Wedenesday on Oprah: Oprah's Voting Party. What do you think?

[prolesunited]

Big stars are on a mission and they mean business. Cameron Diaz and Oprah are teaming up! Plus, Drew Barrymore's passionate documentary and P. Diddy makes a plea! Also, what has Christina Aguilera never done before? And, surprise…it's Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal!

So, do you think this show will be a positive thing? Would you watch? How important is it to reach women this time around?

BTW, here's a link to her message board on the topic
Have this year's events inspired you to get out and vote on November 2nd? What issues are most important to you?
http://boards.oprah.com/WebX?13@@.f05042c!DYNID=KMJGVWQHOVL1JLARAYFR3KQ

[JohnOneillsMemory]

1. Oprah blessed the Gropinator as CaliGov for her girlfriend Maria!

Oprah did a terrible thing to the people living in the world's 5th largest economy by pretending Ahnuld was a nice guy.

What the fuck is she going to do to the nation? Just curious.

[jdj]

9. I must agree.

One changes when one has many billions of dollars.

Maria makes me ill, and Oprah has totally forgotten what it is like to be a working stiff. The other day on one of those fabulous life shows, they said she takes her jet from Chicago to San Diego every ten days, to have her eyebrows waxed, and the person said "so that's about $50,000 per eyebrow, every ten days." I don't know if that is an exact amount, but I'm guessing she is in favor of the Bush tax cuts.

[BiggJawn]

17. Gee...I could live for almost THREE YEARS on what she spends...

On ONE wax-job....

Tell me again just how much the "Big O" cares about us smelly little people?

Hey, Oprah! how about paying my girlfriend's heat bill this winter? Better yet, pay BOTH of our bills. They're gonna be KILLERS!

[prolesunited]

19. She does a show to register thousands of voters

and you're mad she doesn't pay your bills? You hate her cause she has money? I don't get it.

[BiggJawn]

26. We discussed this ad nauseum the other week

When everyone was swooning over Oprah and her Great Pontiac Give-a-Way of 2004.

She doesn't "have money", Proles, she's crossed over into "Obscenely Rich". $50,000 an EYE to get her brows waxed? I can't comprehend that. I spend $10 for a haircut and feel extravegant because I tip my stylist 50% (she's damn good) Actually, by comparison, I'm a bigger spender than Oprah. We learned in the last hate-fest that she pulls in around 8 kilobucks a minute. So while she spends 12.5 minute's income on getting her brows waxed, I blow almost a whole HOUR'S income on a haircut...

You know, I could probably rag on Bill the Gates and get a bunch of "Right On!" and "What HE said!" replies, but let me sneer at dear, sweet Oprah, and well.....

And no, I DON'T care much for rich people.

That's just a Jawn thing...

[prolesunited]

28. So, she's obscenely rich

She wasn't born into it, overcame childhood poverty and abuse, didn't destroy people to get where she is, and by all accounts is generous with her employees. She also has been generous with her own money, raised millions for worthy causes and uses her show to bring attention to important issues.

She may be rich, but it's not like she's Ken Lay or the WalMart clan.

I am by no means an Oprah sycophant and seldom watch her show because I'm at work. I can see why some don't like her style and she often gets on my nerves, but I really just don't understand the hostility that she gets from people here.

Just cause someone has money doesn't automatically make them a bad person.

[SammyWinstonJack]

21. That's not only disgusting, it's obscene

I don't watch Oprah, expressely because of action(s) above. Yeah, she really really needs a tax cut. Right!

[in_cog_ni_to]

2. I registered with her site to post on her message board,

but her site must be too busy. I couldn't log on to post. :( I wanted to tell her, AGAIN, that the Electronic Voting Machine issue is THE MOST IMPORTANT issue in 2004. I'll try again later. I'm glad she's having the voting party...I hope she invites Bev Harris.

[prolesunited]

3. Were you ever able

to post your message?

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. I did, but the show has already been taped.

I got stuck on her message board arguing with the bush lovers. The MAJORITY there are PRO-KERRY! That was a relief to see. I just couldn't keep my mouth shut when I read some bush loving posts. I just had to set them straight. Hopefully Oprah will invite Bev harris to be on her show before the election!

