Springsteen Hits Coulter-Defends Right To Take A Stand On Political Issues

[kpete]

VIDEO: Springsteen Hits Coulter, Defends Right To Take A Stand On Political Issues

In a recent interview, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien asked Bruce Springsteen (aka “The Boss”) about criticism he has received for taking a stand on political issues. Springsteen responded sarcastically, “Yeah, they should let Ann Coulter do it instead.” He added that there are “idiots rambling on on cable television on any given night of the week,” and called the idea that musicians shouldn’t speak up, “insane” and “funny.” Watch it:

Great Video: http://images1.americanprogress.org/il80web20037/ThinkProgress/2006/springsteen.320.240.mov

transcripts
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/23/video-springsteen-hits-coulter-defends-right-to-take-a-stand-on-political-issues/

[Catherine Vincent]

1. Atta boy, Springstein!

I love this guy! :bounce:

edit: And you noticed what's her face didn't smile much when he said it. Blech!

[Midlodemocrat]

2. I LOVE THE BOSS!!!!

He called Soledad O'Brien an idiot to her face. I have all his CD's, but I think I will buy more and just hand them out in the street.


:bounce:

:bounce:


Yeah, he shouldn't have an opinion. :eyes:

[saltpoint]

3. Bruce Springsteen has pretty much always had it together.

Never pass up somebody with as much insight and maturity as Bruce Springsteen.

And those songs ain't bad either.

[madokie]

23. The wild the innocent and the E street Shuffle

has got to be one of the best albums/cds ever.
on edit: in fact I just put it in the player and it is awesome, 24 bit sound card on Yamaha subwoofer speaker system. awesome I tell you.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Yeah, that album always reminds me of High School.

Serious memories.

[saltpoint]

26. They're all good, but that one does shine.

[madokie]

29. I edited my post

[saltpoint]

33. madokie, looks like you've got some good music played right goin' at

your place.

Way to go.

[madokie]

34. You can hear every nuance, it is as though I am in the middle of it all

sometime check out Yamaha subwoofer systems if you haven't already, I've had some goods 'en but nothing like yamaha.

[saltpoint]

35. Carry on! Great Democrats need great music systems!

[Vox_Reason]

61. Step up from Yamaha

I'm glad that you're liking your system, but if you have some coin to save and want to step up in a big way, try the audiophile's ebay:

www.audiogon.com

That's REAL audiophile-level gear up for auction there. Do your research, and you can get a phenomenal deal there for gear that will completely blow your mind in terms of quality. It's like Pontiac vs. Porsche.

$.02 'merkin.

[Reverend_Smitty]

4. Good for him

I never understood why people had a bug up their asses when musicians or celebrities spoke their minds about politics. What makes the idiots on CNN so special...do they have some secret insights to the world of politics that make their opinions more valid? The way I see it, we live in a free country with free speech which means any damn person with an opinion (crazy or not, celebrity or not) should be able to voice it.

[MemphisTiger]

14. It's a double standard they don't like to give on

they have people like Toby Keith, Kurt Schilling and the govenator spewing reight wing rhetoric, but if "the boss" expresses himself as an American he should just shut up and sing. What a bunch of hypocrites.

[BoneDaddy]

5. WTG

love the Boss.. met him twice as he lives near me.

[Marnieworld]

9. I met him twice too

So polite and warm. Just a real down to earth person. I love Bruce! I'm from Manalapan originally. Where are you from?

[BoneDaddy]

17. Cool

Hazlet here!

[Marnieworld]

19. I used to go to a movie theater there

I miss Jersey. I'm in landlocked PA now. Say hi to the shore for me!:hi:

[BoneDaddy]

36. Hehe

Will do... where in Pa are you located? I was thinking of relocating to PA as well.

[Marnieworld]

40. The Southern part of the Poconos

It takes a bit over an hour to get to NYC, an hour and a half to PHilly and 2 hours to the beach in NJ. It's cheaper than Jersey to live and the mountains are really pretty. I so miss the ocean though. It was nothing to just go hang out there and now it's an event.

[BoneDaddy]

43. Wow

a buddy of mine lives in Honesdale... I love that area. I am a school counselor presently... you wouldn't happen to have any connections in any school systems by chance? hehe.

[Marnieworld]

46. Nope sorry

Other than paying property taxes I have no connections with the school system. I'd be happy to lose that connection as well. ;-) Real Estate is definitely cheaper the more north you go. I bet the summer is a good time to be looking for school jobs too. Good Luck. :hi:

[BoneDaddy]

49. Thanks

I thought it was a longshot...enjoy the summer

[Penndems]

53. Try here:

http://www.paworkforce.state.pa.us/jobseekers/cwp/view.asp?a=464&q=152953

:hi:

[WinkyDink]

56. Well, I'm in Bethlehem; thanks for driving up the real estate costs! Heh.

[JerseygirlCT]

64. Me too!

All of you talking about my home!

