Special Report
Jon Voight's Profile in Courage
Political acid tossed by New York Times -- another attempt to disfigure an American icon.
(Page 2 of 3)
What's really going on here is not hard to figure out. A perceived betrayal of the liberal political/cultural elite by anyone presumed for one reason or another to be a member of the group is dealt with severely. The sentinels of Pureblood supremacy will not tolerate the presence of those revealed as Mudbloods.
Political and cultural acid is being tossed at Jon Voight and his career, the latter not coincidentally one of the more distinguished acting careers in American film. This attack is precisely in the same mode as that long-ago phone call to actor Ronald Reagan. In Reagan's case the role of Rich, Krugman, and the rest was played by an anonymous voice on the phone threatening to physically disfigure Reagan "so you won't ever act again.'" Which is to say, the call was designed to shut Reagan up. In Voight's case the objective is the same, the method more sophisticated. This time the target is threatened with political and cultural, not physical, disfigurement. Voight is portrayed as a card-carrying member of an ominous sounding "lunatic fringe," which henceforth signals those in the film world who might wish to hire Mr. Voight that the New York Times is advising them they might want to think twice, if not half a dozen times, before doing so. After all, films must be reviewed by the Times, whether they have Jon Voight in the cast or not. The signal also goes out that it should be a very cold day in hell before Voight ever receives another professional award of any kind from his peers.
In the ultimate irony, in spite of contributing heavily to The Times massive losses -- to the point that the paper is heading perilously towards financial extinction -- the almost rabid insistence on alienating readers with bullying attacks like that on Voight continues. It's almost as if those in charge simply cannot restrain themselves, better judgment having fled entirely.
There is a reason for this kind of bullying vitriol, even if appalling. In the world of things liberal, not unlike the world inhabited by Harry Potter, Mudbloods can be very easily identified and separated out from the Pureblood pack. Those who inhabit various favored liberal categories -- actor, woman, black, Latino, Ivy League graduate to name a few -- are expected to behave politically and culturally in a certain approved fashion. Which is to say that of the Liberal Pureblood.
For those who are in these categories yet have demonstrated other than the approved politics and cultural behavior, well, its Mudblood city. The culture of liberalism cannot be dissented from without cost.
This explains why actors Reagan and Voight -- threats to each delivered sixty years apart -- have drawn some variation of exactly the same reaction. Both men walked off the liberal intellectual plantation where all Hollywood actors were and are expected to dwell. In Reagan's case, walking away meant a threat of acid in the face. In Voight's, speaking out has resulted in attempts to toss not actual acid on his person but cultural and political acid on his career. Both men, Reagan as the recipient of a menacing unidentified phone call and Voight as the quite public target of vitriolic liberal columnists and activists, were perceived by their attackers as political Mudbloods. They certainly haven't been alone, either. The "Mudblood Club" includes others like the female soon-to-be ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (the Hermoine Granger of the GOP), the black Justice Clarence Thomas, filibustered Latino appeals court nominee Miguel Estrada, and, not to be left out, Yale and Harvard's own East Coast scion George W. Bush.
In Reagan's words, the critics of these and other political/cultural Mudbloods really do "hate." They appear to others, although surely not to themselves, as psychologically incapable of serious discussion, irrational to the point of mania. (Just the other day Krugman, giving ironic life to historian Richard Hofstadter's thoughts on the paranoid style in American politics, foamed that anyone who disagrees with global warming is guilty of "treason." Ahhhh…. Okkkkk. Roger that Draco 2. Do they keep nets or straitjackets in the Times newsroom for moments like this? Just asking. If so, who takes theirs off to put on the other guy's?)
In terms of political rhetoric, Voight's language is as politically common as yet another Obama flip-flop. If Teresa Albano's "alert the Secret Service" standard were the rule, Guantanamo would be hosting Keith Olbermann and the entire cast of the Daily Kos, if not Ms. Albano herself. Instead of sitting in the U.S. Senate, Al Franken, he the venomous ex-Air America host, would be the resident comic of a Supermax prison entertaining fellow inmates with names like Rich and Krugman.
Yet there is a reason for this kind of insanity. There is a reason why the Malfoy Twins at the Times foam over Voight's remark applauding those who say we must "bring an end to this false prophet, Obama."
