Clint Eastwood's empty chair a perfect metaphor for the 2012 GOP
By: Cahir O'Doherty | Published Monday, September 3, 2012, 12:46 PM | Updated Monday, September 3, 2012, 12:46 PM
Last night a poorly executed gag by Clint Eastwood ended up defining the 2012 Republican National Convention.
Here was an old, often incoherent and unmistakably contemptuous white guy slowly lecturing an empty chair about all of its shortcomings.
There was something Shakespearean about it, with Eastwood looking like old King Lear on the heath, because the 82 year old's bizarre speech had hard words for Democrats but only faint praise for Republicans.
(This was a trend by the way: at the RNC of 2012 Barack Obama was mentioned twice as often as Mitt Romney).
It began well. Eastwood, who had played an iconic tough guy in the early 1970's, appeared to roars of approval from the mostly white, mostly middle aged, crowd. But once he actually started talking their enthusiasm quickly plummeted.
Eastwood ordered the empty chair to get out of Afghanistan. 'I know you were against the war in Iraq, and that’s okay. But you thought the war in Afghanistan was OK. I think you’ve mentioned something about having a target date for bringing everybody home. You gave that target date, and I think Mr. Romney asked the only sensible question, you know, he says, 'Why are you giving the date out now? Why don’t you just bring them home tomorrow morning?'
That line brought heavy applause but the Romney team winced, they have said their candidate wants to keep the troops there indefinitely. This is when things started seriously going wrong.
If I was a comedy writer for Saturday Night Live I would have seen this moment for it was rapidly becoming: tragicomic comedy gold. You can bet it will be all over The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and SNL by Sunday.
And I predict that empty chair will come back to haunt the GOP in November. Because it did something team Romney didn't want it to: it reminded the nation who was not there.
Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, Immigrants, Women and Young People. There is simply no room and no real welcome for them in the all-male Christian Brotherhood that is the GOP in 2012. There are only the true patriots versus the un-American now.
Oddly enough, looking at that empty chair, I also thought of John Lauber, the teenager at Cranbrook prep school that Romney once led a group of frat boys to attack as he cut his hair off with scissors. For a moment Lauber's ghost was sitting in that chair, being bullied by another malicious swaggering tough guy who was sure that the crowd was on his side.
It began as a joke but it ended by telling the truth, and it was nauseating.
I'm just reading over these articles and I was astounded how accurate this turned out to be. Well done!
BishopSean | Sep 09, 2012, 02:52 PM EDT
Whether his presentation was funny or not would depend, I suppose, on whose ox was gored. I think Clint was not bemused so much as employing a Gestält psychology technique. I would like to respond respectfully to Sean Og's statement, "In most cases I do not believe in abortion but do I ahve the right to make that decision for someone else? No!" --What if someone--like President Obama--would say about Mauritania, Sudan, etc., "In most cased I do not believe in slavery but di I have the right to make that decision for someone else? No!" Would any educated person buy that argument? Regards
seanomelb | Sep 05, 2012, 07:09 PM EDT
Briano you've got to get the chronology correct and what day did Obama take his table from the dumpster?? when he was a lawyer. I know 4 more years is a bitter pill for you to swallow,but do it with a little panache.
BrianO | Sep 05, 2012, 02:33 PM EDT
Well seano, hows about American's incomes dropping by 4000 a year. Hows about the fake story of the Obama's struggles. It must have been tough to attend elitist private high schools, ivy league college, graduate school at harvard. it must have been hard to never have worked during your college years, never having a summer job, it must have been tough to get by on a lawyers income, later on a senators income, thank goodness michele had a 300,000 dollar position as the hospital liason. Thank goodness he struck it rich with his book deals and other investments that finally he can hope to survive. I like the tough love he practices with his brother George in the hut in Africa, I'm sure he is a shining example to george, he just has to pick himself out of the poverty he lives in on his own and someday they can do lunch. Maybe they could invite his aunt living in the south boston projects out to dinner.
hollabackgurl | Sep 05, 2012, 09:45 AM EDT
California12 I see you're from the Paul Ryan School of the BIG LIE. The unemployment rate is 12.8 million. Only Clint Eastwood and you think its double that.
california12 | Sep 05, 2012, 01:13 AM EDT
our unemployment rate is 23 million here in the U.S. !
seanomelb | Sep 04, 2012, 07:31 PM EDT
We cannot indulge in maybes Briano. Obama was left a mess and the greatest financial disaster in 70 years. He saved millions from job losses through the bail out. BTW the unemployment figure was not 5% when he took office. In fact it was over 8% in Jan 2008 and rising.
barbbq1 | Sep 04, 2012, 02:20 PM EDT
In the early 90's when my kids graduated college they had huge debts and no jobs..the republicans would blame President Obama for that to!
My hubby was also laced off from his educational job because of fiscal constraints after 29 years..IN 1991 Could that be The present Presidents fault..
california12 | Sep 04, 2012, 02:17 PM EDT
guess you told me 'hollaback gurl ' ! I have been a democrate all my life . Why all the anger ? 12 vs 28 ...still alot of people without jobs ! Try to be civil to others !
hollabackgurl | Sep 04, 2012, 01:53 PM EDT
It's actually 12 million unemployed. The fact that you don't know that underlines why you vote Republican.
california12 | Sep 04, 2012, 01:44 PM EDT
28 million unemployed !! 2 million in California ! We need someone wth a business background ! I voted for obama , like him as a person , but need to make a change ! Our kids are coming out of college with huge debt and no jobs !