[Stephanie]

5. The more people who vote, the better it is for Dems

Dems want to Get Out the Vote

Republicans want to Suppress the Vote

If Oprah is encouraging people to vote that is very good news for us.

[jumpstart33]

6. Hey, there are lots of "security moms" on the Oprah site. Go educate them

As many as can from DU ought to go sign up just to be able to post info about Plame, Sibel Edmonds, no-link between Saddam and Osama, how Bush ignored the intelligence estimates about Iraq......GO PEOPLE!!!

[prolesunited]

7. Did you read some of those comments?

There were definitely more Kerry people posting there and they were all quite informed about the issues.

This was quite an interesting and convoluted post by a Bush supporter

Womens biggest issue
Posted by: womenfirst
Posted on: 09/28/2004 at 9:46pm (338 of 378)

I am inspired to vote to stop women from being hurt. The statistical facts (and what I have learned directly from women) is that abortion HURTS women. It is not a panacea... it is a lifelong scar, a pain that will never go away. They can attempt to dull the pain by using alcohol & drugs (which skyrocket for post-abortion women) and many arel lost in depression and suicidal tendencies (which also have significant statistical increases).

I will vote to defend women. I will vote to defend the respect & dignity that is due to each & every human being.

[Francine Frensky]

11. Please, if anyone can respond to this woman, ask this:

Why hasn't Bush already outlawed abortion? What's he been doing for 4 years? 7 of the 9 supreme court justices were appointed by republicans, the congress is republican, the senate is republican.... he's passed other bills that were controversial, like tax cuts for the wealthy and relaxed environmental laws and cuts in after-school programs ..... so why no action on this no-brainer issue????

The answer is that republicans like Bush have ZERO INTEREST in actually outlawing abortion, they just like to use this as a wedge issue to get religious people to vote. The vast majority of Bush's policies are anti-christian (for example, he has cut after-school programs and welfare funding and peace programs overseas, he favors industrial polluters over protecting this land God gave us, he is a big believer in capital punishment, and he started an illegitimate war with Iraq that has killed and injured thousands), but he wants to have this one wedge issue to get at least some support from Christians.

He is playing religious women, big time!!!!

[kirkm76]

13. The supreme court wouldn't buy it.

True, 7 0f the 9 are repuug apointees, one of them is David Souter, A Bush Sr. apointee who tends to be socially liberal. Also, I believe even Sandra Day O'Connor tends to vote pro choice. Don't forget these Justices haven't even upheld a "Partial Birth" ban, though they will likely soon get the chance again. Renqhist and Thomas are probably the only "Hard Core" right wingers there. Thank god they didn't get Robert Bork through.

That's why this election is so important. Roe V. Wade was a 5-4 decision. With some of these judges starting to age (One is Wm. Renqhist :) ), it becomes more and more important who is in power. It wouldn't take much to turn it one way or another

[in_cog_ni_to]

18. I responded to her last night.

:evilgrin: I was on Oprah's board for a few hours last night trying to set the bushbots straight.

[Kanary]

27. Or, reply that abortion rates go DOWN in Dem administrations, and UP in RW

administrations.

Simple fact.

Kanary

[Killarney]

33. does anyone know why that happens?

[noonwitch]

20. Unwanted pregnancies hurt women

I'm pro-choice and believe that abortion should always be legal. A fetus' rights should never supersede the rights of the woman it is dependent upon for it's existence. I also think that more can be done to reduce the number of abortions yearly. The vast majority of abortions are not due to health reasons, or rape and incest, they are unwanted pregnancies. There are so many reasons for this, one policy or program alone would not result in lower abortion rates.

1. Women need to understand contraception techniques and use one that works for them if they are sexually active and don't want to get pregnant. Planned Parenthood does an excellent job of this, however, because they also provide information, referrals and in some locations, abortion services, they lose federal money for all their programs. Stupid "abstinence only" GOP policies are tying their hands.