That reason was perhaps best fingered by John Dos Passos, the great American novelist of the Lost Generation who himself walked the path of actors Reagan and Voight, earning the same disdain from his one-time political soul mates on the left. Of the "liberal mentality" Dos Passos said it was nothing more than "the ideological camouflage of the will to power" of a "new ruling class." While he died in 1970, he may already have heard of Jon Voight (who won his fame along with his Oscar in 1969.) One suspects were he here now Dos Passos and Voight, not to mention Reagan, would have much to discuss.
The objective of the acid throwers of today, the Malfoy Twins at the Times and the others, is to do one thing: forcibly exile Jon Voight from the American mainstream and do damage to his career. Why? Because with his credentials (an Oscar for the acclaimed Midnight Cowboy, iconic films of the day like Deliverance or Coming Home -- the latter with Jane Fonda, no less -- and a seamless transfer today to character roles like Tom Cruise's villainous boss in the popular Mission Impossible, to name but a few) Voight…like a Palin, Thomas, Estrada, Bush (or a Reagan of yore)…is well placed to inflict real damage to the "new ruling class" of liberalism. Each in their own way has serious credibility with the American public.
Recall the quote from the activist of the left-wing group quoted above: "Jon Voight is a celebrity. He can influence people. Voight has just been coming out with this ultraconservative point of view. It is deplorable." In other words, it's bad enough that anyone would have Voight's views (say, half the country who voted against Obama) -- but precisely because Voight was esteemed "a celebrity" who "can influence people" he is suddenly -- with these views -- "deplorable." Were he possessed of an "ultraliberal point of view" and said precisely the same words except for the substitution of "Bush" for "Obama," these critics would have no idea there was suddenly a problem with Jon Voight.
The credibility of a Voight or Palin or Thomas as actor/woman/black man in turn makes it the self-assigned job of the haters "to deal with" (in the words of Reagan's caller) whoever is the latest to wear the bull's-eye that identifies a cultural and political Mudblood. Now targeted, understanding his demonization is underway, Jon Voight to his vast credit soldiers on, seemingly unfazed.
Once upon a time, Jon Voight thought of himself as a liberal. Doubtless he assigned certain values -- tolerance, for one -- to this political faith and now realizes like Reagan and a host of ex-liberals his belief was misplaced. Right around the time he won his Oscar and burst into the American consciousness, America was filled with political references to the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. (In a harbinger of things to come on 9/11, RFK was assassinated by a Palestinian Arab who hated Kennedy because of his support for Israel. Yet commentators of the day tried to lay the blame on, yes indeed, American conservatives.) Perhaps somewhere along the way in those days Voight heard this much quoted remark of RFK's:
"Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality of those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change."
About the Author
Jeffrey Lord is a former Reagan White House political director and author. He writes from Pennsylvania at jlpa1@aol.com.
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drudge ette obama| 7.7.09 @ 6:45AM
Where do I sign to join the Mudblood Club?
Rocco| 7.7.09 @ 6:46AM
Sad to say, but the longer this crap continues, the more violent will be the solution to extirpate this "liberal" cancer infecting our society once and for all.
janet| 7.7.09 @ 6:58AM
This is classic Alinsky tactics on how to deal with your enemies. Just equating liberalism and tolerance in the same sentence is laughable. I equate liberalism with totalitarianism.
drudge ette obama| 7.7.09 @ 7:09AM
Rocco, right on target, again. The question is when the saturation point will arise?
And, if the Obama Bumper Sticker Crowd's driving ettiquette is any indication of their capacity for violence and totalitarianism, then we have something to worry about. When I see an Obama/Biden Move-on.org sticker (of which I collected a number at their expense during the campaign), I move over. I have read the psychological profile on road-ragers. Give them space, people.... Protect yourselves.
Big J| 7.7.09 @ 7:55AM
Jon Voight is a class act. He has been persecuted for his conservative beliefs for some time now.
The man donates countless hours visiting and entertaining our troops. He is a true American hero.
As for the insignificant idiots flinging mud in his directions, well, I can't go into detail for fear of being banned from this site.