BrianO | Sep 04, 2012, 12:37 PM EDT
seano are those gross jobs or net jobs? Are these jobs paying the same, more, or less than the jobs lost in the last four years? Is the unemployment rat 5.3 to 5.0 where it should be? Do these statistics include the jobs that would have been lost if obama wasn't elected?
culchiewoman | Sep 04, 2012, 12:16 PM EDT
Frankly, I think the RNP should be charged with elder abuse for allowing poor Clint to go through with this unscripted farce. It wasn't funny, it wasn't original (as anyone who's taken an acting class featuring the "empty chair monologue" can tell you) and it was painful to watch. And lest we forget, all of this was coming from a man who has fathered 7 children with different women, forced one of them to have an abortion, and considers himself in favour of same-sex marriage. Family values guy? Meh...I think not. Perhaps it was really a subversive act on Eastwood's part to discredit and destroy the RNP? Maybe he's really *not* a Republican...? I think Jon Stewart was correct in saying that the RNP really does see an imaginary, invisible Obama quite different than the one the rest of us see in reality.
whiteycat | Sep 04, 2012, 11:07 AM EDT
I didnot see any of this articles views in the empty chair metaphor. I think if anytrhing it showed that obamas chair in the WH is usually vacant.
seanomelb | Sep 04, 2012, 05:32 AM EDT
$.5 Million jobs created in the last four years Briano one has to go back to Clinton era match (or better) those figures.
BrianO | Sep 04, 2012, 02:00 AM EDT
Jimmyjk, what excuse do you use for the current cicumstances, the highest gas prices in history-must mean the oil companies are in league with the president again right. Highest length of above 8% un employment in history, president must be in league with big business to screw the working man, the earning power of the citizens has dropped by 40% lets see how can we blame that on Bush. The bottom line is BO job was to help or at least not add to the problem, he has failed.
BrianO | Sep 04, 2012, 01:53 AM EDT
Big daddy be careful, you are not supposed to let the truth out of the bag, socialist leader, you are supposed to hide your views and never let it slip that a socialist regime is what you seek. You might want to check BO background, before you elevate him to scholar.
BigDaddy | Sep 03, 2012, 10:07 AM EDT
Cahir...A well written, to-the-point article that portrayed Eastwood in the light he deserved to be shown in I believe. He lost his way, his rambling was painful to watch and yet there are "the faithful" who attack anyone who notices or dares to speak the truth.... Eastwood was an embarrassment, Romney is the meat puppet of the Kochs and more people watched Honey Boo Boo than watched Mitt.... As JimmyJK noted, what has happened to America hasn't happened in 3 1/2 years. It has happened over the last 30 years and it was done intentionally. It is no coincidence that roads and bridges are left in disrepair. No coincidence that prisons are privatized. All the essential services provided by government will be for profit, and when they are, I hope all the sycophants that have written here will see that their dislike of minorities has cost them a nation. You are no patriot if you destroy a nation rather than help those less fortunate than yourself. You bought Ronald Reagan, a bad actor and FBI informant, as your savior but a Constitutional scholar isn't acceptable because he's black? How dumb do you think you are allowed to be and still remain free? YOU are the sheep that needs a daddy. Murdoch's FNC believes that you cannot tell reality from cartoons and yet you resist the facts as if they were poisonous. Remember dumbasses, corporations are not people and when they actually take ownership of America, you will beg for a socialist leader.
hollabackgurl | Sep 03, 2012, 09:32 AM EDT
The empty chair really is the perfect metaphor for the party that has no welcome most of the people of United States. Millionaires are a different story, of course.
seanomelb | Sep 02, 2012, 07:41 PM EDT
Why were the Bush,Cheney,Rumsfeld,Rove and "Failin Palin not invited to the convention? Maybe the GOP did not want the folks to remember how they F##cked up the economy
EphraimKibbey | Sep 02, 2012, 05:24 PM EDT
ROMNEY IS THE PROBLEM!!!
EphraimKibbey | Sep 02, 2012, 05:23 PM EDT
Just LOOK at what Cheney/Haliburton did in Iraq! Billions missing! Guess whose pockets got lined with YOUR tax dollars! That loud SUCKING sound you hear is NOT aid to the poor or to education or to policemen or to roads and bridges, it goes directly to the 1% and then straight on to Swiss or Cayman Island bank accounts.
EphraimKibbey | Sep 02, 2012, 05:17 PM EDT
Republican politicians DO NOT CARE ABOUT AMERICA! It is just another business to be milked for all its worth, driven into insurmountable debt and then allowed to go bankrupt leaving its investors and citizens to perish. Romney has his strategy so why won't he tell us? BECAUSE no one would vote for him if they knew what he has planned!
EphraimKibbey | Sep 02, 2012, 05:08 PM EDT
@1CelticYankee - The Boehner/Obama compromise over the debt ceiling debacle last summer would have REDUCED the debt by FOUR TRILLION (4/5's of the amount added since Obama took office) but RYAN and ERIC CANTOR scuttled the deal and voted instead for the Cliff facing the military in January. Why? Because the deal included revenue enhancements (Tax Increases on the only group who are still making out like the bandits that they really are.) Obama has repeatedly, since then, proposed similar debt reductions but has had his hand of compromise slapped away each time because of the GOP's greater devotion to Norquist and the 1% than to the United States of America. Note that both the Ryan (twice GOP passed) budget and the Romney 59 points budget do NOTHING to reduce the deficit until 2040 by which time they will be long gone with their riches intact. Cheney Quote when told by a financial advisor that the Bush tax cuts would bankrupt the country: DEFICITS ARE NOT IMPORTANT!
McNamara31 | Sep 02, 2012, 02:42 PM EDT
1CelticYankee... Obama has raised the debt by 50 % getting us out of a 1929 (size hole) that the reckless Bush put us in. Previously, Bush took the Clinton surplus ($260 billion) and turned it into an 86% debt increase, and Reagan who the GOP thinks walked on water, increased the countries debt on his watch by 186%. Based on past finances, a vote for the GOP is a vote for financial ruin.
1CelticYankee | Sep 02, 2012, 02:00 PM EDT
Cahir O'Doherty, you'd better stick to Ireland because you're clueless about the United States of America... the silent majority don't want to wind up being like Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and IRELAND ! ! ! Only Romney / Ryan can turn around Obama's bullet train to Socialism and save our country. If you don't like a strong US, go back to your bogs and peat fires and Irish poverty... yes, you're on the way back to ancient times ! ! !
seanomelb | Sep 01, 2012, 09:01 PM EDT
Three chairs for the corpse!! the GOP are dead in the water.