2. Schools, both colleges and high schools, need to get the message out about drunken sex. If you are a female who likes to get drunk at bars and have sex with strangers, you need to consider the pill or similar contraception that doesn't involve physical coordination when drunk. I know that the man is equally responsible, but it's the woman who gets pregnant.
side note on the subject:
I had a friend who got pregnant in college, while drunk. She initially decided to have an abortion, then a catholic friend guilt-tripped her. The pregnant girl went out and drank a good part of a fifth of Jack Daniels that night to drown her sorrows, and would have had sex with another guy if I didn't pull him off of her. The next morning, she told me she wasn't going through with the abortion, that she would be killing her child. I told her "You killed your kid last night. The abortion is just a formality at this point". Cold, but true. She had the abortion, and I drove her to the clinic and waited for her. She could have avoided all that pain had she been on the pill, or had enough self-esteem not to have drunken sex with strangers.

3. Promiscuous men need to understand that with DNA technology being what it is, they can't just be reckless about depositing their sperm, or they may end up spending 18 years paying child support, in addition to basic father responsibilities. If their partners choose abortion, they are contributing to abortion stats by their irresponsibility. They don't need a prescription for their contraception, which also helps prevent STDs. I know, they all say "It's like wearing a raincoat in the shower". Well, if the shower is raining down poison, the raincoat isn't such a bad idea, is it? At least that's what I tell the teen aged boys on my caseload.

4. Credit does need to be given to the people on the anti-abortion side who put their money, time and hearts where their mouths are. Those who adopt unwanted children, those who help poor pregnant women get the things they need to have a healthy family, and those who give money to soup kitchens, homeless shelters and programs like Habitat for Humanity are doing something to reduce the feeling of helplessness that poor women feel when they find out they are pregnant. Slamming them for caring doesn't help a single woman. They may be wrong about trying to change the law, but they are not wrong for wanting to help women to have more options. We can work with them on this, because we all want a society in which the majority of women who are pregnant want to be pregnant.
I know that there's a lot of hostility on both sides of the issue toward those on the other side. They accuse pro-choicers of being baby killers, we accuse them of trying to create a christian theocracy. If we can change the way this issue is debated and bring civilized language back into use, both sides might see some good results.

[prolesunited]

22. You make some excellent points

Thank you for taking the time to post them.

[smirkymonkey]

24. Great post!

I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks for contributing something worthwhile to the abortion debate!

[fedupwithbush]

25. Ditto! And thank you!

I've had similar experiences with friends and you said what I think so well on the pro-choice issue. I don't post often, but read DU several times a day. It keeps me going and lets me know there are people who think close to what I do.

Thanks for making my day!

[mel1234]

8. Oprah is Great!

The good thing about Oprah is that she pushes everyone to vote regardless of their polital affiliation. She is objective while still promoting her point of view. As far as I know know she has treated everyone on her show as an individual and respected their opinion. She could be the forum of beliefs if conservatives thought that she could have a true bi-partisan standing. The problem is what females are torn in general is in what what party "REALLY" works for them.

[Norquist Nemesis]

10. I was surprised and relieved with today's show!

I honestly wasn't sure what it would be...tuned in about 15 minutes into the show. She was in process of interviewing Drew Barrymore. Then Cameron Diaz, Christina Aguilera, and P. Diddy came on also.

Without actively promoting either candidate, the message was VOTE!!! Cameron Diaz had "a moment" that they caught her and asked about. She started talking about how scared she is that people are going to be taking over our country if we don't get out to vote. She said we (women) will lose the right to control our own bodies if we don't vote.

They highlighted people in the audience (all women) about why they had NEVER :wow: voted. Then, again, drove home the message that politicians are only going to pay attention if you vote...it's the only way to have your voice heard.

The message was clear without being overt, IMO. There wasn't anything they could come back and slam the 'hollywood liberals' for partisan rhetoric on. I was stunned and thrilled!

The issues that Oprah highlights have an enormous impact. She was doing a voter registration drive before the show with each member of the audience. She had Christina going down Sunset Blvd having people sign a pledge that they will get registered if necessary and vote.

