MovieChat Forums > Right America: Feeling Wronged - Some Voices from the Campaign Trail (2009) Discussion > As a conservative, I am offended

As a conservative, I am offended

posted 15 years ago by TheRealEricSkeems
29 replies | jump to latest

I was flipping through the stations when I came across this documentary. The blurb said something like "Filmmaker Pelosi travels America to meet Conservative Americans". So, I thought it would be an interesting piece on the state of the American conservative. However, what I got was a bunch of drunk, crying rednecks bemoaning the loss of white power. Simply put, this documentary was absolute garbage.

ALERT ALERT - these people are not "conservatives". Conservatives have an actual moral, philosophical, and intellectual compass to which we form our beliefs. These people are soundbyte parrots. They take catch phrases from Rush and attempt to use them in defense of their bigotry, racism, sexism, etc., etc.

Most of these people represented are the fringe of a shattered Republican party. Most of these people interviewed are an embarrassment to our country and species. I do not deny that they are Republicans, but they are not as the blurb described "conservatives". They are the reasons I have left the Republican party.

I would expect nothing less from Pelosi to warp the image of the intellectual movement on the right. It is a struggle to stay out of the looming shadow of these idiots and garbage like this does not help.

But seriously folks, do not be fooled to think that these people are the "American right" or "conservatives".

________________________________________________________________________________
"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"

[–] MrSoloDolo 15 years ago

I agree with you, but I do think this documentary was a good examination as to why exactly so many poor to middle class Americans continue to vote Republican. It is not for reasons like yourself, who truly believe in and appreciate the conservative philosophy. But instead the Republican party has attached to them (by mostly their own-making) a bunch of racist, fear-stricken rednecks who would rather commit suicide then vote for a black candidate, for no other reason than his race.

The best part of the documentary was when John McCain was responding to answers from the crowd. A man started spouting about how angry he was, with really no logic or reason behind any of his visceral language. John McCain just kind of shrugged at his advisors, indicating that these were the type of idiots who he had to deal with on his campaign.

[–] EXPLICITSOUL5 15 years ago

a bunch of racist, fear-stricken rednecks who would rather commit suicide then vote for a black candidate, for no other reason than his race.

Yeah, that's what it came down to. "The country is not ready for a "Black President". It's been over 200 years, how long do you need? And it should not be about what color he or she is, but can the person do the job?

[–] sstar01 15 years ago

Everyone makes such a big deal about whites not wanting to vote for Obama only because he's black. What about all the people that voted for him only because he's black? There's just as many Obama supporters that voted based only on race as there are McCain supporters thats voted based only on race.

& to prove that there are Obama supporters who are as equally ignorant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDlJMtjMMvw

Before the election, I was talking to a friend of mine who is black. He supported Obama & said he could "debate all night about why Obama should be president" So, I asked him where Obama stood on the war, economy, gay marriage, abortion, and so on... He responded to all of those with "I don't know." I finally asked, "So why are you voting for him?" He replied with "He's black."

I know that not all Obama supporters voted for him just because he's black. I also know that not all republicans are as uneducated as the people in this documentary.

[–] EvasiveDream 15 years ago

This election isn't the first time blacks have voted for president. Barack would would have had blacks' vote whether he was white or black simply because he's a democrat. Blacks historically have voted overwhelmingly for democrats, so why make his race an issue now that blacks are voting for him? What about all the white people who voted for McCain ONLY because he's white? Hell, the whites who voted for the past 43 WHITE MALE presidents?

[–] sstar01 15 years ago

you're missing the point completely.

even thought he would have had the blacks' vote whether he's white or black because he is a democrat, there are ones that voted for him ONLY because he's black.

& yes, i'm fully aware that there are some whites that voted for McCain ONLY because he's white.

my point was that BOTH parties have people that are uneducated & ignorant. not just republicans.

