Matt Damon joins the growing list of celebrities unhappy with President Obama

[defendandprotect]

Matt Damon joins the growing list of celebrities unhappy with President Obama

In an interview set to air tonight, actor Matt Damon tells CNN's Piers Morgan he's unhappy with the president. Asked point blank if he thinks the president has been doing a good job running the country, Damon simply replied, "No."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110303/pl_yblog_theticket/matt-damon-joins-the-growing-list-of-celebrities-unhappy-with-president-obamaa







Rightwing Koch Bros. funded the DLC
http://www.democrats.com/node/7789

[Keith Bee]

1. No scripts or stuntmen in real life, Matty

:thumbsdown:

[bigwillq]

2. Hello.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[treestar]

23. +1

[Cant trust em]

3. The Adjustment Bureau looks really crappy. nt

[gateley]

30. And that has so much bearing on whether or not his political opinion is valid. Sheesh. nt

[VoteProgressive]

39. 70% positive on Rotten tomatoes. So it would indicate you are in the minority.

[Cant trust em]

49. I'll take my chances going against the grain of American pop culture.

How many Grammys does Britney Spears have?

[gateley]

Oops - I recc'd automatically because I really like Matt Damon - haven't even read the

piece yet. :blush:

[Cirque du So-What]

15. That's OK

It's likely that a cadre of Obama-bashers recced it before reading it either.

[gateley]

28. Ha! You're undoubtedly right! nt

[Buzz Clik]

17. I hit the un-rec for you.

I like Damon, too. He's entitled to his opinion, but my opinion is he's a very good actor, and I don't care about celebrity opinions on political matters.

[gateley]

27. Sometimes they (celebs) have valid opinions and give me something to think about,

but I sure don't turn to them to give me a REAL understanding of a situation. That's what I have DU for! :7 :hi:

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[okieinpain]

5. yeah I understand president obama hasn't delivered the magical

unicorn as promised.

[Bluebear]

6. yeah, everyone who wanted torture prosecuted, for instance, wanted a "unicorn"

As arrogant as the White House.

[Bonobo]

9. I've come to feel that that particular "unicorn" strawman...

actually contains more than an element of homophobia in it, depending on the source and usage.

There's just something about that old trope that strikes me that way. Either homophobic or hippy-punching--just a feeling.

[Bluebear]

11. Or both.

:toast:

[Rebubula]

43. Or Neither...

...sometimes a Pen is Just a pen (is that a homophobic remark as well)

I use the Unicorn phrase in all sorts of uses.

How is Unicorn a gay thing?? Me thinks you simply WANT to see it...

[Bluebear]

48. Methinks you're rude

/ignore

[Lucky Luciano]

50. How are unicorns and gay people correlated ???!!?!?!

[PVnRT]

19. I thought people wanted ponies?

The magical unicorns come later. They'll fly us to the moon while they shit rainbows and kittens.

[tavalon]

12. Arrogance doesn't become you

[Shiver]

7. BREAKING: Shiver long-time member of list of people who don't give a fuck what celebrities think.

[Bluebear]

8. Did you give 'a fuck' when Damon raised a lot of money for Obama?

[Shiver]

10. In all honesty,

I actually hadn't heard about that until you said it.

Edit to add that yes, I do feel like a bit of an idiot right now. :dunce:

[Javaman]

22. I wouldn't fee so bad...

Private donations accounted for a very small part of both parties money.

[gateley]

29. I just posted upthread that sometimes celebs DO bring valid views and observations

to the conversation, but they're certainly not the experts. Even the experts disagree.

I think Damon is one of the exceptional ones -- walks his talk and is a good guy, like Clooney, Penn, Pitt, e.g. which is why I'll always listen. Not always agree, but always listen.

[VoteProgressive]

40. I value his opinion as much as anyone here I guess.

[lob1]

13. To put things in context, the piece should mention that

Damon was a big Obama supporter and campaigned for him. Otherwise, it sounds like he's just an oportunistic, publicity seeking celebrity.

[Ichingcarpenter]

14. And the Oscar goes to.....

Obama for his role in playing the president of the people vs the president for corporations and wall street.