Oh, one more thing...She reminded the audience that "the election in 2000 was decided by just 527 votes." Then she said the audience was about 300 people. Really made everyone stop and think!

:thumbsup:

[Cocoa]

32. Cameron Diaz was excellent

her little speech about how scared she was was chilling.

Andy Rooney devoted his commentary Sunday to ridiculing get-out-the-vote efforts, he should be ashamed of himself. :puke:

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

12. Cool... I'll have to watch that

Oprah's on at 4pm in my area.

[prolesunited]

14. Check out this spot on post on her board

Just a few recent facts:

Since 9/11 al-Quaida has swelled to over 18,000 members in over 62 countries. (International Institute for Strategic Studies, London)

Of the roughly 2,929 terrorism-related deaths around the world since the attacks on New York and Washington, the NBC News analysis shows 58 percent of them — 1,709 — have occurred this year. (MSNBC 9/04)

Senior U.S. intelligence officials note that in fact, the frequency of terrorist attacks carried out by Muslim radicals is increasing, not decreasing.(MSNBC 9/04)

In 1982, the Reagan-Bush administration removed Iraq from the list of states that support terrorism and then sent Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq to forge diplomatic relationships with Saddam Hussein AFTER he gassed his own people. Iraq was not the cause of 9/11. (State Dept. Memo)

A Candadian reporter held hostage in Iraq and threatened with beheading revealed yesterday that his captors worked with the US trained Iraqi police force, many of whom are under cover al-Quaida operatives (CBC news).

Unfortuantely, the "guts" you champion have alienated the world, fueled the cause of terrorism, and left America less safe than ever before.

It's really important for all of us to look beyond the public relations tactics, be they to create a macho image or inspire fear, and read about the issues from multiple sources before casting a vote. No one should cast a vote based on propaganda when a wealth of information is at our disposal.


I know many here don't like Oprah and make fun of her viewers but you really should go check out the board. Their is quite a bit of informed commentary and you gain insight on those who are truly conflicted.

[sallydallas124]

15. Encouraging people to vote is always good

but I find it gross that some people don't make moves until Oprah green-lights it.

[annabanana]

16. She reaches the "unreachable"

The people who never watch the news, never read the paper, never discuss current events, but always have an opinion on American Idol.
And she reaches MILLIONS of them!

Wait 'til someone of her gals enlightens her about purges of voter lists.... I don't think she's very well informed herself. She DID go to court to defend herself when she ran afoul of the Beef Trust a couple of years ago, but I don't think she had any epiphany, politically speaking.

May she see the light!... She'd be a dynamite advocate.

[SoCalDem]

23. Sorry, but Oprah missed the boat on this one..

In January 2001, she should have started a movement to get her women viewers motivated to really change the way we vote.. It's a non-partisan issue, really.. She has the platform,and the power...and she did nothing..

Taking up this "issue" at the 11th hour is a stunt..

Can you imagine if she had picked up on the BBV issues in 2001 and 2002 BEFORE the states spent millions of bucks on these machines??

HAVA was a scam from the first pen-stroke.. It conned cash-strapped states into "accepting" loads of cash to "change the way they vote".. Is it any wonder that the Diebolds,ES&Ses,Sequoias of the industry were right there..following the money trail..?

What state in their right mind would say.."Gee, no thanks..we don't want those millions of bucks..we'll just keep our pencils sharpened, and our printers in business"??

They rushed headlong into untested/unreliable voting machine-land, and now AFTER they have bought the machines, who among them will stand up and say.. "OOPS..we goofed..give us our money back"??


Late is better than NEVER, but we are very likely to end up with 4 years WASTED, and a second Bush term..

[faithnotgreed]

29. kick for oprah using her voice. and

for all the people who care enough to be active. esp cameron diaz (owns a hybrid car) and puff daddy

"vote or die"

[Cha]

30. The show from what I saw was a positive

approach and a plea to getting out the vote.

As PDiddy says.."Vote Or Die"

Ophra's Voting Party
http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200409/tows_past_20040929.jhtml

[Blue_Roses]

31. I saw it and I thought it was great

I also heard and "undertone" in the voting message;)