I'm even a sap for that Bon Jovi commercial for NJ tourism... And I'm not a big Bon Jovi fan. Just flash me my shore and I'm a goner!

[Midlodemocrat]

13. Back before he was a superstar, my band opened for him

in New Haven. Don't think the club is there anymore. But he was a really, really nice guy. Treated us very kindly, even though even then it was obvious who was going to be the superstar.

[Bonhomme Richard]

20. If it was Toad's Place then..............

it's still there.

[Midlodemocrat]

27. It was Toad's. It's still there?

I haven't been back in ages. Used to play there all the time.

[Fuzz]

30. Ah Toad's. I lost much of my hearing at that place.

Much do to the Ramones.

[Midlodemocrat]

32. LOL. Me, too. Mostly due to our lousy sound guy.

[union_maid]

54. My son's band is playing there...tonight.

They bring their own sound guy, just in case that guy is still there. It takes a band a while to get into Toad's, at least these days.

[Midlodemocrat]

55. We had our own guy. and he sucked.

so we got rid of him, but by then I had permanent tinnitus.

Good luck to your son tonight. I loved playing at Toad's.

[Marnieworld]

21. PBS has been replaying concerts from 1975 of his

One at MSG and another in London. It blows me away to see him so young and still so obviously overflowing with talent. The amount of energy he put into his performances was amazing. I grew up hearing about the 4 hour concerts and now I get what a phenomenonal experience that must have been. He is truly what an artist should be. He grows over time, evolves, writes and speaks from his heart as honestly as he can. He has such a great gift of musical ability with all music and yet such poetry that springs from his compassion. I just love him more and more as time goes on. :loveya:

[JerseygirlCT]

65. I saw that -- it was terrific -- and really reminded me of

the concert I saw (my first Springsteen) in '78. Such energy!

Now I'm such an old fart I had to leave before the concert was completely finished. (Well, ok I had a raging migraine at the time, but still!

[budkin]

6. Was it just me...

Or did Soledad seem annoyed that Bruce wouldn't admit to being wrong about expressing himself politically. Has she been programmed to support Bush always?

[ladjf]

7. My favorite line was when he said "On any given night on TV

the idiots, present company included are on the TV ......" He called her an idiot right to her face on CNN. I like that. We need more.

[Terran1212]

8. X D

[LibertyorDeath]

37. Beautiful wasn't it

and with a smile and a laugh.

She deserves more boosh bot idiot....

[EVDebs]

10. Seems like the entire nation is Trapped

Trapped
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/Trapped.html

by insane Republican ideology and claptrap. Time has come, we've had enough.

[Che_Nuevara]

11. The very suggestion that ANYONE should refrain from talking about politics

is insulting and SHEEP MENTALITY. She's a fucking idiot.

[onehandle]

12. Thumbs up for Brave Bruce!

Thumbs down for plastic Soledad.

:thumbsdown:

[WyLoochka]

15. aargh - the Repukes ELECT

B grade movie actors to office, but Springsteen is supposed to keep his mouth shut? What a typically biased and really dumb question.

[sonias]

16. Love the man and his music

And now for his courage to keep speaking up. Wanting bush to be replaced is not politics he says, that's just common sense.

He's a great American.

Sonia

[devilgrrl]

18. He was too nice to her

He should have said “idiots rambling on on cable television on any given night of the week - you, for example...”

[Laurab]

22. "That's not politics - that's just common sense"

truer words were never spoken. I love Bruce, and I don't think she even REALIZED he called her an idiot right to her face. I hope someone explained it to her.

[klook]

38. That was my favorite line also

I loved the way he was laughing all the way through the interview, as if to say, "These morons (like you, Soledad) are allowed to express their opinion every night of the week, but I'm supposed to just 'shut up and play'? Are you fucking KIDDING me??"

[Warren DeMontague]

24. Good for him!

I bought that CD of him doing the Pete Seeger tunes; it rocks, BTW.

[Rob H.]

28. Way to go, Bruce

I like this exchange (emphasis added by me):

O’BRIEN: As a musician though, I’d be curious to know if there is a concern that you start talking about politics, you came out at one point and said, I think in USA Today listen, the country would be better off if George Bush were replaced as President. Is there a worry where you start getting political and you could alienate your audience?

SPRINGSTEEN: Well that’s called common sense. I don’t even see that as politics at this point. So I mean that’s, you know, you can get me started, I’ll be glad to go. (…) You don’t take a country like the United States into a major war on circumstantial evidence. You lose your job for that. That’s my opinion, and I have no problem voicing it. And some people like it and some people boo ya, you know?