Richard Baker| 7.7.09 @ 8:55AM
Ah, liberals. A movie and books about the assassination of George W. Bush just never seemed to worry these folks, did it? The Kenyan is sacrosanct to these folks, didn't you know that? Wonder what their reaction will be when the Kenyan is eventually deposed? Hmmmmm?
Grzmlyk| 7.7.09 @ 9:08AM
Rocco: "Extirpate " - great word. Ditto the sentiments.
Drudge ette: Don't you know that liberals have a special dispensation from the sacred Gaia Herself?
See, because they "care" about the downtrodden so selflessly in the abstract, the Earth Goddess has given them carte blanche to be complete a-holes in the real world.
And boy, do they take advantage of it. I deal with a lot of liberals, and believe me: a more self-centered, hate-marinated, power-mad, intolerant bunch never attended a Nuremberg rally in Hitler's Germany.
I think good conservatives - you know, those of us with jobs in the private sector, who have a hand in the ongoing creation of America, who possess life-affirming values and a have dollop of common sense - will be under the thumb of the criminal/liberal class - those who infest the bloated government at all levels, embrace the culture of death and are intent on shoving their nihilistic agenda down our throats in the name of altruism regardless of the destruction they wreak - for a long time to come.
As conservatives, we tend to be polite, tolerant and too damn busy building the things liberals gleefully tear down to get into the arena and fight like rabid dogs.
But even dogs with the kindest of dispositions go on the attack if they're abused enough.
I say we've been abused enough. Our counry has been defiled enough. Institutionalized corruption has become brazen enough.
Let the fight begin, and let's dispense with the Marquis of Queensbury rules.
It's time to take the country back from the spoiled-rotten kid having the perpetual temper tantrum.
By any means necessary.
DougN| 7.7.09 @ 9:32AM
Excellent column! One minor point, though: Voight won only one Oscar, for 1978's "Coming Home."
pete the mediocre| 7.7.09 @ 9:41AM
Why is it that the left was never concerned about, Garaffalo, Streisand, Cher, Mike Farrell when they were attacking Bush? This fear of an actor's influence is typically one sided.
ldrider51| 7.7.09 @ 10:05AM
Excellent analysis of an obvious condition - Conservative Derangement Syndrome.
The left hates Conservatism with a visceral disgust but this hate ratchets up significantly when it's someone they perceive should know better, someone who has wandered from the plantation.
They have a general disdain for flyover country and its ignorant inhabitants, but the livid hatred flashes for anyone who may have true influence.
Their gall and wormwood spewed at Conservatives is simply intelligent criticism. Any criticism of their Messiah is ominous, menacing, defiant.
Note the left's "issues" with Colin Powell. When he supported GWB, he was a house slave. When he supported the Messiah, he became prescient, farsighted and provident. He was instantly rehabilitated.
The left simply cannot abide by any intelligent dissent.
Tim| 7.7.09 @ 10:41AM
When the Berlin wall came down the far left in charge escaped to where they could and found safe harbor in Hollywood, and some other corners of the USA.
Rocco-----
The far left in the US will make the same mistake any power hungry group makes.....they will go too far and then the masses will decapitate their system.
That's how it has always worked throughout human history because people want to be free and has been the case since humans have been here on this planet.
Andy | 7.7.09 @ 11:21AM
Correction-Muggles are non-wizards. Mudbloods are those with mixed parentage- not a derogotory name for Muggles. Hermionne Granger was a Mudblood. The Dursley's (Harry's Aunt and Uncle) were muggles.
Having pointed that out, you are correct that the venom of the Times columnists is reminiscent of that of the supporters of he who must not be named. Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy had nothing on Frank Rich. Paul Krugman, nor MoDo.
Rocco| 7.7.09 @ 11:32AM
Tim - Amen. As an amateur historian, I concur with your appraisal, and I pray it comes soon.
Drudgette, got a chuckle from your comment on the driving habits of the "'another idiot who voted for' Obama/Biden 08" bumper sticker crowd. Lord knows, you see enough of them here in the northern Virginia area. That's why I pack a Glock 21 when I drive; it's like my American Express card. I never leave home without it!
Grmzlyk: Agreed. As a retired Marine who did martial arts over a 25 year period, I have never been one for Marquis of Queensbury rules; even during my college days in the early 1970's. I confronted these cowards then, and beat them down (physically) when they invaded my space, and I'm damned sure to do it again, with a lot of glee!
