Bruce Springsteen... Political Hypocrite

[Headache in a Suitcase]

before i write this, let me first say that i'm a huge fan of bruce springsteen's music. in fact, i'm wearing a springsteen tour t-shirt as i type this. i saw him twice on the rising tour... once at giants stadium, once at shea stadium.

now that that's said, let me put my love of his music aside and make my argument for why the boss is a political hypocrite.

bruce claims to be "non-partisan." anyone who knows anything about the man knows that's just silly. but it's something i've ignored up until now... as he hits the road on his "vote for change" tour... claiming to be out for the rights of the people... yet his own state... his beloved Jersey... truely lives up to it's nickname of "the armpit of America." the mcgreevey adminstration was up to it's neck in accusations of corruption BEFORE the whole golan cipel fiasco. now mcgreevey is guilty of one of two things...

he either sexually harrassed one of his advisors...(and this is the lesser accusation)

or he put his unqualified boyfriend in a position of the utmost importance... putting the citizens of new jersey in danger, and paying his boyfriend a 6 digit salary in the process... tax payer money, of course.

AND on top of it all, mcgreevey is playing politics with his resignation date... delaying it till november so that a democrat can stay in office, rather than have the people of new jersey elect a new leader in a special election.

so i ask of you, mr. springsteen... where is your outrage now? why are there no concerts calling for mcgreevey to do the honorable thing and step down NOW? why are you so silent on this issue, when the one thing you've always fought for was your fellow Jerseyans? Why, Bruce? Why?

non-partisan my ass.

 

[deep]

You don't see the difference in scale?


Mcgreevey may be the things you say but he is not being protested in Europe, Asia, and most other places on the globe. We had a corrupt Governor in CA that got the boot.

W is just the worst President in history. I know many Republicans, and independents, and good Americans from all walks of life that want him out.


Bruce is right.

Headache, it is not too late you too can get on the RIGHT side of this issue.

Join the Boss you will feel better.

 

[swizzlestick]

Maybe he isn't proud to admit he is a Demo

 

[nbcrusader]

W is just the worst President in history. I know many Republicans, and independents, and good Americans from all walks of life that want him out.

I don't know how many times this was said of Reagan. The country is far better off than it was 25 years ago. Chicken little syndrome doesn't pan out in the end....

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

You don't see the difference in scale?


Mcgreevey may be the things you say but he is not being protested in Europe, Asia, and most other places on the globe. We had a corrupt Governor in CA that got the boot.

W is just the worst President in history. I know many Republicans, and independents, and good Americans from all walks of life that want him out.


Bruce is right.

Headache, it is not too late you too can get on the RIGHT side of this issue.

Join the Boss you will feel better.

and i know many democrats and independents and good americans from all walks of life that will be voting bush this fall.

but i wasn't debating springsteen's issues with the president... he may very well be right, that's not the point. but why is he so silent on the corruption in his very own home state? you can debate till the cows come home over bush-kerry... and you can make logical arguments for both sides. but there is no logical argument to back the mcgreevey administration, yet he remains silent. bruce is NEVER silent when it comes to jersey... just ironic, don'tcha think?

 

[deep]

I don't know how many times this was said of Reagan. ....

Never by me.

Reagan could admit he made a mistake.
Reagan held regular press conferences and took ALL questions.


I am sure I voted for Reagan more times than most people on this board.


Come on, NBC
get on the RIGHT side with the boss.

 

[oliveu2cm]

I'm afraid the argument is flawed based on its premise: you're saying Bruce either has to publically support EVERYTHING or publically support nothing; you're not allowing him to choose what he wants to publically support.

Additionally, you said "bruce is NEVER silent when it comes to jersey" which I can't deny or verify as I don't keep track of every word that he speaks to the media. But I am guessing that the majority of when Bruce speaks out about current events happens during his shows. Maybe you haven't heard anything from him about this now because he isn't have concerts and isn't having constant interviews or what have you. He could very well be upset about it but a) doesn't have the correct venue to express his feelings and b) doesn't see it warrant the same urgent, intense reaction as the presidential election, as deep mentioned. Maybe he hasn't even made up his mind yet, as this is all unravelling more and more every day.

IMO the issues are apples and oranges. Either way, Bruce should be able to publically support whatever issues he wants - there is no "all or nothing" on voicing opinions on current issues.

 

[sue4u2]

An article in this weeks Rolling Stone magazine really gets into the reason Bruce (and the other's) is taking such a strong stand in this election. In the grand scheme of things, the McGreevey matter is insignificant.
This is a link to the online article:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story?id=6420236&pageid=rs.Politics&pageregion=single6

 

[BVS]

Let's see, one is out for sure come November and one is in question come November... Hmm which one is worth the public outrage, the one that will actually effect everyone's life, or the one that hasn't even been settled yet?