JimmyJK | Sep 01, 2012, 08:39 PM EDT
here here EphraimKibbey.... Keep speaking the Truth
EphraimKibbey | Sep 01, 2012, 05:57 PM EDT
Maybe, if we are going to label people and parties, we should know what those labels REALLY mean. According to the dictionary, CONSERVATIVE means tending to PRESERVE established traditions or institutions. LIBERAL means favoring political reforms tending toward DEMOCRACY and personal FREEDOM for the individual. REACTIONARY means an advocate of REACTION which is further defined as a movement back to a former or LESS ADVANCED condition. Feel free to read them in your own dictionary. I would have to LABEL the current GOP as Reactionary and the current DEMS as Liberal. I think that there are not many Conservative politicians around as the Tea Party out "primaried" them all. Using THOSE definitions, which label would you use for yourself? Label me LIBERAL, as were our founding fathers, and I will accept the compliment with pride. Why does the GOP use "Liberal" as a put down? If the GOP REALLY believes in Democracy, ask yourself "Why are they trying to limit voting in so many states?" Do not shame your ancestors, vote for the individual freedom of Democracy not the tyranny of Plutocracy.
eiriamach | Sep 01, 2012, 04:46 PM EDT
Sitt down, Mitt, in this empty chair here! I have a few questions to ask you. What's that you say? "No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised." Nah, I wasn't gonna ask about your birth cert. I want to know why you fired Clint Eastwood. "Like I said in January, I like being able to fire people who provide services to me." But why did you fire him? Tell us your story, Mitt. "I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed, just like Clint Eastwood." But what reason did you give Clint when you fired him? "I'm not familiar precisely with what I said, but I'll stand by what I said, whatever it was." And do you think the American people approve of your firing Clint? "Like I said in January, I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that's the America millions of Americans believe in. That's the America I love." (All quotes are genuine Mitt Romney at his best, only slightly edited.)
JimmyJK | Sep 01, 2012, 02:49 PM EDT
mollysdee - what is your definition of liberal? I think progressive is a better term. Do we as a nation need changes to welfare and to those that are using the system... YES totally. But what happened during the Bush regime with military expenditure and with wall street and the financial markets unfettered.... they stole our Nation's wealth and a piece of our future....
By reducing the tax rate on the wealthy how is that going to make our economy stronger? trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK! When Clinton raised taxes on the wealthy our debt went way down and our economy took off....
Commonsence | Sep 01, 2012, 01:15 PM EDT
Guess maybe I'm I'm too far over the hill to apreciate the comments that are favorable to Clint's absolutely horrible performance. If you can forget what it was that he was saying, he was stumbling, missing his lines on the prompter and generally out of focus. This guy has been one of my favorites for longer than most of the commentors have lived, I for one was embarrassed for him! The empty chair routine might have been funny if not for his terrible timing. I am of the opinion that most of comments here are by people who did not see the convention, only the clips. They didn't observe the looks on the faces of the people in the audience including Anne Romney. If you think for one minute the lines saying "what he could not tell a man to do to himself" are in the lexicon of the Romneys, right wing evangelicals or for that matter anyone with a smathering of culture, you are lost in your world!
mollysdee | Sep 01, 2012, 12:07 PM EDT
Cahir, you really don't know what you're talking about. Clint was 'right on'. Much of his speech was meant to be funny, but when he said we need a change, he was right. You are clearly a Liberal, with no room in your intellect for 'fair and balanced'. Republicans & Democrats alike are done giving Obama a chance. We need to fix our economy now before it's too late. It's someone else's turn, and many of us are willing to give Mitt Romney, a successful businessman, a chance. Obama, a life-long politician, clearly does not have what it takes.
JimmyJK | Sep 01, 2012, 11:52 AM EDT
BrianO- Just the facts please
anti-Americans? Are you crazy... seriously... are you? anti-Americans? That was a hilariously wacky statement.
George W. Bush was in power 4 years ago. Presidents Jefferson and Washington were in power 200 hundred years ago... wow
BrianO please use logic. If Obama took over in January 2009 and the economic collapse took place in September 2008 I think it is obvious a mess was created before he took power.
Keep watching Fox and listening to Limbaugh if misinformation and untruths are what you are looking for.
BrianO | Sep 01, 2012, 11:30 AM EDT
Ah Jimmy its all Bushes fault, why not blame it on Jefferson or Washington. Clint is right its our country, time to step up and tell these anti-Americans enough. Just because they yell louder(chris mathews) doesn't make them right.
JimmyJK | Sep 01, 2012, 09:45 AM EDT
Please read Matt Taibi's article on mitt romney and bain capital....
Let's get to the facts.....The GOP will reduce taxes on the top earners. They will reduce taxes on all corporations. They will dismantle all government programs including social security, medicare, medicaid.... they will reduce teachers, police, fireman and the like's pay,benefits, etc. They will reduce the before mentioned institutions by eliminating more teachers and officers and letting Americans make do with a lot less.
Fact - taxes on the top earners have dramatically gone down in the last 30 years.
Fact - the middle class has been the class that has taken on the increase tax burden
Fact - the GOP's record on the environment is ignorant and dangerous
Fact - the Obama admin Inherited a deficit, they inherited this from the GOP. GW Bush doubled our DEBT.
Uncertainty - Where Americans want to take our Nation.... Do we need budget cuts and welfare reform? Yes we do... Do we need what the GOP is offering? I did not believe it will make our Nation stronger
Oldwildrover | Sep 01, 2012, 08:44 AM EDT
I suggest you all go see "2016 Obama's America". It will help you decide who to vote for.
MegK311 | Sep 01, 2012, 12:15 AM EDT
Cahir I think you are the malicious white guy. Clint Eastwood for his age did a very good job and made some very good points that we would do well to pay attention to. He was also very funny. If he had been there to support Obama I bet you would be spouting a different tune. Cahir, you are just another humorless liberal.
Cherball | Sep 01, 2012, 12:05 AM EDT
"Go ahead make my day Obamagirl!"
dansheahan | Aug 31, 2012, 11:49 PM EDT
While I liked Clint Eastwood in all his Movies and I visited his town of Carmel, I absolutely object to Celebrities trying to influence Politics. Life & Politics is not a Film nor Theatre Production. Your next President is so important to the World.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 09:32 PM EDT
Eastwooding is now a thing. Google it and see.
