Time Finds Robert Redford in Denial: 'I'm Not a Left-Wing Person'
Time's Ten Questions to Robert Redford drew some silly answers -- like Redford denying he's a lefty.
How helpful or harmful to your career has it been to be known as someone who is passionate about politics?
I am passionate. I am political about my country, about what it is, how strong it is, how strong it remains. [My last film,] Lions for Lambs, got rough treatment, and I think it was because — and I don't want to sound defensive — but I think it was misperceived. I'm not a left-wing person. I'm just a person interested in the sustainability of my country.
So the major political conflicts of our time are between the conservatives and the sustainers? Someone needs to tell Redford that when you favor massive government intervention to "save the planet" and back liberal Democrats for president, that makes you a "left-wing person." Or perhaps he can see that making films seen as left-wing propaganda efforts are box-office bombs, so he's trying to .
Redford's leftism is on display later in the same interview:
You're well known for being an environmentalist. How do you think the Obama Administration is doing on that front?
I've been doing this for almost 40 years, and it's always been tough because of the power of the energy companies. I think the Administration would like to do the right thing, but they're hampered by the extremism of certain elements within Congress.
You can see the fear at being "pigeonholed" in Redford's interview with Jamie Malanowski for Parade magazine, the Sunday newspaper supplement. They talked about his film about the people on trial for Lincoln's assassination:
Mary [Surratt] was tried before a military court. With Guantánamo and other tribunals in the news, the contemporary relevance of the story must have appealed to you.
Obviously, I could see the parallels to the present, and I knew that this could be dangerous for me, because people see me as a liberal and might pigeonhole me and the film as having some partisan point of view. But I don’t feel that the political films I’ve made have been partisan criticisms of the left or right, but criticisms of the political process itself.
I’m not inventing anything [about Mary Surratt’s trial]—I’m just putting a spotlight on it. The other factor for me, having experienced what I’ve experienced in my lifetime, is how could I not see patterns in our history? And one of the biggest patterns I’ve noticed is that whenever there’s chaos, there’s ambiguity, and where there’s ambiguity, there’s fear. And fear gets manipulated.
Robert "Don't Pigeonhole Me" Redford tilts to the left again in the Parade interview extras. How'd Bush do on the environment?
The attempts of the previous administration to do away with all the laws and regulations that were put into place over the last 30 years to protect the people of this country had a devastating effect. They attempted to cynically take out the EPA, to do away with the Bureau of Land Management, to open up everything to gas and oil exploration, which are non-renewable resources. I've been involved with the environment for years, and I always will be. People need to wake up. The climate's changing. Water doesn't reach its destination anymore. We need to realize that this planet is home to all of us. There's not a lot one person can do alone, but I will sleep better at night knowing that I did whatever I could.
Right after this tirade about Bush banning environmental agencies, Redford said there's not enough "moderation" in politics when asked about how Obama is doing:
I think he could do better if some of his advisers weren't from some of the Old School places. So I'm disappointed, but I think he's doing okay, better than anybody else would have. What worries me is that our political system is so degenerated that there's nothing but a war zone. There's no cooperation, there's no moderation, there's no compromise. There is no middle, there's just a demarcation line. Somebody just doesn't see the bigger picture, and we're going to pay.
Another leading indicator of being a left-wing person is being depressed at the Tea Party Republican influx into Washington. See Redford on the depressing current status of the political debate (as opposed to the Hope and Change Inaugural euphoria). On ABC's This Week, Christiane Amanpour asked if he had a dim view of politics:
"It's so dim it's almost black," he said with a laugh. "It's pretty grim right now. I mean I'm so depressed to think that this country, with all of its potential, could reduce itself to games being played with what feels like the dialogue is being done with Stone Age tools. I mean it's really depressing to think that instead of an exchange of ideas between two different ways of thinking, you've just got a war zone."
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Comments
Limbaugh was right when he
Submitted by Van Halen on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 7:37am.
