I am a little confused about talk show superstar Oprah Winfrey’s political beliefs. I don’t have a link. But as I understand it, she supported George W. Bush in 2000. In fact, his being on her talk show is credited with helping him win. Then in 2008, she supports Barack Obama! Now, I am not saying Pres. Obama is radical, or anything like that. But he certainly is about as far removed from W. as you can get!
So what are Winfrey’s political beliefs? Where does she fall on the political spectrum, to the best of anyone’s knowledge? Also, I have a little “litmus test” of my own in this regard: where does Winfrey stand on gay rights, and (to a lesser extent) gay marriage?
She didn’t support George W. Bush. He was on her show a few times, but she didn’t endorse him or anything. I believe that Obama is the only Presidential candidate she’s ever endorsed.
I don’t know all of her political positions, but on her show, she has been very pro GBLT and pro-same sex marriage.
Also don’t overlook the fact that a very prominent black member of society (Oprah) was, like most other black people on our society, very excited over the chance to elect a black president.
I would very much assume that if Obama was republican she would have supported him anyway, supporting the “black president” cause more so than the political one
Ahem… bullshit. If you want someone truly far removed from GWB look no further than Bernie Sanders.
I won’t derail the thread any further but, because of the sentence I quoted from the OP I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else does and this thread ends up in GD.
Although Black voters tend to vote Democrat, rich Blacks tend to vote their pocketbook, just like rich whites and for the same reason. (Mick Jagger, in a Penthouse interview in the 80s, said that every famous Black musician he knew had voted for Reagan.) It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if she had voted for Bush in 2000 and Obama in '08.
How do Oprah’s political statements make her particularly a “limousine liberal”? Here’s the definition of “limousine liberal” according to Wikipedia:
First of all, most of her open political beliefs are about cultural liberalism, not economic liberalism. In other words, they are things that are as characteristic of libertarianism as of standard American liberalism. Go back and read the Wikipedia entry on Oprah that I linked to in my post. She has, for instance, advocated for acceptance of homosexuality (and related issues like same-sex marriage). This is cultural liberalism, not economic liberalism.
Second, she has advocated (or at least been willing to accept) some of what are usually thought of as “New Age” beliefs. These sorts of beliefs are hardly unique to standard American liberalism. Indeed, a lot of liberals utterly despise New Age thought. They consider it a way to think only about yourself while ignoring the economic troubles of other people. I suspect that a lot of libertarians are as favorable to New Age beliefs as liberals. Indeed, I suspect that some people who think of themselves as standard American conservatives are also.
Third, she has donated a fair amount of money to charities which help some people in bad economic conditions. By calling it only a fair amount of money, I’m saying that this giving to charity hasn’t made a big dent on her net worth. For some of these charities, she has asked her viewers and other fans to contribute also. It’s hard to see how these charities would be unacceptable to standard American conservatives, given that they are always asking for private donations, not government ones. They are about helping victims of Hurricane Katrina, setting up a school for girls in South Africa, and such.
The Wikipedia entry on “limousine liberal” says that it’s characterized by hypocrisy. Has Oprah ever advocated green causes while wasting resources herself? Has she advocated public education while sending her own children to private school? (Well, clearly not, since she has no children.)
Show us any way in which she can clearly be called a limousine liberal or even can clearly be called a standard American liberal (as opposed to a libertarian).
I remember watching both of her interviews with Bush and Gore in 2000. I got the sense then that she just liked Bush better. It was interesting that she then admitted voting for Bush. By the way, she was an excellent interviewer and grilled both candidates equally.
When it comes to interviews, Oprah’s views skew towards “ratings”, not “left” or “right” (up until endorsing Obama). Also, she’s a daytime talk show host; she may have appeared to like Bush more than Gore because Bush was a better talk show guest. Folksy and talkative versus wooden and, you know, Gore-ish.