What an actor...

I agree with Matt
Movies: all political movies that tells it like it is

Inside Job
Green Zone
Invictus
The Informant!
Che: Part Two
The Good Shepard
Syriana
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Bourne series

[defendandprotect]

38. +1 --

[Name removed]

16. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mmonk]

18. Yes. And I plan to do a story on the Kochs and the DLC.

I also hope to point out the remnants of the DLC.

[defendandprotect]

41. You mean, "Koch Bros Financed DLC -- " story -- ???????????

There was a thread up at DU last week which disappeared very quickly --

but here are the essentials --

http://www.democrats.com/node/7789


I would have never voted for a DLC'er -- not that I knew Koch was funding them --

but obviously not a healthy outlook for Dem party -- infiltration from right wing.

Had I know that Obama was describing himself as "New Dem" to avoid DLC label -

wouldn't have voted for him either.

Let's start voting our consciences, folks --

Otherwise, we go into a downward spiral where finally we're supporting people who

are sporting the label, but not the philosphy.

Most of all we need humanists in government -- people like Sen. Bernie Sanders --

and strong anti-war supporters. Sanders can run on a Dem ticket --

We need someone who is strongly anti-war in VP spot --

Biden has been encouraging Israel to attack Iran!!

[mmonk]

60. Absolutely.

And I'll show they have, but really haven't, closed their doors (DLC).

[Poboy]

20. recommend

[watercolors]

21. Like who really cares what he thinks!!!

Not me. Just another publicity seeker. Tired of these actors throwing their weight around.

[treestar]

24. +1

[Xenotime]

25. Shut up, Jason Borne. Go back to making another lousy film.

[JoePhilly]

26. But what does Charlie Sheen think of what Matt Damon thinks?

[liam_laddie]

31. On Matt Damon's influence

This comment was posted yesterday by me, on another DU thread; I feel it applies as well to this thread.
:eyes:
I'm constantly amazed and disappointed that many posters here conflate an actor's artificial persona, created out a career in film/stage/recording, with the authentic working human who actually IS the person under examination. An actor's day-job is NOT his/her defining essence.
Damon, a Harvard English major, dropped out before receiving a degree to pursue a budding acting career. He is a smart, committed activist whose opinions and causes are progressive. Any celebrity with a sizable following has a sort of bully pulpit from which they're able to command attention. They can use it to promote their causes and beliefs (see Travolta et al.)
The many petty, dismissive comments in this thread speak more of the prejudice or ignorance of the posters, than to the true content of Damon's remarks and his considered opinions. He is a founder of some, and a member of several other, humanitarian causes of both national and global focus. He should not be so cavalierly dissed. If you disagree with him, simply say why and add the what of YOUR stance. Thank you, I suppose.

[gateley]

33. I agree -- very well stated. Recommending in my heart! nt

[defendandprotect]

44. Right -- just more "kill the messenger" when you don't want to deal with the message ...

I know little about Damon except that he worked for Obama's election --

in that regard, I'm sure he feels somewhat responsible since at one time he

was trying to use his celebrity to sway people to Obama's side.

Now the story has changed -- Damon has woken up as many of us have --

Good for Damon for telling the truth, rather than trying to hide the fact that

he was misled and perhaps misled others!

[gateley]

32. Okay, I finally read the piece and I understand Damon's (and others') disappointment

in Obama's handling of some of the issues. I'm disappointed, too, but I sure don't think he's not doing a good job.

We all wanted DADT to be GONE, we all want Guantánamo closed, we all wanted real health CARE, we all wanted sweeping and fast changes regarding clean energy. I still believe Obama wanted all those things as well.

I always give any POTUS a break in that, as we well know, solutions look so simple and uncomplicated from "out here" but when you're actually in office, you're faced with the realities that overseeing a country with citizens with diverse opinions and a political party who is out for your blood. It would be different if we were all on the same bandwagon - but we're not, and those who disagree have to be heard, too. (Even though they're WRONG. :7)

Shut down Guantánamo -- what could be simpler? Well, WHERE to put those being held (who, thanks to Bushco, have probably BECOME jihadists as a result of their incarceration). Got a great piece of land in the midwest where we could build a Super-Max. The citizens balk - NIMBY! And Obama has to take their concerns into consideration even if he doesn't agree with their arguments. The politicians halt his efforts, etc.