Limbaugh was right when he said Liberals never want you to know they're Liberals. Because everyone inherently understands that Liberalism is a total failure. Now, with Liberalism having had total control of everything for two years, we see that to our horror that this is true. Because of a Liberal President and his Liberal policies, the economy is in shambles, the foreign policy is a disaster, gas/food/clothing prices are skyrocketing, Obamacare - the attempted Socialization of the medical industry - has been declared unconstitutional with over half the states suing to get out, and we're mired in three wars with one of them setting a record death toll. Meanwhile, a fourth, silent war erupts on our Southern border.
Liberalism is a failure everywhere and every time it is tried. No wonder dopey Redford is in terror of being called a Leftist.
If a liberal isn't afraid to
Submitted by Newsbusterbrown on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:44am.
If a liberal isn't afraid to be referred to as such, then he or she probably makes Robert Redford look like Ronald Reagan in comparison.
“There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
'Sort of like what they say about hookers....'
Submitted by Slyrr on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 10:16am.
Limbaugh also said some profundities about liberals who deny their liberalism. During the Kerry campaign, John Kerry went skiing. And his aides and media hangers-on said flat out. 'We did it to show that he's a guy - that he's a 'real' guy.'
Limbaugh very properly called them out and took them to task for the phony, contrived attempt to portray Kerry the cheese-eating, wind-surfing metrosexual gigelo as a 'real guy'. He said, 'It's sort of like what they say about hookers. Everybody knows a hooker when they see one, the only question is the price. If you have to go around and say to everyone, 'I swear to you that I am NOT a whore!', then you're pretty much admitting that you've got a reputation as a whore. Conversely, if you have to go around and say to everybody, 'I swear to you that I'm a REAL guy!', then there must be some question about your 'guy' status!'
Redford's in the same boat here. He knows he's a whore (in this case - a left wing democrat/liberal whore). Nevertheless, he feels the need to go around 'denying' it because the last thing a liberal wants is to have the truth about them articulated.
double post
Submitted by Slyrr on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 10:17am.
double post
double post
Submitted by Slyrr on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 10:18am.
double post
Excuse Me Mr. Reford
Submitted by Bourbeau on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 7:43am.
You are absolutely left-wing; and it wasn't misinterpreted. It was convenient for you before when you could pile on George Bush at every action he took. You were amongst those who refused to give him the courtesy of engaging in political discourse without smearing his name and his family repeatedly. Now you're changing your tune; you're more middle of the road; you just want a better end result for the country. Really? Now you're whining about the tone in the country and it's clear you're casting your concerns at the Tea Party. Before you go there, cast your attention to NBC, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the others for how they have try to insulate this Administration from any criticism by skewing the news and interviews they conduct as well as ignoring important stories they erupt which they feel will damage the Administration. How was their coverage of the Tea Party in the beginning? How about those Afghanistan "Kill Teams"? Yes Mr. Redford, it's a dscouraging world out there and you have done nothing to make it better.
Oh yeah?
Submitted by adamsmith on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 7:51am.
Hitler was a centrist too, right Bob? Another lying elitist liberal without a clue what his own country is even all about...
You call yourself a non-liberal
Submitted by Iron Tigers Vet on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 7:51am.
yet you travel around preaching about "climate change", er um, global warming. DUDE... it's called the seasons.
I know you look like you've been freeze dried, but you really need to wake up and look around. It's old news. Gore is a never was and the myth has been busted. Try a different approach to senility other than brain death by liberalism.
Something wrong with being a left winger?
Submitted by Red Jeep on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:01am.
I always thought so too.
he looks like my ol' granny
Submitted by Paarl on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:05am.
get him some quilting supplies..
Paarl of Rhodesia
redford
Submitted by ladeflippinda on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:07am.
He should go back to making movies about scam artists, outlaws and baseball players.
Being liberal is like being "old"
Submitted by c5then on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:12am.