:patriot:

[Beacho]

31. I get tired of that old trope

As if musicians and other entertainers somehow lose their status as free citizens because they have fame. I know there is a book out there called "Sing And Shut Up"(by Ingraham?), but I notice there's no problem with the righties when it's Bruce Willis or AHnold. Then it's okey dokey.

[Joey Liberal]

39. Good for you Bruce! n/t

[Uncle Joe]

41. Bruce Springsteen rocks!

:yourock: The sad/funny thing is, although they don't want musicians to voice their opinions to the masses, especially when they are in disagreement with the mob in power, they were begging for his political song "Born In The U.S.A." for their convention when they thought it was a pro war song.

[Vanje]

67. The righties boycot outspoken liberal musicians

As more and more musicians speak out, the right is stuck listening to Toby Keith, and dusty old Charlie Daniels and Ted Nugent.

Can you think of a more frightening and hellish proposition?

Dust off your 8-track players, Ditto-heads. The Nuge. Lee greenwood. get used to it. Thats all you get! Oooh. Youre going to need that oxycontin!

[dogday]

42. "That's called common sense, I don't see that

as politics at this point"... When asked about whether he said shrub should be replace. :rofl:

[karynnj]

44. During one of the appearances for Kerry,

he spoke for a few minutes on why he was doing what he was doing, political views and why he supported Kerry. The comments were incredible and quite stirring. (According to the Kerry blog post, he was touched)

A daughter and I went to a hotel in Asbury Park, NJ - because my daughter wanted to see Joan Jett. The waitress at the restaurant hotel then told us of all the musicians she met. Springstein was the one she had the highest (non-musical) praise for. He has done a lot for the city. From what she said he always worked to help some of the underprivileged youth - and that he does it with no PR.

[Marnieworld]

47. He doesn't just talk politics

He lives it with his actions. More than any of the "idiots" he mentioned I am so sure.

[Supersedeas]

45. Poor Sosobad, she just wants to maintain the levity

[Hissyspit]

48. Going to see his show on Sunday. n/t

[Beelzebud]

50. Listen to him giggle. I want some of his marijuana. :D

Higher than a kite, and still exposed O'Brien as the shill she is.

I'll bet he has the primo.

[Generic Other]

51. Go Springsteen! LINK to one of his new songs

He has been doing some interesting stuff lately. Perhaps influenced by that old radical Pete Seeger!

Link to their song:
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/site.html

[OSX]

52. Jebsus Christ, that Soledad O'Brien is an idiot...[eom]

[Brigid]

57. "It's just common sense."

:rofl: The Boss still rules. Long may he reign. :)

Bruce, you are a national treasure. :yourock:

[latebloomer]

58. Kick for the Boss, long may he reign!

And thanks, kpete, for posting the clip-- it's a hoot!!

[K8-EEE]

59. Freeper Comment On This

As intellegent as you would expect:

Come on, the Beatles have been doing it since the early 60's, much to my chagrin. Thank God my kids weren't at the "Flower Children" age yet, and I could control some of what they listened to and saw on television. But since then the floodgates have opened and our teenagers have been fed bad ideas almost subminally ever since.

LOL!

[Imagevision]

60. Musicians should take a stance and speak/sing out, not enough being done

Bruce, Bon jovi Jackson Browne to name a few are even more reason Bush never had a prayer in 04 election without election fraud.

[Reckon]

62. It sounds as thought

Soledad O’Brien is implying a warning to Springsteen for speaking out.

[Snaggletooth]

72. Yes, it does sound that way...

but it is kind of hard to threaten "The Boss" with ostracization from his fans. His music has always been about working class issues. Anyone who doesn't get that, doesn't get Springsteen.

Snaggletooth the Crone

[JerseygirlCT]

63. "present company included"... gotta love it. nt

[raysr]

66. People of notoriety

have a reasonsibility, I think, to speak out whenever they can because people listen to them!

[Kahuna]

68. That was awesome. I guess he told that tool. "Common sense..."

I love it!!!!!!

[cascadiance]

69. He should have asked her RIGHT BACK are YOU worried...

about YOUR Q-Ratings, constantly asking me this sort of question as if we're supposed to support Bush, when his ratings are in the toilet with most Americans!

[fearnobush]

70. You go Bruce, You called that CNN republican Solidad O'Brien an "Idiot"

Awesome - I will be seeing you tomorrow night, live in Jersey.

[OneBlueSky]

71. I love it when someone with credibility (and there ain't many) . . .

stands up to the corporate media whores and calls them idiots to their faces . . .

I just wish there were more who were willing to tell the American people the truth . . . all we're getting now is propaganda . . .

[Karmageddon]

73. 2 words for freepers who rag on entertainers for voicing political views

Ronald Reagan

shuts them up every time.