Tom Mo | Aug 31, 2012, 08:09 PM EDT
PiperMac 52. What you said is 100percent correcto. But I am still hopin the Irish Central will wise up and give America a break. May not happen in my lifetime though because of all the left wing, coolaid drinking obama worshipers on its staff.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 08:01 PM EDT
Mitt who? If you think everyone in the convention center was laughing while Eastwood spoke, then you didn't see the look on Ann Romney's face.
Tom Mo | Aug 31, 2012, 07:59 PM EDT
Cahir O' D. You need to lighten up man. You don't have an ounce of humor in your body or mind. Clint was just breakin' balls. And he did it well. Obama is a friggin' fake. Wise up IC.
seanomelb | Aug 31, 2012, 07:32 PM EDT
When the PortoRican delegate spoke she was shouted down by the GOP race baiter's the lady left the podium visibly upset.Spot on Briano get rid of the ruling classes,the Koch brothers and their ilk. Poor old Clint I'm sure there's a an old cowboy retirement village in Arizona where he can sit on the porch nursing his winchester and pondering over all those bad guys he may have shot. Reality seems to have morphed into Hollywood for "make my day" The lights should be dimmed to match his dimmed mind.
JethroBodine | Aug 31, 2012, 07:15 PM EDT
"Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, Immigrants, Women and Young People. There is simply no room and no real welcome for them in the all-male Christian Brotherhood that is the GOP in 2012."
Blacks, hispanics, "gays" & "immigrants" already have a party that panders to them: the Democrats. As for women, most married white women vote like their husbands; it's only unmarried mothers who vote left wing because they want Uncle Sam to be the provider their non-existent husbands can't be. This is not to say I think the RepubliCANTs in any way represent the true interests of white Americans; on the contrary, they're nothing but a fake option that tosses whites meaningless crumbs. BTW: It's grimly amusing how transparently Social Marxist you and this whole Trish rag are.
BrianO | Aug 31, 2012, 07:07 PM EDT
Ah hollaback you do not recognize sarcastic humor. A bit touchy for someone who is supposed to be so tolerant. Clint maybe 82 and his delivery not as sharp as it once was, but he was right. This country belongs to the citizenry not the ruling class, Spending our money through non elected czars and regulations. It is our country.
peterson | Aug 31, 2012, 07:04 PM EDT
Cahir--If you would have watched the event on Fox you would have seen many blacks and young people in attendance. I beieve that the Democrats know that they are in deep trouble.
Chicago1 | Aug 31, 2012, 06:14 PM EDT
Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, Immigrants, Women and Young People. There is simply no room and no real welcome for them in the all-male Christian Brotherhood that is the GOP in 2012
Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, Immigrants, Women and Young People. There is simply no room and no real welcome for them in the all-male Christian Brotherhood that is the GOP in 2012
You state that Blacks, Hispanics, Immigrants, Women and young people were not represented.... Really? I can only assume from your comments that you didn't watch the Rep. Convention
Here is a list of just a few of the speakers
Ted Cruz
Cuban American
Gov. Nikki Haley
the daughter of Indian immigrants
Condoleezza Rice
Former Sec. of State
Gov. Susana Martinez
The first female Latina governor in the nation
Fran Connor | Aug 31, 2012, 05:52 PM EDT
holla, you really picked the wrong example. Only true believers in "The One" could fall for his assertion that taking $716,000,000,000 OUT of the medicare fund would actually be SAVING $716,000,000,000. Good grief!
PiperMac52 | Aug 31, 2012, 05:50 PM EDT
I have come to the conclusion after weighing the content of the various articles in Irish central that your publication is a shill for Obama. certainly lacking in objectivity..
merefalow | Aug 31, 2012, 05:17 PM EDT
what a mess america is in,so divided with no leadership or direction, that's what happens to a multicultural country,it pulls every which way with no common purpose.mass uncontrolled migration is a rotten destructive politically driven philosophy.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 03:26 PM EDT
BrianO your charge would have traction if it was actually supportable by the facts. Eastwood spoke down to that empty chair and many people, liberals and conservatives, were just cringing anticipating he would say "boy." It was disrespectful. The GOP can't really make any claims about racism when they promoted the falsehood that (white people's) Medicare would be plundered to pay for (people of color's) Obamacare all week.
irismonkey48 | Aug 31, 2012, 03:06 PM EDT
It is official. The Republican Party is representative of old rich, angry, low information bigots. Would Clint have done that little misguided, incoherent bit if the President was white? Never have I witnessed such disrespect for the office of President. Totally disgusting and just makes me want to get out and campaign for Obama.
BrianO | Aug 31, 2012, 03:05 PM EDT
Hmmm old, malicious, white guy, seems as if we are not being tolerant, age bashing, and dare i say racist. Clint showed the Emperor has no clothes and not only is an empty suit but an empty chair as well. Could his delivery be better? sure, but i think he still did a better job than obama sans teleprompter.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 02:56 PM EDT
There are precisely 0% of Blacks, Hispanics, Immigrants and Gays who will be voting Republican in this election. Why? Because they are not stupid, because they hear themselves blamed for the nations ills and because they know the GOP platform wants to comfort the rich at the expense of the poor.
Kilsally | Aug 31, 2012, 02:48 PM EDT
ah the Marxist traits of Irish Catholic Republicanism - just do a bit of googling and you will see that the rhetoric is always a 32 County SOCIALIST Republic with flags such as the communist starry plough and Che Guevera always prominent - any wonder the GOP are in for it - dig a bit deeper and the anti-Americanisms start to come out too.
Canal Rat | Aug 31, 2012, 02:09 PM EDT
Cahir,
You shouldn't throw the word "old" around as if it were an accusation. That's called ageism. How do you know who is gay? Do you have to be carrying a rainbow banner? There are Hispanics and Blacks in the Republican party; many of them spoke, including the man who eloquently introduced Mitt Romney. You missed all of that. You missed the women who were there. You missed the women who spoke about how much Romney had personally helped them and their families. Because there are more Blacks in the Democratic party does not make the Republican party racist if that's your implication. The USA is approaching 16 trillion in debt. When we are a failed nation we won't be able to help anyone, black, white, young, old gay or straight.
