) above.I assure you the twisting and distortions fly equally from both sides. \*\* Huh? The best I get rom the Snopes article is this > [@](#): > > Then, in mid-September, actor Alec Baldwin said something (exactly what he said, to whom, and when, remains elusive) which his wife, actress Kim Basinger, **interpreted** as a promise to leave the country should Bush win the presidency (Bolding mine.) That hardly constitutes a direct quote from Alec Baldwin stating that he would leave the country if Bush gets elected. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/30 "2003-12-31T20:56:41Z")
Age Quod Agis, in case you didn’t notice, elucidator is subtley pointing out that, as each old reason for the invasion has been debunked, a new reason has been floated to see if it will stick. Just for my own amusement, I’m going to list some of those many reasons that have been advanced and my opinion of the reason: [ul] [li]Iraq was somehow involved in 9/11: blatant lie that has been alluded to over and over again, even after the administration was called on it and admitted there is no evidence to back it up.[/li][li]Iraq was an imminent threat: wrong and largely based on false information.[/li][li]Iraq had WMD: they did have them at some point in the past if you count chemical weapons, but apparently not anywhere near the time the administration was making those accusations. None have been found and none of significance will be found, in my opinion.[/li][li]Iraq was preparing to produce WMD: but wait! If they were an imminent threat, shouldn’t that mean that they already have the weapons? This claim falls with the original WMD claim. Unproven and I don’t think it will ever be proven.[/li][li]Iraq needs democracy: still waiting… They’ve exchanged an evil dictator that creates distrust and strife between neighbors, tribes and religious sects for an occupying authority that creates distrust and strife between neighbors, tribes and religious sects.[/li][li]Hussein needed to be taken out: indeed he did, as I think most people will agree. I don’t think it was worth a war, though, especially seeing how poor the postwar effort and planning has been.[/ul][/li] Did I miss any? To make this post slightly on topic, I believe Johnny Depp has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration and that France is his primary residence even though he has a house in LA, but I think he was a regular in France before Bush took office. ---
**Author:** ![lawboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c67d28/32.png) [@lawboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawboy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/31 "2003-12-31T21:25:59Z")
Do people really still believe that Bush **didn’t** win the election? ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/32 "2003-12-31T21:54:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Age Quod Agis \* > **Yes. Please see the language I quoted from [snopes.com](http://snopes.com) above.** I’m with **bnorton**. He doesn’t outright say it, snopes is quoting a reporter who can’t do any better than “The German magazine Focus insists that his wife, Kim Basinger, said in an interview that Baldwin did utter such a promise.” Like I said, I’m still waiting to see an article that definitively says that he said it–not his wife. \*\* > [@](#): > > I assure you the twisting and distortions fly equally from both sides.\*\* It’s a subjective thing, fair enough if you think that. But why does the Alec Baldwin thing have such legs? Heck, why are you so eager to believe it? \*\* > [@](#): > > Maybe it seems that way to you because you buy into the left-leaning distortions more than the right-leaning distortions. For example, you seem to be unaware that there were many reasons advanced for the war in Iraq, and not just a belief that Saddam was behind 9/11. \*\* Straw man! I wasn’t rehashing all of the reasons behind the war. I was pointing out that one of the reasons cited, that is believed by 40-45% of the country, is wrong. See **theR’s** reason #1. ---
**Author:** ![Hammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bc79bd/32.png) [@Hammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hammer)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/33 "2003-12-31T21:54:26Z")
Do people people still cling to the notion that GWB said Iraq was an imminent threat? Or that Iraq/Saddam was responsible for 911? Love to see those quotes from a good source. Keep repeating it though, i’m sure it will come true if you say it enough. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/34 "2003-12-31T23:19:26Z")
Do people still cling to the notion that GWB was telling the truth about Iraq? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/35 "2004-01-01T15:17:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lawboy \* > \*\*Do people really still believe that Bush **didn’t** win the election? \*\* Yes they do. I wonder what will happen if Bush wins big next fall… ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/36 "2004-01-01T16:54:56Z")
> [@](#): > > **elfkin477** : Yes they do. I wonder what will happen if Bush wins big next fall. Hey! That’s a great idea. Let’s start a list of how many celebreties promise to leave the States when Bush wins next October. And hey, why not… How many illegal Mexicans? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/91b2a8/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/37 "2004-01-01T17:16:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Milum \* > **Hey! That’s a great idea. Let’s start a list of how many celebreties promise to leave the States when Bush wins next October.** I don’t know how you do it in Alabama, Milum, but we usually have our Presidential elections in November. Or will these guys have all the votes counted by October? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/38 "2004-01-01T18:10:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \* > \*\*If that’s supposed to be some sort of slam at liberal elites, it’s got some real blowback in the direction of Bush’s tax policy. > > You see, this mega-mobility is true for economic elites of all political persuasions: the rich are effectively citizens of the world, while those just scraping by are pretty much stuck where they are. So the idea that cutting taxes for the rich boosts _our_ economy somehow is a chimera: they spend all over the world, and they invest all over the world, and to the extent that cutting their taxes creates economic benefits for “the economy”, only some of those benefits will accrue to _our_ economy. > > Sorry to take this in a direction other than WMDs, **John Mace** ; I hate to disappoint you, but there’s so _many_ things to slam Bush about! \*\* You’ve said it better than I could. I don’t have a problem with liberal elites any more than I do with conservative ones, though I think in the case of the Iraq situation I disagree with most of them. I’m just a little bitter about being “stuck where I am”, as you put it so well. At least if I lived in the EU there’d be a dozen other countries I could legally work in, but we had to go our own way. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/39 "2004-01-01T18:15:09Z")
And I agree with \*\*RTFirefly’s \*\* comments about tax cuts for the rich. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494/40 "2004-01-01T18:44:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by owlstretchingtime \* > \*\*I’ll leave if Charles Kennedy ever gets in. \*\* I doubt that. You’d be having too much fun watching them self-destruct. As much sympathy as I have with the Lib Dems, they’re about as ready to run the country as I am. T’would be a complete disaster, and the next election would see them reduced to about three seats. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-celeb-liberals-who-swore-theyd-leave-the-us-if-bush-won-do-so/221494.md?page=3)