Now I did not create the graphic, I found it on Reddit, and so when people started to suggest that the words were not actually those uttered by O'Donnell I was not at first sure if they were correct or not.
Over time the consensus seemed to be that O'Donnell HAD written the words, just not for "The Last Word." Instead he wrote them for the television program "The West Wing."
All of this discussion caught the attention of a certain MSNBC host, who decided to clear the air.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Personally, and this is no slam against Jimmy Smits, when I read the words I imagine them spoken by Lawrence O'Donnell. Somehow THAT seems to make them sound more powerful and more inspirational.
Lawrence's words are strong and inspiring when seen as the written word, and I think that Jimmy Smits said them well in "The West Wing".
ReplyDeleteThis was a great clip and it encourages me to go back and watch this series now.
LD has such a great way with words!
I'm glad the definition of a liberal is going viral and I hope that more people feel comfortable self-identifying as a liberal. It is a badge of honor, not shame.
I saw the clip in Last word. ODonnel is an upstanding man.
ReplyDeleteI have watched O'Donnell since he first appeared on MSNBC. At first, it was rough, and I wasn't sure I liked the show.
ReplyDeleteSince it was MSNBC, basically our leftie outlet, I kept checking in.
WOW!
He's a real liberal, and he makes me proud to say the same. I too hear his words as inspiring, not to degrade the other actor. It's not that.
It is precisely because I can IDENTIFY with O'Donnell, and he's even right there on my TV! Hell of a deal, if you ask me.
I've always made it a point among my Texan conservative friends to call myself a liberal--to de-demonize what they've done to the word.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Lawrence O'Donnell.
BREAKING NEWS!
ReplyDeleteKomen Reverses Position On Planned Parenthood, Pledges To Continue Funding
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/komen-reverses-on-planned-parenthood-pledges-to-continue-funding.php?ref=fpnewsfeed
Thank you, LOD. It's about time that liberals take a bow for the good that has been done by fellow liberals, and those who are unapologetic left wingers. I don't even know what "progressive" really means, but some liberals are trying to re-brand themselves because they allowed the right wingers to characterize them as the devil incarnate. We must stop this and stand up. We need to keep this message out there to remind those who do not understand, what liberals are all about.
ReplyDeleteAlda is portraying a conservative in the clip, but I believe he is a liberal in real life.
ReplyDeleteRe: "Progressive" and "liberal"
ReplyDeleteOne artifact of this is the use of "liberal" for social issues, and "Progressive" for economic ones.
There are many socially liberal people, who are not liberal economically.
"Progressives" tend to self-identify as liberal both economically and socially.
Liberals started:
ReplyDelete-The GI Bill.
-The Federal Student Loan Act.
-Headstart
-The School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.
-Job Corp.
-The Peace Corp.
-The FDIC.
-The FDC
-Welfare Aid.
-The Special Olympics.
-The Federal Student Loan Program.
-Unemployment Insurance.
-The FAA
-The DEA
-Unions
LIBERALS did all this and a lot more, but I am tired of typing.
JFK, and Senator Ted Kennedy had always wore the badge of Liberal proudly, and so have I. I have always been proud to call myself a Liberal.
ReplyDeleteI tell people to SAY IT LOUD, I'M LIBERAL AND PROUD!
I apologetically confess while I was busy living and raising a family I was confused what Liberal and Conservative was all about. I was a Democrat, born and raised so I voted for the "D's". I never worked outside the home so wasn't exposed to these things "around the water cooler". When Rush Limbaugh took over the airwaves our local radio station was hijacked by him. I would hear him in the car when I was picking up kids, going to the store or running errands. He irritated me and would turn off the radio! But I had picked up one of his cute way with words. "Libruls"! It was the way he said it that ruffled my feathers. I assumed being a Democrat he was casting aspersions on me! I tuned him out and hated the sound of his voice. Later, we had "Air America" on a competing station and I started listening to that. When Al Franken left it was renamed The Progressive Station. It was broadcasted out of the same building with Rush. However, when I tried to listen in my house, the signal went down when the sun went down. KOA was now a Clear Chanel station and is all we can receive after the sun sets. I leave my radio on all night (very low) to muffle my husbands loud snoring. I kept hearing Rush's snear of "Libruls" on the other shows too. I still vote Democrat, no matter what our nickname is. Can anyone tell me when the Dems turned to Liberals and why did they do it?
ReplyDeleteI own the entire West Wing series and watch it marathon-style at least once a year - the credits list LOD as 'Jr' so I made the mistake of thinking the ww writer and msnbc commentator were two different people.