No one is ever old when asked to describe themselves. Old is always 20 or more years older then they currently are.
It's the same for the liberals. It doesn't matter how far to the left they are in their political views, "liberal" is always way further left than they are,
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
Nice reply!
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 11:13am.
And I mean that as someone that is 20 years away from being old!
I dunno.
Submitted by almostacowboy on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 11:36am.
I describe a person to my wife as "an old guy" and she says, "He's younger than you." :-(
keep in mind, folks....
Submitted by thescoots on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:16am.
in the mind of liberals...there is no ultra left....there is only mainstream (the left) and conservative extremists.....Bob here is mainstream.........................not. They are reprobates....and beyond reason.
so by definition
Submitted by spepper on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:24am.
So by definition, he thinks that what the USA has done and achieved over the previous 234 years is not "sustainable"? Care to define for us, dear Bobby, what you think "sustainable" is? And how to enforce your notion of that? You are certainly "political".....talking in circles thus far.......
Hee, hee
Submitted by HockeyKid on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:33am.
Redford talking moderate is like Obysmal talking fiscal responsibility.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
I think Hollywood is noticing
Submitted by buddyc on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 5:36pm.
I think Hollywood is noticing the lack of customers showing up for their liberal movies and paying money to be brainwashed by the likes of Redford and Damon. It has gotten to the point where at least 30% of conservatives LIKE ME, will NOT go to any movie involving any actor/director or studio who has an outspoken agenda.
So what does Redford do? He comes out with a new movie (the murderer was wrongly convicted by the evil military and political establishment 150 years ago) and he wants conservatives to not boycott him. He thinks we are that stupid.
F you Robert, I have seen you first hand. You are the worst of the worst.
Given the Carnage Inflicted on the World by the Left Wing
Submitted by Comrade Jim on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:32am.
Only the most radical left wing nutcases will admit to being on the left.
Redford
Submitted by dmaley1714 on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 8:52am.
he really isa part of the "no labels" crowd or better the super popular Coffe party. It must be tough to be so ashamed of your thoughts that you have to disguise them.
Looks like a good movie....
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 9:00am.
The other day when I saw the trailer for The Conspirator I thought that it might be a good film to check out. Then I saw it was directed by Robert Redford. No way I will subject myself to his convoluted, twisted message, propaganda.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Think again
Submitted by russedav on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 9:16am.
It's easy to spout and pretend simplistic "left" vs "right" demarcations, but those who take life more seriously are painfully aware that things aren't that simple and there are so many "gray" areas as to make making sense of things very difficult indeed. Sorry guys, but I like Robert Redford and always have and I've found that personal kindness beats the crap out of the overanalytical madness that too often prevents folks like him from seeing their errors. Back before I became a Christian I had an answer for every argument Christians presented, but what I didn't have an answer for was someone actually PERSONALLY invading my world with his kindness, there being no weapon able to beat it.
Ok. I've thought again.
Submitted by almostacowboy on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 11:42am.
And being a Christian too, I say that we would be the second group people like Redford would get rid of after everyone thought of as a "capitalist". I don't believe for a moment in progressive/liberal "kindness". They have shown themselves to be anti-freedom and repressive at every turn.
Taking life seriously
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 12:47pm.
Is throwing around accusations about not taking life seriously as easy as spouting off and pretending that there is a simple demarcation regarding "left" and "right"?
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Redford, for all his
Submitted by bassndude on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 9:31am.
Redford, for all his slithering in that interview, still shows himself as a raving liberal. What is this about the water not getting where it is supposed to be? Only someone in Hollywood could think that way and claim not to be a left wing nut, then bash the right every time a question is raised.
Not a left person, indeed. HA!
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
Maybe Redford is not a fan of Pelosi's beloved Delta Smelt?
Submitted by SickofLibs on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 9:38am.
Little known fact: in the Rockies, water runs UPHILL.