Fran Connor | Aug 31, 2012, 01:45 PM EDT
You must not have been paying attention, Cahir. There were many blacks, women, hispanics, and young people not only on the floor, but on the podium. I understand your anger, though, as there were no obviously gay people represented. Next time, hopefully.
manhattan | Aug 31, 2012, 01:12 PM EDT
I admire Clint Eastwood so I was afraid after reading O'Doherty's comments that at his advanced age he might be losing it, well he hasn't and he did a great job. I wonder when O'Doherty will talk about Joe Biden's gaffs? I won't hold my breath waiting. As for Blacks and Latino's. have always been democrats because to get voted the dem's promise them the moon and the stars.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 01:04 PM EDT
Aging can be quite a scare
/As you wither, start losing your hair/
Such a shame at your age/
To end up on a stage/
Arguing with an empty chair.
- John Moynes
kflanigan | Aug 31, 2012, 12:02 PM EDT
The GOP really is in a nose dive. Can't wait for the landing.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.olovely | Dec 12, 2012, 07:38 PM EST
I'm just reading over these articles and I was astounded how accurate this turned out to be. Well done!
BishopSean | Sep 09, 2012, 02:52 PM EDT
Whether his presentation was funny or not would depend, I suppose, on whose ox was gored. I think Clint was not bemused so much as employing a Gestält psychology technique. I would like to respond respectfully to Sean Og's statement, "In most cases I do not believe in abortion but do I ahve the right to make that decision for someone else? No!" --What if someone--like President Obama--would say about Mauritania, Sudan, etc., "In most cased I do not believe in slavery but di I have the right to make that decision for someone else? No!" Would any educated person buy that argument? Regards
seanomelb | Sep 05, 2012, 07:09 PM EDT
Briano you've got to get the chronology correct and what day did Obama take his table from the dumpster?? when he was a lawyer. I know 4 more years is a bitter pill for you to swallow,but do it with a little panache.
BrianO | Sep 05, 2012, 02:33 PM EDT
Well seano, hows about American's incomes dropping by 4000 a year. Hows about the fake story of the Obama's struggles. It must have been tough to attend elitist private high schools, ivy league college, graduate school at harvard. it must have been hard to never have worked during your college years, never having a summer job, it must have been tough to get by on a lawyers income, later on a senators income, thank goodness michele had a 300,000 dollar position as the hospital liason. Thank goodness he struck it rich with his book deals and other investments that finally he can hope to survive. I like the tough love he practices with his brother George in the hut in Africa, I'm sure he is a shining example to george, he just has to pick himself out of the poverty he lives in on his own and someday they can do lunch. Maybe they could invite his aunt living in the south boston projects out to dinner.
hollabackgurl | Sep 05, 2012, 09:45 AM EDT
California12 I see you're from the Paul Ryan School of the BIG LIE. The unemployment rate is 12.8 million. Only Clint Eastwood and you think its double that.
california12 | Sep 05, 2012, 01:13 AM EDT
our unemployment rate is 23 million here in the U.S. !
seanomelb | Sep 04, 2012, 07:31 PM EDT
We cannot indulge in maybes Briano. Obama was left a mess and the greatest financial disaster in 70 years. He saved millions from job losses through the bail out. BTW the unemployment figure was not 5% when he took office. In fact it was over 8% in Jan 2008 and rising.
barbbq1 | Sep 04, 2012, 02:20 PM EDT
In the early 90's when my kids graduated college they had huge debts and no jobs..the republicans would blame President Obama for that to! My hubby was also laced off from his educational job because of fiscal constraints after 29 years..IN 1991 Could that be The present Presidents fault..
california12 | Sep 04, 2012, 02:17 PM EDT
guess you told me 'hollaback gurl ' ! I have been a democrate all my life . Why all the anger ? 12 vs 28 ...still alot of people without jobs ! Try to be civil to others !
hollabackgurl | Sep 04, 2012, 01:53 PM EDT
It's actually 12 million unemployed. The fact that you don't know that underlines why you vote Republican.
california12 | Sep 04, 2012, 01:44 PM EDT
28 million unemployed !! 2 million in California ! We need someone wth a business background ! I voted for obama , like him as a person , but need to make a change ! Our kids are coming out of college with huge debt and no jobs !
BrianO | Sep 04, 2012, 12:37 PM EDT
seano are those gross jobs or net jobs? Are these jobs paying the same, more, or less than the jobs lost in the last four years? Is the unemployment rat 5.3 to 5.0 where it should be? Do these statistics include the jobs that would have been lost if obama wasn't elected?
culchiewoman | Sep 04, 2012, 12:16 PM EDT
Frankly, I think the RNP should be charged with elder abuse for allowing poor Clint to go through with this unscripted farce. It wasn't funny, it wasn't original (as anyone who's taken an acting class featuring the "empty chair monologue" can tell you) and it was painful to watch. And lest we forget, all of this was coming from a man who has fathered 7 children with different women, forced one of them to have an abortion, and considers himself in favour of same-sex marriage. Family values guy? Meh...I think not. Perhaps it was really a subversive act on Eastwood's part to discredit and destroy the RNP? Maybe he's really *not* a Republican...? I think Jon Stewart was correct in saying that the RNP really does see an imaginary, invisible Obama quite different than the one the rest of us see in reality.
whiteycat | Sep 04, 2012, 11:07 AM EDT
I didnot see any of this articles views in the empty chair metaphor. I think if anytrhing it showed that obamas chair in the WH is usually vacant.
seanomelb | Sep 04, 2012, 05:32 AM EDT
$.5 Million jobs created in the last four years Briano one has to go back to Clinton era match (or better) those figures.
BrianO | Sep 04, 2012, 02:00 AM EDT
Jimmyjk, what excuse do you use for the current cicumstances, the highest gas prices in history-must mean the oil companies are in league with the president again right. Highest length of above 8% un employment in history, president must be in league with big business to screw the working man, the earning power of the citizens has dropped by 40% lets see how can we blame that on Bush. The bottom line is BO job was to help or at least not add to the problem, he has failed.
