Actor Richard Dreyfuss Defends Anti-Cheney Death Wish by Ed Schultz as 'Beautifully Phrased' Civil Discourse
Last fall, Richard Dreyfuss launched a civics education program called the Dreyfuss Initiative that promised among other things to look at "a purposeful diverse variety of websites representing disparate political opinions... to foster a discussion related to the future of America." But the Academy Award-winning actor apparently thinks civil political discourse includes left-wing radio hosts wishing for Dick Cheney's death.
At a January 25 press conference at the National Press Club, CNSNews.com's* Nicholas Ballasy asked Dreyfuss about comments that liberal MSNBC host Ed Schultz had made on his March 11, 2009 radio program wherein he wished that "enemy of the country" former Vice President Dick Cheney would be taken by God to "the Promised Land."
"No, that’s not uncivil. That’s actually kind of a beautifully phrased way of saying something that could be uncivil," Dreyfuss told Ballasy.
[For the full video, click play on the embed that follows after the page break]
"Civility is not not saying negative or harsh things. It is not the absence of critical analysis. It is the manner in which we are sharing this territorial freedom of political discussion. If our discourse is yelled and screamed and interrupted and patronized, that’s uncivil. I don’t care what the issue is and I don’t care who the people and the players are," Dreyfuss added.
By that standard, one has to wonder if Dreyfuss would draw the line at Schultz wishing he could rip Dick Cheney's heart out, as he did on his February 24 program last year, or if that's merely just another "harsh" jab thrown in the "territorial freedom of political discussion."
*CNSNews.com is owned by the Media Research Center, the parent company of NewsBusters.org.
- Ken Shepherd's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Just another prime example of
Submitted by Beukeboom on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 11:28am.
Just another prime example of how liberals attempt to redefine words in vain and hubristic attempts to cover up their extreme hypocrisies and double-standards.
Schultz doesn't yell or scream?
Submitted by averageschmoe on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 11:34am.
Go back to acting in your movies and reading scripts. When you speak on your own you show how dumb you really are. Dreyfuss must agree that he has no problem with Rush either because he doesn't yell and scream. Oh I'm sure he does though because Rush is Conservative.
Wow!
Submitted by JustAl on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 2:00pm.
Your comment just made the proverbial light bulb switch on!
We've had an actor who became a great president. Why not a terrible president who becomes an actor? If there is one thing the "Cotta from Jacatta" can do well, it's read aloud. Now I see what he can do after Hillary dismisses him in 2012. Maybe he can get a part in that muslim remake of the Cosby show that Dim Wit Kattie suggested.
Was Dreyfuss being serious??
Submitted by shannon76 on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 11:44am.
Was Dreyfuss being serious?? How could he say any of that with a straight face?!
According to Dreyfuss civil discussion necessarily means progresso-leftist. It means collectivist. It means communitarian. Everything else is uncivil and yelling.
beautifully phrased way of saying something that could be uncivil??? gimme a break.
"Was Dreyfuss being serious??
Submitted by Beukeboom on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 2:29pm.
"Was Dreyfuss being serious?? How could he say any of that with a straight face?!"
HOW?!? HE WAS ACT-TING!!! <*over-the-top-acting-voice a la Jon Lovitz's Master Thespian character on SNL circa late 80's*>
Just consider the source...
Submitted by ontheright on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:07pm.
...another washed up, radical liberal activist actor who, along with the likes of Hanoi Jane, is trying to remain relevent in a world that has passed them by...sad, actually.
Sad and pathetic
Submitted by Seashell on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:30pm.
And, I always thought Dreyfuss was overrated as an actor. He was just kind of annoying IMO.
Two Wrongs Defense
Submitted by Owasco on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 11:51am.
OK, we get it, the Democrats do it too, but that does not excuse Sarah Palin from putting crosshairs on a political map or using gun terms in political speech like "lock and load." No, there is no direct evidence that the whack job in Arizona was influenced by harsh political speech, but who can say how he was influenced sublinimally? This is why sometimes I get digusted with Democrats AND Republicans and one of the reasons I am registered as an independent. How about if you BOTH tone it down. Two wrongs don't make a right.
"Subliminally?"...Really?!?!
Submitted by ontheright on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:05pm.
...surely you jest.
NOW PC has run amock to the extent that we must concern ourselves with how "protected free speech" could possibly affect some deranged lunatic, subliminally????
When you call yourself an "Independent" you must mean that you are independent from rational thought...right?
No, no, ontheright!
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:18pm.
You misunderstood. He/she/it said "sublinimally, not "subliminally." I'm still working on what it means.
Maybe it has something to do with the Panama Canal being in Egypt or something.
Funny.
Submitted by ontheright on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 2:38pm.
Funny.
When I see things like this,
Submitted by optimist on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:06pm.
When I see things like this, I go back to the left's argument as to why Republicans get beat up harder than Democrats when it comes to immoral actions. The right as they say lecture the loudest about that, and thus the hypocrisy forces them to get beat up as people are "only forcing them to practice what they preach".
As I see it, the left started this finger wagging about "civility", and just as the right is held to a higher standard on the moral issues because they preach it, the left needs to be held to a higher standard on "civility". Note that "civility" is in quotes since the issue has more to do with shutting up the right than it has to do with civility.
So in short, you lefties made your rules and we're going to make sure that you live up to them. We're all going to be civil, but your slipups are going to get a nice bright spotlight.
There's an 'educational' group founded by
Submitted by Calypso Jones on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:01pm.
Bill Ayers and others. I really have to wonder if Dreyfus' group isn't associated with it. I'll try to find it. If anyone else knows..please post it.
chicago annenberg challenge?