Yeah, Bruce you are such the hypocrite

 

[STING2]

Never by me.

Reagan could admit he made a mistake.
Reagan held regular press conferences and took ALL questions.


I am sure I voted for Reagan more times than most people on this board.


Come on, NBC
get on the RIGHT side with the boss.

Come on Deep,

Join the Democrats and Independents who will be voting for Bush this fall!

 

[SouthPark(R)]

the real question is..
Would Bruce have been quiet in NJ if McGreevy were a corrupt GOP Govenor.

 

[ThatGuy]

Come on. Would Bush have spoken out against 527s if MoveOn wasn't running ads against him?

As nbc would say, partisan

 

[Leeloo]

I agree completely with Headache. It's true, people only pick on the politicians they don't like and either ignore the mistakes of the ones whose positions they agree with, or make excuses for them.

 

[SouthPark(R)]

Come on. Would Bush have spoken out against 527s if MoveOn wasn't running ads against him?

As nbc would say, partisan

Actually Bush opposed CPR long before the 527 ads came along and reluctantly signed the bill.

So far 60 million dollars have been spent trying to defeat Bush in these 527 ads
2 million have been spent in anti Kerry ads.

Seems that Kerry squeals loudest when truth has a sting to it.

 

[ThatGuy]

Actually Bush opposed CPR long before the 527 ads came along and reluctantly signed the bill.

So far 60 million dollars have been spent trying to defeat Bush in these 527 ads
2 million have been spent in anti Kerry ads.

Seems that Kerry squeals loudest when truth has a sting to it.

So Bush is against this 527 as well, right? And, of course, The Republican Governors Association.

This is what President Bush said when he signed the the McCain-Feingold act in 2002.

However, the bill does have flaws. Certain provisions present serious constitutional concerns. In particular, H.R. 2356 goes farther than I originally proposed by preventing all individuals, not just unions and corporations, from making donations to political parties in connection with Federal elections.

I believe individual freedom to participate in elections should be expanded, not diminished; and when individual freedoms are restricted, questions arise under the First Amendment.

I also have reservations about the constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising, which restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups on issues of public import in the months closest to an election. I expect that the courts will resolve these legitimate legal questions as appropriate under the law.

So now he believes that individual freedoms shouldn't be expanded. And he's flip-flopped on the issue of advertising.

Who's squealing?

 

[SouthPark(R)]

Kerry is squealing.

 

[ThatGuy]

Well, at least you're consistent.

 

[indra]

bruce claims to be "non-partisan." anyone who knows anything about the man knows that's just silly. but it's something i've ignored up until now... as he hits the road on his "vote for change" tour... claiming to be out for the rights of the people... yet his own state... his beloved Jersey... truely lives up to it's nickname of "the armpit of America." the mcgreevey adminstration was up to it's neck in accusations of corruption BEFORE the whole golan cipel fiasco. now mcgreevey is guilty of one of two things...

he either sexually harrassed one of his advisors...(and this is the lesser accusation)

or he put his unqualified boyfriend in a position of the utmost importance... putting the citizens of new jersey in danger, and paying his boyfriend a 6 digit salary in the process... tax payer money, of course.

AND on top of it all, mcgreevey is playing politics with his resignation date... delaying it till november so that a democrat can stay in office, rather than have the people of new jersey elect a new leader in a special election.

so i ask of you, mr. springsteen... where is your outrage now? why are there no concerts calling for mcgreevey to do the honorable thing and step down NOW? why are you so silent on this issue, when the one thing you've always fought for was your fellow Jerseyans? Why, Bruce? Why?

non-partisan my ass.

I think it's not a big public issue with Springsteen because it's already working it's way out. McGreevey is resigning and the matter is being looked into and will be resolved. And do you honestly think that the government position Cipel was given was/is of the "utmost" importance? I mean, it sounds good, and it might calm the masses, but I really don't think it is a position which will be able to do diddly for the people of New Jersey (no matter who held or holds it). As for the special election you are so gung ho for, those suckers are expensive. And there is really little point in having an election for that seat now. If the people of NJ want one so badly they can stage a recall. Problem solved.

Now if Dubya was an honorable man he would step down and stop making this nation hated and ridiculed throughout the world. Are you safer today...? HA! Fat chance.

 

[Danospano]

everyone should read Oliveu2's statement and end this conversation.