It's like that in every area. In order to get ANY concessions from the Republicans in Health Care, he had to give a LOT, but there are some who WILL benefit. DADT is working its way through the Military system, but he's taken the step of halting prosecutions. Another step in the right direction.

There are some things I just don't understand, but often I've learned that while I'm out here screaming DO something, Obama -- he is, just behind the scenes.

I'm still hopeful. I disagree a lot with some of his decisions (Afghanistan, Pakistan, going after Twitter accounts of people 'affiliated' with WikiLeaks, etc), but on the whole I feel really good, safe and positive with him at the helm.

Like you all care about my opinion. :eyes: :hi:

[liam_laddie]

35. Thanks, gateley...

I should have added that public figures, especially show-biz celebrities, have the "perception vs. reality" problem. The public's opinions about a celebrity's politics and causes are based on the perception of that celebrity which is often crafted by PR staff, gossip columnists and a fawning press, it's highly likely that the real person beyond that image can be very different from the perception. For those interested, the Wiki page on Damon is of use.

[Ratty]

34. Damned if they do

Damned if they don't. I hear people constantly bashing celebrities for NOT using their unique soapbox to support causes. Regardless of their intelligence or expertise, people constantly chide them for not taking something most others do not have - the public eye (for good or bad) - and using it to promote social justice. Now we see one who DOES use the bully pulpit he's been granted to express an opinion - and someone who DOES have the intellectual cred I might add - and he's bashed because he's only a stupid celebrity and how dare he have the ego to think his opinion matters a whit. Some people just can't win.

[waterproof mp3]

36. There is no quick fix

There is no such thing as quick fix especially in democratic societies. But I do agree with some of Matt Damon's suggestions that some promises that were made from the beginning were broken.

[gateley]

37. Welcome to DU, waterproof mp3!

:hi:

You're right - we're impatient because these issues matter so much to us, but often times "our" timeline is unrealistic.

He may have broken some promises, or he may be in the process of working toward them - either way, I don't believe he intentionally led us on, althoug some disagree with me on that.

Welcome to DU, waterproof mp3!

[spanone]

42. where does carrot top stand on this issue?

[dionysus]

45. if we've lost carrot top, we're doomed.

[dionysus]

46. this is the most spammed article ofthe day.

[StarburstClock]

47. Matt Damon exercises free speech, gets endlessly smeared instead of debated

If people actually disagreed with what he said, it seems reasonable that his reasons for disappointment would be discussed.

[ReggieVeggie]

51. oops!

yeah he's just a clueless celebrity who hates obama

[JoeyT]

52. Autoreccing for entertainment value.

Simply because the amount of whinging it generates among people that don't care what he thinks.

Edited to add: Most of whom certainly did care what he thought when he was trying to get Obama elected.

[Hugabear]

53. So, there are a lot of people here on DU who aren't very happy with Obama

All you have to do is browse through GD and GDP and you'll see plenty of threads taking issue with Obama over this or that.

Doesn't mean that we won't all pull together come 2012 to defeat whatever vermin the rethugs throw against us.

[MadHound]

54. Whoops, and there he goes, under the bus.

Never mind the extensive work he does for worthy charities, his contribution to liberal causes, and his work for liberal politicians. He has dared to criticize Obama, so under the bus he goes:eyes:

[QC]

56. It's an old game. We've seen it played many times.

Something about how Damon was never truly a supporter of the president to start with. You know how it goes.

[Blue-Jay]

55. What does Abe Vigoda think about all of this?

hmmmmm...

[Bluebear]

57. Did Vigoda raise money for Obama?

[Blue-Jay]

58. Yes.

He came to my house and asked for five bucks. At least I *think* that was Abe Vigoda...

[Bluebear]

59. That was a squirrel.

:)