ReplyDeleteLove the shows - both of them - and thanks Gryphen for this follow-up post :)
Obama 39%
ReplyDeleteRoseanne 36%
Romney 25%
Total Votes: 93,417
Those performances by Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits are outstanding.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama warns John Boehner and the GOP against any attempts to wreck the economy.
ReplyDelete...President Obama not only sent the message to congressional — specifically House –Republicans not to screw up this recovery, but he also set them up to be the cause of any future tumble that the economy might take. Obama’s point was that he got the economy on the right track again, and if it goes off the rails because Republicans in Congress continue to play their obstruction games, it will be their fault.
President Obama also let it be known that he is about to tolerate John Boehner’s plan to attach Keystone XL to any bill extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. This is what the president was referring to when he said, “no ideological side issues.” Obama was sending a message to Speaker Boehner that he can forget about Keystone XL.
Most importantly, Obama didn’t ask Congress to do anything. He told them what he wanted done. He didn’t request that Congress pass the long term payroll tax and unemployment insurance extensions, he told them to get it done, or else. The American Jobs Act marked the change in Obama’s tone, and his recent series of victories on the payroll tax extension, and SOPA have House Republicans on the run.
The economic recovery is gaining steam, his political fortunes have turned, and the Republican plan to make Barack Obama a one term president looks like it headed for failure.
http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-unemployment-drop
Actually, I don't mind the term progressive all that much, because it gives me a chance to call out the regressives!
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I am still one of the old "Bleeding Heart Liberals" and proud of it!
Too many people get caught up in the party labels. The fact is, whether it was a liberal Republican who freed the slaves, or a liberal Democrat who signed healthcare insurance reform - both were liberal adgendas.
ReplyDeleteConservatives have always stood in the way of progress - and the only thing you can guarantee is that change WILL happen.
In case you all may have missed this:
ReplyDeleteArlington, Virginia
Friday, February 3, 2012
Pres. Obama traveled to Arlington, Virginia where he responded to the employment numbers which showed that unemployment fell to 8.3% in January. He also delivered remarks on the state of the economy and the steps his administration is proposing to increase job growth.
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Pres-Obama-Discusses-Jobs-and-the-Economy/10737427962/
Breaking News: Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at highest level since before '08 crisis
ReplyDeleteI remember a long while ago hearing Lawrence ODonnell speak these words on some show...it might have been Morning Joe. It made a big impression on me, and it was very very powerful ... it was word for word what he had written for The West Wing.
ReplyDeleteAt the time, I didn't realize it was written for the West Wing, I just thought Lawrence was making a statement on the spot. It was way, way better than when Smits said it on the West Wing. I thought he sort of stumbled over the lines, but Lawrence said them with such conviction...so much so that I never forgot it!
I like that Arnold Vinnick, in the clip, tries in vain to note that Abraham Lincoln, the liberal who freed the slaves, was a Republican.
ReplyDeleteThat just points out how far the Republican Party has moved in the last century and a half.
Harry Turtledove points out in his alternate history series that begins with How Few Remain that Lincoln was, by his own words, very much a Socialist.
Thanks for posting this entire story. I do publicly claim the label "liberal" for myself. Even in front of people who spit out the word dripping with distain.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your take on Smits, Gryphen. I don't think he did it justice , and he kind of flubbed a few words, so his acting was off. Lawrence wrote those words, and I prefer to here him say them, only. I have the utmost respect for Lawrence. I think he just keeps getting better. Great insight and his knowledge of how things work up on the Hill are unmatched.
ReplyDeleteLarry is a class act, he always puts things in perspective like no one else can. I'm glad this went viral. Every liberal I know isn't radical, they're concerned with the rights of their fellow citizens, politically inqisitive and willing to walk the walk to get their point across. Can't tell you how many have made calls and written letters and e-mails over this whole Susan Komen/Planned Parenthood issue, and it's getting noticed.
ReplyDeleteI found this in comments over at The Obama Diary.
ReplyDeleteDon't know who wrote it but it's good.
Same vein as Lawrence.
"gn
February 2, 2012 at 10:49 am
Oldie but goodie: “Day in the Life of Joe Republican.”
***********
Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.
All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; his bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn’t think he should loose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.
Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time.
Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republican’s would still be sitting in the dark).
He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home.
He turns on a radio talk show, the host’s keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn’t tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day) Joe agrees, “We don’t need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I’m a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have”."