Yes, Bush is a flip-floper, so is Kerry, so are you and so am I. It's human nature and should be encouraged when issues consist of complex data. I know more today than I did 5 years ago, so why should my opinion on issues change? Am I a maladriot idiot? I hope not.

 

[Salome]

no one is free of bias
no one (especially in politics) shies away from opportunistic behaviour
and everyone picks his/her battles (and hopefully they do this wisely)


it's the ones who state that they are completely neutral whom I distrust the most

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i appologize to anyone for feeling that the director of homeland security is a critical position in the state of new jersey... i mean why would it be? i mean it's not like one of the flights on 9/11 took off from newark, new jersey... or that the world trade center was operated by the port authority of new york and new jersey... it's not like northern new jersey is one of the most densley populated areas in the nation...

yes... i do feel putting an unqualified person in such a position just because you think he's cute is an absolute outrage. sorry, but that's just me.

 

[Salome]

I don't disagree that this is a grave issue

I just don't believe that Springsteen (god knows I know nothing about the man though) not making public statements about this shows that he doesn't care or think this is wrong
it does show that he decided not to put his efforts and use his celebrity 'powers' in this battle

 

[Lilac]

it does show that he decided not to put his efforts and use his celebrity 'powers' in this battle

Why not? BIAS, that's why.

 

[ThatGuy]

Hi Bruce! I didn't know you posted here.

 

[Lilac]

I don't think so, but I have seen his wife post!

 

[verte76]

no one is free of bias
no one (especially in politics) shies away from opportunistic behaviour
and everyone picks his/her battles (and hopefully they do this wisely)
it's the ones who state that they are completely neutral whom I distrust the most

Well said Salome. My sentiments exactly.

 

[indra]

i appologize to anyone for feeling that the director of homeland security is a critical position in the state of new jersey... i mean why would it be? i mean it's not like one of the flights on 9/11 took off from newark, new jersey... or that the world trade center was operated by the port authority of new york and new jersey... it's not like northern new jersey is one of the most densley populated areas in the nation...

yes... i do feel putting an unqualified person in such a position just because you think he's cute is an absolute outrage. sorry, but that's just me.

Because the director of homeland security in New Jersey isn't going to be able to do diddly about stopping terrorism in NJ (or anywhere else) -- that's why it isn't important. It is a strictly lip service position and always will be, no matter who holds it.

And thank you for the apology!

 

[JOFO]

i appologize to anyone for feeling that the director of homeland security is a critical position in the state of new jersey... i mean why would it be? i mean it's not like one of the flights on 9/11 took off from newark, new jersey... or that the world trade center was operated by the port authority of new york and new jersey... it's not like northern new jersey is one of the most densley populated areas in the nation...

yes... i do feel putting an unqualified person in such a position just because you think he's cute is an absolute outrage. sorry, but that's just me.

well, I think you've got to pick your battles; look at Bono: not a word about the war in Iraq...not one. Why? Surely not because he supports it; it's because he's got his hands full with DATA and aids in africa.
For Bruce to come out now and take this position I think only demonstrates the severity of the situation he feels is at hand. And he's right. I feel much like he does right now, that this election is the most important of our lifetime, and that the very future of America's course in the world hangs in the balance. So his stand on this is made more powerful because he has not had his hand in a thousand other issues.
And should one of those issues be regarding McGreevy's affair/scandal/resignation? Nope. Why? It's not anywhere near the same scale. The worst part about McGreevy is he used taxpayer money to pay his lover and keep him silent. And he's resigning. Good. End of debacle. No need for Bruce to step in and scold him.
With the real possiblity of W getting 4 more years, the ante is upped a thousand fold. I'm not going to debate why I think that here, but to summarize: the McGreevy thing does not warrant a statement or actions from Bruce; the election does.
Certainly to Bruce anyway.

P.S. NJ is not neccesarily the armpit of America; only the part that runs along the NJ Turnpike from Secaucus down through Elizabeth mostly.
oh. and Paterson, Passaic, and Newark.

 

[Lilac]

I've been to Hackensack, well east Hackensack, and it wasn't too cool but thanks for taking the 'armpit' title, it was WV or KY that used to bear that name?

Jersey turnpike= HELL on earth

 

[JOFO]

I've been to Hackensack, well east Hackensack, and it wasn't too cool but thanks for taking the 'armpit' title, it was WV or KY that used to bear that name?

Jersey turnpike= HELL on earth

LOL.

well, Hackensack ain't exactly paradise, but it's surely not the bronx either.

if you drive around the whole city, you'll see some very upscale homes and beutiful lawns/gardens.

and if your car breaks down on Newman street, ummm, ....well,