So Hate Speech with a touch of class is hunky dory?
Submitted by Red Jeep on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 11:55am.
Thought so.
Apparently, Jeep.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 11:57am.
So if I tell Special Ed and Richie D, "...... and the horse you rode in on," would that qualify as classy political discourse? Or was it classy political intercourse he was referring to?
two things
Submitted by dmaley1714 on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:08pm.
1)Anybody who diagrees with liberals are not being civil
2) "Actors is there anything they don't know " Homer Simpson
You should read some of Dreyfus' bio
Submitted by Calypso Jones on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:20pm.
this man supports ALL the wrong things. AND he's Bi-polar to Boot! Perfect for the 'Most LIkely to Assassinate a Politician' category.
Dryfus and Schultz
Submitted by iveseenitall on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:44pm.
Both of these fellows so clearly evince the "liberal" mentality. It doesn't matter if you call someone a "dirtbag" because he disagrees with you. It doesn't matter if you wish for his death. It only matters how you say it. Don't yell-- that's "uncivil". Keep your voice down as you call someone a "freakin' loser". And these two are grown men, past their prime. "Immature" and "illogical" just begin to discribe the "mind" of a "liberal". How sad.
P.S. Have you ever had a "heated" argument with a "liberal"? The moment you begin to get the best of them with truth and logic, they yell "calm down, calm down". Don't fall for it. It's just another deception and misdirection from the "liberal" playbook.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal" (progressive)
Like Olbermann showed....
Submitted by The_Pumpcrop on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:27pm.
... All Liboes have to do is use a Thesaurus, or lift from Shakespeare or "wax elegantly", then they can say whatever they wish and it's a "beautifully phrased way of saying something that could be uncivil". It must SOUND intelligent, no matter how moronic it is.
Richard: Farewell and adieu
Submitted by Hoosierboy on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:39pm.
Richard: Farewell and adieu to you, fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu, you ladies of Spain. For we've received orders for to sail back to Boston. And so nevermore shall we see you again.
"Education" or "Insanity"
Submitted by iveseenitall on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 1:06pm.
I think we should establish "liberal" mental institutions around the county. People like Dryfus can go there and "dream". They can talk to each other and discuss their world views while living in an atmosphere which supports their insanity. And they never have to be resposible or accountable for the garbage they spew. In fact, they can praise each other all day long....
Oh, wait. We already have them. They're called "college campuses","Schools of Journalism", "America's newsrooms".
P.S. Then again, maybe we should just institutional them and make them face their own insanity. Show them a glass of "yellow water" ( urine) and make them prove their assertion that it's "lemonade" by drinking it.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
So it's OK then
Submitted by Model850 on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:59pm.
So if I say,
Oh Lord, I pray Thee hasten Barack Obama's shuffling off of this mortal coil, that he may sleep, perchance to dream.
That's OK with Richard Doofus?
→ Yes
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 1:02pm.
According to Doofus, it is OK.
Not so sure about the Secret Service, although
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 1:02pm.
"Doofus" might think that was civil and beautiful.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Secret Service
Submitted by Model850 on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 1:15pm.
I considered them before posting but decided since it isn't a "direct" threat I should be OK. ; ^ )
Besides, if Ed can skate on his comments about a former veep. . . .
When they come to take you away
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 1:29pm.
...you can use the "testing boundaries of civility defense".
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Excellent example, Model....
Submitted by Jer on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 1:16pm.
Dreyfus' labored and ludicrous effort to rationalize Schultz' asininity was just too painful to watch. I was forced to bail about half way through the clip.
Jer
as for Schultz.
Submitted by Bobbygn on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 1:44pm.
I like the Schultz in "Hogans Heros" much better.
At least he would come out and say " I know nothing."
Speaking of lefty/NBC
Submitted by nicksmith112 on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 1:50pm.
Speaking of lefty/NBC hypocrisy.
NBC is running promos for their prime-time lineup now during the day.
The short "Chuck" clip involves automatic weapons and a literal bloodbath!
Kathy Bates in the "Harry's Law" clip is sitting at a desk waving a gun!!
Hollywood LOVE guns and violence!!!
I'm a refugee from the Democratic Party.
Richard Dreyfuss...
Submitted by PrairieSky on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 3:20pm.
Great actor...Political moron.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction...It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them (our children) to do the same." ~President Ronald Reagan
Woogie???
Submitted by Diesel on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 5:16pm.
NewsBusters is really scraping the bottom of the barrel when they have to trot out Woogie from "There's something about Mary" for a story!
FYI...Richard Dreyfuss didn't play "Woogie"...
Submitted by PrairieSky on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 5:43pm.
Chris Elliot did...Try again.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction...It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them (our children) to do the same." ~President Ronald Reagan
I realize that
Submitted by Diesel on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 5:59pm.
Was just pointing out the startling resemblance between the psychotic character portrayed by Elliot & the communist Dreyfus. Even the voice/speech is similar!
Got it...
Submitted by PrairieSky on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 7:39pm.
I thought you had mistaken the two men...I didn't realize you were being sarcastic/funny.
They do look somewhat alike. But there the resemblance ends...Dreyfuss is, imho, a really terrific actor...He's one of my favorites actually. Politically however, he's pretty much a dunce.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction...It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them (our children) to do the same." ~President Ronald Reagan
I enjoyed reading it. I need
Submitted by Eugene Darin on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 10:46am.
I enjoyed reading it. I need to read more on this topic...I admire time and effort you put in your blog, I often read at my work as a sales assistant at sky lanterne, because it is obviously one great place where I can find lot of useful info.