BrianO | Sep 04, 2012, 01:53 AM EDT
Big daddy be careful, you are not supposed to let the truth out of the bag, socialist leader, you are supposed to hide your views and never let it slip that a socialist regime is what you seek. You might want to check BO background, before you elevate him to scholar.
BigDaddy | Sep 03, 2012, 10:07 AM EDT
Cahir...A well written, to-the-point article that portrayed Eastwood in the light he deserved to be shown in I believe. He lost his way, his rambling was painful to watch and yet there are "the faithful" who attack anyone who notices or dares to speak the truth.... Eastwood was an embarrassment, Romney is the meat puppet of the Kochs and more people watched Honey Boo Boo than watched Mitt.... As JimmyJK noted, what has happened to America hasn't happened in 3 1/2 years. It has happened over the last 30 years and it was done intentionally. It is no coincidence that roads and bridges are left in disrepair. No coincidence that prisons are privatized. All the essential services provided by government will be for profit, and when they are, I hope all the sycophants that have written here will see that their dislike of minorities has cost them a nation. You are no patriot if you destroy a nation rather than help those less fortunate than yourself. You bought Ronald Reagan, a bad actor and FBI informant, as your savior but a Constitutional scholar isn't acceptable because he's black? How dumb do you think you are allowed to be and still remain free? YOU are the sheep that needs a daddy. Murdoch's FNC believes that you cannot tell reality from cartoons and yet you resist the facts as if they were poisonous. Remember dumbasses, corporations are not people and when they actually take ownership of America, you will beg for a socialist leader.
hollabackgurl | Sep 03, 2012, 09:32 AM EDT
The empty chair really is the perfect metaphor for the party that has no welcome most of the people of United States. Millionaires are a different story, of course.
seanomelb | Sep 02, 2012, 07:41 PM EDT
Why were the Bush,Cheney,Rumsfeld,Rove and "Failin Palin not invited to the convention? Maybe the GOP did not want the folks to remember how they F##cked up the economy
EphraimKibbey | Sep 02, 2012, 05:24 PM EDT
ROMNEY IS THE PROBLEM!!!
EphraimKibbey | Sep 02, 2012, 05:23 PM EDT
Just LOOK at what Cheney/Haliburton did in Iraq! Billions missing! Guess whose pockets got lined with YOUR tax dollars! That loud SUCKING sound you hear is NOT aid to the poor or to education or to policemen or to roads and bridges, it goes directly to the 1% and then straight on to Swiss or Cayman Island bank accounts.
EphraimKibbey | Sep 02, 2012, 05:17 PM EDT
Republican politicians DO NOT CARE ABOUT AMERICA! It is just another business to be milked for all its worth, driven into insurmountable debt and then allowed to go bankrupt leaving its investors and citizens to perish. Romney has his strategy so why won't he tell us? BECAUSE no one would vote for him if they knew what he has planned!
EphraimKibbey | Sep 02, 2012, 05:08 PM EDT
@1CelticYankee - The Boehner/Obama compromise over the debt ceiling debacle last summer would have REDUCED the debt by FOUR TRILLION (4/5's of the amount added since Obama took office) but RYAN and ERIC CANTOR scuttled the deal and voted instead for the Cliff facing the military in January. Why? Because the deal included revenue enhancements (Tax Increases on the only group who are still making out like the bandits that they really are.) Obama has repeatedly, since then, proposed similar debt reductions but has had his hand of compromise slapped away each time because of the GOP's greater devotion to Norquist and the 1% than to the United States of America. Note that both the Ryan (twice GOP passed) budget and the Romney 59 points budget do NOTHING to reduce the deficit until 2040 by which time they will be long gone with their riches intact. Cheney Quote when told by a financial advisor that the Bush tax cuts would bankrupt the country: DEFICITS ARE NOT IMPORTANT!
McNamara31 | Sep 02, 2012, 02:42 PM EDT
1CelticYankee... Obama has raised the debt by 50 % getting us out of a 1929 (size hole) that the reckless Bush put us in. Previously, Bush took the Clinton surplus ($260 billion) and turned it into an 86% debt increase, and Reagan who the GOP thinks walked on water, increased the countries debt on his watch by 186%. Based on past finances, a vote for the GOP is a vote for financial ruin.
1CelticYankee | Sep 02, 2012, 02:00 PM EDT
Cahir O'Doherty, you'd better stick to Ireland because you're clueless about the United States of America... the silent majority don't want to wind up being like Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and IRELAND ! ! ! Only Romney / Ryan can turn around Obama's bullet train to Socialism and save our country. If you don't like a strong US, go back to your bogs and peat fires and Irish poverty... yes, you're on the way back to ancient times ! ! !
seanomelb | Sep 01, 2012, 09:01 PM EDT
Three chairs for the corpse!! the GOP are dead in the water.
JimmyJK | Sep 01, 2012, 08:39 PM EDT
here here EphraimKibbey.... Keep speaking the Truth
EphraimKibbey | Sep 01, 2012, 05:57 PM EDT
Maybe, if we are going to label people and parties, we should know what those labels REALLY mean. According to the dictionary, CONSERVATIVE means tending to PRESERVE established traditions or institutions. LIBERAL means favoring political reforms tending toward DEMOCRACY and personal FREEDOM for the individual. REACTIONARY means an advocate of REACTION which is further defined as a movement back to a former or LESS ADVANCED condition. Feel free to read them in your own dictionary. I would have to LABEL the current GOP as Reactionary and the current DEMS as Liberal. I think that there are not many Conservative politicians around as the Tea Party out "primaried" them all. Using THOSE definitions, which label would you use for yourself? Label me LIBERAL, as were our founding fathers, and I will accept the compliment with pride. Why does the GOP use "Liberal" as a put down? If the GOP REALLY believes in Democracy, ask yourself "Why are they trying to limit voting in so many states?" Do not shame your ancestors, vote for the individual freedom of Democracy not the tyranny of Plutocracy.
eiriamach | Sep 01, 2012, 04:46 PM EDT
Sitt down, Mitt, in this empty chair here! I have a few questions to ask you. What's that you say? "No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised." Nah, I wasn't gonna ask about your birth cert. I want to know why you fired Clint Eastwood. "Like I said in January, I like being able to fire people who provide services to me." But why did you fire him? Tell us your story, Mitt. "I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed, just like Clint Eastwood." But what reason did you give Clint when you fired him? "I'm not familiar precisely with what I said, but I'll stand by what I said, whatever it was." And do you think the American people approve of your firing Clint? "Like I said in January, I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that's the America millions of Americans believe in. That's the America I love." (All quotes are genuine Mitt Romney at his best, only slightly edited.)