Chin up, all. As Tim said, they will continue to overreach, until we've had enough, and the day of reckoning will arrive.
Grzmlyk| 7.7.09 @ 11:39AM
Well said, Rocco!
I'll know this world is beginning to come to its senses when I start seeing the Obama/Biden bumper stickers that are ubiquitous here in Vermont disappear from the Subarus, Volvos and Priuses.
Better lock and load: I ain't holding my breath.
Oldefarte| 7.7.09 @ 11:47AM
Jeffery, great piece! As you know, this is typical of liberals, who in my opinion, are more dangerous than the radical Muslim domestic terrorists that we have in this country, and which are under constant supervision by our intelligence agencies. The radical leftists of the 1960's [ie Ayers,etc] thought nothing of destroying anything [mainly physical property]that did not fit their agenda/mantra of liberalism. The terrorists of 9/11/01 took it one step further by destroying not only property but human beings also. Extreme liberals are terrorists, period!!!!!!!!!!!!
dunross| 7.7.09 @ 11:50AM
John Wayne won the Best Actor Oscar for 1969; Voight was only nominated. He won several years later for Coming Home.
Hermione Granger is good at answering questions; Gov. Palin is not.
And could you explain what he meant by 'bring[ing] an end' to Obama?
William| 7.7.09 @ 12:00PM
To dunross:
Hermione Granger is a fictional character. Palin gave answers you didn't like.
Voight won an Oscar. Have you?
You wrote:
"And could you explain what he meant by 'bring[ing] an end' to Obama?"
Putting aside left-wing paranoia, what do you think? Not, feel. Think is the operative word.
Bob Harlib| 7.7.09 @ 12:12PM
Somebody named Barry Goldwater uttered these words in his acceptance speech at the GOP Convention in 1964: "We have followed false prophets." Lynn Matin, the 1992 keynoter at the Convention spoke the same exact words.
All Voight did was pinpoint today's prophet.
Jeffrey Lord| 7.7.09 @ 12:13PM
dunross...
"And could you explain what he meant by 'bring[ing] an end' to Obama? "
Sure...the same exact thing Ted Kennedy meant in 1980 when he campaigned on a platform of "no more Jimmy Carter." It means - defeat the guy's ideas, defeat the guy's supporters in Congress and on the ballot and, when the opportunity avails, defeat the man himself for re-election. Nothing more, nothing less. American political rhetoric is filled with this kind of thing. From the very beginning of the Republic, I might add.
Tony in Central PA| 7.7.09 @ 12:52PM
Here again, we see what I like to call Fundamentalist Liberalism in all of its irrational, power - hungry glory, screeching threats against infidels and its apostates.
President Barry Obama| 7.7.09 @ 1:32PM
Terrible article. Bunch of whackjobs on this Web site.
jarhead0311| 7.7.09 @ 2:58PM
I have tried 3 times to describe how I feel about human dung like Rich and Krugman and can't do it with civility. I am at a loss for where the hate in these folks comes from.
They must know from history that they would be the first to go to the camps if the people they support ever got the power they want?
NoToObamessiah| 7.7.09 @ 3:50PM
Hey "President Barry Obama"! We still have free speech here so if you can't see the double standard in the press, go read elsewhere.
Damned liberal.
president barry soetero| 7.7.09 @ 4:00PM
Jeff,
good article.
I don't know who is impersonating me on this site, but it isn't BS BO.
Mattled| 7.7.09 @ 4:19PM
Rasmussen this week:
Strongly Approve: 33%
Strongly Disapprove: 36%
Awww, poor Obambi. I believe it is becoming a trend. We saw him dip negatively a few weeks ago, then up 1, then flat, now down -3. I say reach for new lows Obamadingalong---go for double digits.
We're getting close to 40% Strong Disapprove. Can't come quick enough!
Marc Jeric| 7.7.09 @ 4:32PM
Friends of Abu Hussein's are in a frenzy of hate - against Voigt, against Palin. Their name-calling invective is louder than even that found in the former Pravda; no wonder - that's where they find their inspiration.
JeffT| 7.7.09 @ 5:36PM
So what happened to "Question authority?"