Come On Bobby...
Submitted by bigdaddy on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 9:50am.
....you even had "Roy Hobbs" throwing and batting from the left side of the plate.
Shut up, Bobby.
Submitted by johnsonl on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 9:51am.
Nobody cares what entertainers think. They have no sense of reality.
Not "left wing"?
Submitted by Huapakechi on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 9:57am.
How does an actor, producer, or director survive in hollywierd without belonging to the socialist clique?
From the article:"You're well known for being an environmentalist......"
Scratch that thin veneer of laytex "environmentalist" green and you'll find the baked on communist red underneath.
Redford isn't a liberal....
Submitted by notinstl on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 9:58am.
Redford is a JERK
I'm not a right wing person
Submitted by misterbee241 on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 10:17am.
I'm just a person who wants to see my country maintained as a free republic, not some socialist utopia ala Redford.
Redford really should have retired after The Sting.
All The Presidents Men
Submitted by Utherpend on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 10:48am.
It seems that Redford is more scared of being called Liberal than he is about showing people his true intent in his films. I have friends like Redford, raging leftists who are liberals to thier core but say that name and they actually flinch. But they have no compulsion to labeling others just dont try and label them or their ideals.
If it weren't for the
Submitted by Semus on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 10:55am.
If it weren't for the sacrifices made all these years by the people he disdains so much -the people speaking up now-, he wouldn't have the luxury to be such an illogical dimwit and still survive. Someone has to face reality, and in the back of their minds these idiots -at least some of them- know this that's why double-speak is used.
I agree with him on one thing though, Mr. Redford isn't a liberal, true liberals are for less government, and less government interference. A true liberal believes in the innate goodness of people but also knows we are flawed, and perfection isn't possible. People like Redford believe people are malleable, they don't understand that what they advocate leads to oppression. This way of thinking falls in line with some of great leaders of the past, Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, and Mussolini. Those that aren't so malleable are eliminated, I called them exponential mass murderers. Good job Robert you ignoramus.
Definitions of words like Liberal, Conservative, Democracies, and Republics have been purposely obfuscated by the very determined and very patient left, with the help of "Useful Idiot" of course.
lol...he's not a leftist socialist....nah...
Submitted by Patriot II on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 11:20am.
ROFLMAO!!!!!!
Why do all liberals deny they
Submitted by liberalsarefunny on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 12:10pm.
Why do all liberals deny they are liberals?
I think we know....
If it looks like a Duck quacks like a Duck and swims like a Duck
Submitted by Boudin on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 12:47pm.
Well,,,,,,,,,,,, it's not us Robert
He's A Piffle
Submitted by rammingspeed on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 1:15pm.
Redford's a mushy lefty, basically weak and pacifistic, speaking out mamby-pamby idealism that he truly believes is just mainstream type of thinking. He's not a Bolshevik etc in spirit, he's foolishly leftist, naive, uninformed - a product of cushy America. He doesn't see that because he's been dogmatized. (Gee, do I have arrogant opinions, or what?)
Mr. Genius insists there is
Submitted by Smartypants on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 1:18pm.
Mr. Genius insists there is no future in our way of life, that we need to make drastic changes. What are those changes exactly? Perhaps we should adopt that old Soviet blueprint for nirvana; that worked out well, didn't it?
Redford is a dictator!
Submitted by CobraMan on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 4:01pm.
"I'm just a person interested in the sustainability of my country."
YOUR country? What country would that be, La-La-land?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Anyone want to know what
Submitted by buddyc on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 5:32pm.
Anyone want to know what Redford is all about do two things:
1. Review is plane travel record for the last 2 years;
2. Go look at the rape and pillage of the environment in and around his Sundance Development in the Wasatch Mountains above Provo Utah.
He is a big believer in two americas, one for people like him and one for the rest of america. He thinks he is above the law.
He is the scum of the earth, regardless of how he potrays himself.