JimmyJK | Sep 01, 2012, 02:49 PM EDT
mollysdee - what is your definition of liberal? I think progressive is a better term. Do we as a nation need changes to welfare and to those that are using the system... YES totally. But what happened during the Bush regime with military expenditure and with wall street and the financial markets unfettered.... they stole our Nation's wealth and a piece of our future.... By reducing the tax rate on the wealthy how is that going to make our economy stronger? trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK! When Clinton raised taxes on the wealthy our debt went way down and our economy took off....
Commonsence | Sep 01, 2012, 01:15 PM EDT
Guess maybe I'm I'm too far over the hill to apreciate the comments that are favorable to Clint's absolutely horrible performance. If you can forget what it was that he was saying, he was stumbling, missing his lines on the prompter and generally out of focus. This guy has been one of my favorites for longer than most of the commentors have lived, I for one was embarrassed for him! The empty chair routine might have been funny if not for his terrible timing. I am of the opinion that most of comments here are by people who did not see the convention, only the clips. They didn't observe the looks on the faces of the people in the audience including Anne Romney. If you think for one minute the lines saying "what he could not tell a man to do to himself" are in the lexicon of the Romneys, right wing evangelicals or for that matter anyone with a smathering of culture, you are lost in your world!
mollysdee | Sep 01, 2012, 12:07 PM EDT
Cahir, you really don't know what you're talking about. Clint was 'right on'. Much of his speech was meant to be funny, but when he said we need a change, he was right. You are clearly a Liberal, with no room in your intellect for 'fair and balanced'. Republicans & Democrats alike are done giving Obama a chance. We need to fix our economy now before it's too late. It's someone else's turn, and many of us are willing to give Mitt Romney, a successful businessman, a chance. Obama, a life-long politician, clearly does not have what it takes.
JimmyJK | Sep 01, 2012, 11:52 AM EDT
BrianO- Just the facts please anti-Americans? Are you crazy... seriously... are you? anti-Americans? That was a hilariously wacky statement. George W. Bush was in power 4 years ago. Presidents Jefferson and Washington were in power 200 hundred years ago... wow BrianO please use logic. If Obama took over in January 2009 and the economic collapse took place in September 2008 I think it is obvious a mess was created before he took power. Keep watching Fox and listening to Limbaugh if misinformation and untruths are what you are looking for.
BrianO | Sep 01, 2012, 11:30 AM EDT
Ah Jimmy its all Bushes fault, why not blame it on Jefferson or Washington. Clint is right its our country, time to step up and tell these anti-Americans enough. Just because they yell louder(chris mathews) doesn't make them right.
JimmyJK | Sep 01, 2012, 09:45 AM EDT
Please read Matt Taibi's article on mitt romney and bain capital.... Let's get to the facts.....The GOP will reduce taxes on the top earners. They will reduce taxes on all corporations. They will dismantle all government programs including social security, medicare, medicaid.... they will reduce teachers, police, fireman and the like's pay,benefits, etc. They will reduce the before mentioned institutions by eliminating more teachers and officers and letting Americans make do with a lot less. Fact - taxes on the top earners have dramatically gone down in the last 30 years. Fact - the middle class has been the class that has taken on the increase tax burden Fact - the GOP's record on the environment is ignorant and dangerous Fact - the Obama admin Inherited a deficit, they inherited this from the GOP. GW Bush doubled our DEBT. Uncertainty - Where Americans want to take our Nation.... Do we need budget cuts and welfare reform? Yes we do... Do we need what the GOP is offering? I did not believe it will make our Nation stronger
Oldwildrover | Sep 01, 2012, 08:44 AM EDT
I suggest you all go see "2016 Obama's America". It will help you decide who to vote for.
MegK311 | Sep 01, 2012, 12:15 AM EDT
Cahir I think you are the malicious white guy. Clint Eastwood for his age did a very good job and made some very good points that we would do well to pay attention to. He was also very funny. If he had been there to support Obama I bet you would be spouting a different tune. Cahir, you are just another humorless liberal.
Cherball | Sep 01, 2012, 12:05 AM EDT
"Go ahead make my day Obamagirl!"
dansheahan | Aug 31, 2012, 11:49 PM EDT
While I liked Clint Eastwood in all his Movies and I visited his town of Carmel, I absolutely object to Celebrities trying to influence Politics. Life & Politics is not a Film nor Theatre Production. Your next President is so important to the World.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 09:32 PM EDT
Eastwooding is now a thing. Google it and see.
Tom Mo | Aug 31, 2012, 08:09 PM EDT
PiperMac 52. What you said is 100percent correcto. But I am still hopin the Irish Central will wise up and give America a break. May not happen in my lifetime though because of all the left wing, coolaid drinking obama worshipers on its staff.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 08:01 PM EDT
Mitt who? If you think everyone in the convention center was laughing while Eastwood spoke, then you didn't see the look on Ann Romney's face.
Tom Mo | Aug 31, 2012, 07:59 PM EDT
Cahir O' D. You need to lighten up man. You don't have an ounce of humor in your body or mind. Clint was just breakin' balls. And he did it well. Obama is a friggin' fake. Wise up IC.
seanomelb | Aug 31, 2012, 07:32 PM EDT
When the PortoRican delegate spoke she was shouted down by the GOP race baiter's the lady left the podium visibly upset.Spot on Briano get rid of the ruling classes,the Koch brothers and their ilk. Poor old Clint I'm sure there's a an old cowboy retirement village in Arizona where he can sit on the porch nursing his winchester and pondering over all those bad guys he may have shot. Reality seems to have morphed into Hollywood for "make my day" The lights should be dimmed to match his dimmed mind.