Progressives are the worst type of hypocrites. WE can't whine about the double standard. We have to defeat progressives at their own game. Get into the mud and under the rocks where they hide. It's the only way.
Conrad Spiracy| 7.7.09 @ 7:35PM
Jeffrey;
Another masterpiece. Keep up the excellent work!
All Lovers of the American Ideal;
Maybe time for a remake of a 1980s classic? "Left Dawn Rising"???
Con Spiracy
A bible-loving, anti-aborting, gun-owning, anti-communist, anti-immigration-anmesty, anti-terrorist, anti-extreme-taxing, pro-capitalism, (disabled) veteran, right wing extremist. And D@MN PROUD OF IT!!!!!!!!!
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
UNITED STATES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 1776
Roman Melnyk| 7.7.09 @ 7:45PM
Thanks Jeffery for another great article. I hope it screws up my courage enough to go back to putting anti- Obama bumper stickers back on my car.
Roamn
Phil Byler| 7.7.09 @ 9:37PM
Jon Voight's portrayal of George Washington in "American Carol" was powerful. The movie overall was funny, but the George Washington scene was moving.
Pingback| 7.8.09 @ 9:33AM
The American Spectator : Jon Voight’s Profile in Courage | JoeWebb.com links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Bruce Fancher| 7.9.09 @ 1:24AM
Could someone please explain to me why "conservatives" are still referring to their opponents as "liberals?" Not only is it inaccurate, I believe it's ultimately politically self-defeating. These people are not "liberals" (if by "liberal," you mean people who value liberty) in any sense of the word and calling them that only buys into the dishonest way they've framed the debate by hijacking the term. Please, call them statists, socialists, progressives, collectivists, fascists, authoritarians, totalitarians, anything but "liberal."
I live in New York City and travel frequently to the California Bay Area for work. Whenever someone brings up politics and calls me a "conservative," I've found the best way to respond, whatever the issue at hand is, is to explain to them, that no, I'm not a conservative, I'm a liberal, a classical liberal, a genuine liberal, because I believe in freedom and liberty, and that they are mistaken to think that their views are liberal, when in fact they're more accurately described as statist or socialist. I've never gotten anywhere arguing facts and evidence, because people on the left simply refuse to believe it, but I've found this line tends to shut them up pretty quickly.
lome| 7.9.09 @ 3:02AM
Obama is not a false prophet.He is the Anti-Christ!
You will know him by his deeds,well so far so good!
Anti- Christ is not just one man,but compose of Satan's followers that really do his dirty work for him.
Mike Lee| 7.9.09 @ 11:02PM
I still have my Bush/Cheney sticker on my car up here in Rockland County (Red to Blue / 2004 to 2008). I have a few other bumper stickers on my car to annoy lefites and vegetarians. With my shaved head and Goatee i don't get too many comments. I wish i did. I would love to intimidate these little cowards but i'm not a bully so i would probably tell them that I dont really want to know what they think. We have to take this country back form the freinds of Kreepy Krugman and that sick hate filled quiff Frank Rich and their friends. To quote Nelson Muntz from the Simpsons "Ha Haw Your medium is dying".
Keep the faith my conservative friends.
Howard| 7.20.09 @ 9:55AM
The Left has always used disinformation as a policy tool. One that comes to mind; Lee Harvey Oswald was a Leftist, Communist agitator. All reasonable evidence points to his killing JFK. The Left never denied he killed Kennedy, but argues that he was really a CIA agent or lackey of the oil industry. So, a moderately conservative guy like Jon Voight is presented as a Nazi by some kooks. Unless you are prepared to fight idea by idea, those SOB's will win.
Occamsrazor| 7.20.09 @ 10:34PM
Jon Voight is the greatest Republican. First he came out against The Passion, on the ground that it was antisemitic (and we all know Mel Gibson's never uttered an antisemitic comment in his life). It would have been easy to be a Conservative supporter of the film, but he knew better.
And then his stand against Communism in the White House. Love the guy. Besides, he turns out attractive kids, doesn't he? I wish he'd run for President. Republicans do well with actors as candidates. The last actor President didn't do so badly for the Republicans, eh?
nbcn| 2.25.10 @ 3:24AM
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Lelani J| 6.5.11 @ 10:06AM
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