JethroBodine | Aug 31, 2012, 07:15 PM EDT
"Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, Immigrants, Women and Young People. There is simply no room and no real welcome for them in the all-male Christian Brotherhood that is the GOP in 2012." Blacks, hispanics, "gays" & "immigrants" already have a party that panders to them: the Democrats. As for women, most married white women vote like their husbands; it's only unmarried mothers who vote left wing because they want Uncle Sam to be the provider their non-existent husbands can't be. This is not to say I think the RepubliCANTs in any way represent the true interests of white Americans; on the contrary, they're nothing but a fake option that tosses whites meaningless crumbs. BTW: It's grimly amusing how transparently Social Marxist you and this whole Trish rag are.
BrianO | Aug 31, 2012, 07:07 PM EDT
Ah hollaback you do not recognize sarcastic humor. A bit touchy for someone who is supposed to be so tolerant. Clint maybe 82 and his delivery not as sharp as it once was, but he was right. This country belongs to the citizenry not the ruling class, Spending our money through non elected czars and regulations. It is our country.
peterson | Aug 31, 2012, 07:04 PM EDT
Cahir--If you would have watched the event on Fox you would have seen many blacks and young people in attendance. I beieve that the Democrats know that they are in deep trouble.
Chicago1 | Aug 31, 2012, 06:14 PM EDT
Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, Immigrants, Women and Young People. There is simply no room and no real welcome for them in the all-male Christian Brotherhood that is the GOP in 2012 Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, Immigrants, Women and Young People. There is simply no room and no real welcome for them in the all-male Christian Brotherhood that is the GOP in 2012 You state that Blacks, Hispanics, Immigrants, Women and young people were not represented.... Really? I can only assume from your comments that you didn't watch the Rep. Convention Here is a list of just a few of the speakers Ted Cruz Cuban American Gov. Nikki Haley the daughter of Indian immigrants Condoleezza Rice Former Sec. of State Gov. Susana Martinez The first female Latina governor in the nation
Fran Connor | Aug 31, 2012, 05:52 PM EDT
holla, you really picked the wrong example. Only true believers in "The One" could fall for his assertion that taking $716,000,000,000 OUT of the medicare fund would actually be SAVING $716,000,000,000. Good grief!
PiperMac52 | Aug 31, 2012, 05:50 PM EDT
I have come to the conclusion after weighing the content of the various articles in Irish central that your publication is a shill for Obama. certainly lacking in objectivity..
merefalow | Aug 31, 2012, 05:17 PM EDT
what a mess america is in,so divided with no leadership or direction, that's what happens to a multicultural country,it pulls every which way with no common purpose.mass uncontrolled migration is a rotten destructive politically driven philosophy.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 03:26 PM EDT
BrianO your charge would have traction if it was actually supportable by the facts. Eastwood spoke down to that empty chair and many people, liberals and conservatives, were just cringing anticipating he would say "boy." It was disrespectful. The GOP can't really make any claims about racism when they promoted the falsehood that (white people's) Medicare would be plundered to pay for (people of color's) Obamacare all week.
irismonkey48 | Aug 31, 2012, 03:06 PM EDT
It is official. The Republican Party is representative of old rich, angry, low information bigots. Would Clint have done that little misguided, incoherent bit if the President was white? Never have I witnessed such disrespect for the office of President. Totally disgusting and just makes me want to get out and campaign for Obama.
BrianO | Aug 31, 2012, 03:05 PM EDT
Hmmm old, malicious, white guy, seems as if we are not being tolerant, age bashing, and dare i say racist. Clint showed the Emperor has no clothes and not only is an empty suit but an empty chair as well. Could his delivery be better? sure, but i think he still did a better job than obama sans teleprompter.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 02:56 PM EDT
There are precisely 0% of Blacks, Hispanics, Immigrants and Gays who will be voting Republican in this election. Why? Because they are not stupid, because they hear themselves blamed for the nations ills and because they know the GOP platform wants to comfort the rich at the expense of the poor.
Kilsally | Aug 31, 2012, 02:48 PM EDT
ah the Marxist traits of Irish Catholic Republicanism - just do a bit of googling and you will see that the rhetoric is always a 32 County SOCIALIST Republic with flags such as the communist starry plough and Che Guevera always prominent - any wonder the GOP are in for it - dig a bit deeper and the anti-Americanisms start to come out too.
Canal Rat | Aug 31, 2012, 02:09 PM EDT
Cahir, You shouldn't throw the word "old" around as if it were an accusation. That's called ageism. How do you know who is gay? Do you have to be carrying a rainbow banner? There are Hispanics and Blacks in the Republican party; many of them spoke, including the man who eloquently introduced Mitt Romney. You missed all of that. You missed the women who were there. You missed the women who spoke about how much Romney had personally helped them and their families. Because there are more Blacks in the Democratic party does not make the Republican party racist if that's your implication. The USA is approaching 16 trillion in debt. When we are a failed nation we won't be able to help anyone, black, white, young, old gay or straight.
Fran Connor | Aug 31, 2012, 01:45 PM EDT
You must not have been paying attention, Cahir. There were many blacks, women, hispanics, and young people not only on the floor, but on the podium. I understand your anger, though, as there were no obviously gay people represented. Next time, hopefully.
manhattan | Aug 31, 2012, 01:12 PM EDT
I admire Clint Eastwood so I was afraid after reading O'Doherty's comments that at his advanced age he might be losing it, well he hasn't and he did a great job. I wonder when O'Doherty will talk about Joe Biden's gaffs? I won't hold my breath waiting. As for Blacks and Latino's. have always been democrats because to get voted the dem's promise them the moon and the stars.
hollabackgurl | Aug 31, 2012, 01:04 PM EDT
Aging can be quite a scare /As you wither, start losing your hair/ Such a shame at your age/ To end up on a stage/ Arguing with an empty chair. - John Moynes
kflanigan | Aug 31, 2012, 12:02 PM EDT
The GOP really is in a nose dive. Can't wait for the landing.