[–] EvasiveDream 15 years ago

...and there are women who voted for Hillary ONLY because she has a vagina, people who voted for Bush ONLY because of his faith, etc. Lots of people have lots of reasons for voting for who they do. Same goes for blacks who voted for Barack. This doesn't make them uneducated and ignorant per se, just that they want a minority to FINALLY be able to represent them. They feel they have had the same formula going on for a while now, why not change it and see how it works out?

[–] lil_Nicky-94 15 years ago

It's all teenage girly-girl emotional crap like "he's not wearing a flagpin" or "we don't need a strategy going into Iraq cause WE'RE the good guys!".

That sounds like something off of Legally Blonde. but see, i told you, americans are losing alot of their maturity.

One thing tho, everyone has to realize /- We have a black president. =) SO! anything these people said in the documentary is irrelevant. 100, 50, maybe even 20 years from now, none of these irrational people (filmed in this movie) will exist, their thoughts N everything that came with them will dissipate. N the reason i say this is cus, irrational (i say again), and emotionally immature people like that are bad for american societies, they only teach to hate aliens, outside visitors, and so forth. that speech from the movie 'Bobby' says it all.

Not another brainless “everyone freaks out cus nobody’s older than 30” movie…

[–] sstar01 15 years ago

...but the point that I'm trying to make is that its not JUST the republican party.

I personally don't care if our president is white, black, male, female. I don't want my president to represent me by my race or gender. I want them to represent our country as a whole. So none of that should even be an issue.

[–] bxwxh 15 years ago

There was a blatant disclaimer at the beginning of the documentary that said these were only the views of those interviewed and did not represent ALL conservatives or republicans.

[–] Shiner-2 15 years ago

It was absolute garbage and one of the few people in the mockumentary that actually made any sense was the black man who called out the interviewer for trying to portray his state as being racist while ignoring the fact that racism is alive and well in places such as NY, Chicago, and California.

It was basically one last shot at the Republican Party while the election is still fresh in the mind.

[–] MrSoloDolo 15 years ago

It is no coincidence that all these losers follow the Republican party. I used to be Republican, but the way the GOP acted the last 8 years is ridiculous and borderline insane.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] lil_Nicky-94 15 years ago

i'm looking at this now, i'm not black but i felt hella insulted. they said Barack wasnt a good choice cus he didnt want to wear a pin, or flag sign off the plane, or anything america holds traditional. I have yet to hear a "plausible" reason for why they didnt vote Barack. i wouldve understood if they thought McCain was a better choice / better fit / better qualified, but all i heard was Obama is black, a terrorist, a muslim, aint-american, present day Hitler, you name it.

All i saw was a bunch of racist white folk being interviewed. and i repeat, i have YET to see / hear a "plausible" reason / difference for not voting Obama. they couldnt keep their "personal feelings" about him out of the way. whats even crazier, all these so called adults, were acting like kids. i tell you, America's losing its maturity about things. their not handling ANYTHING in a mature manner no more. and i'm too young to be seeing all this Cot Dammit! lol

“You teach us Ninja?” Ninjutsu, you little dumb-asses.

[–] barellano-1 15 years ago

That's all you saw because that's exactly what Pelosi wanted you to see! The whole point of this thread is that most conservatives are not like this. I'm sure many gave Pelosi legit reasons for voting McCain over Obama, but of course those clips are lying on an editing room floor somewhere, and would never have been included in this "film". This was propaganda, plain and simple.

[–] MrSoloDolo 15 years ago

I'm not saying that this documentary was not biased, but the documentary also showed conservatives who were disgusted that these people attended their rallies. This is also not the first time I have seen this; watching CNN during the election you could see the bigots of American attending Republican rallies.

You can say this documentary is "biased" all you want, but the fact is the Republican party contains many people who choose the right-wing agenda because of their racist, ignorant, and dangerous views of minorities. People like that are pathetic and should be wiped off the face of the earth.

[–] sstar01 15 years ago

Oh, please.

I live in Mississippi & work in a restaurant & have talked to a lot of people about the election. I can't recall one person who said they weren't voting for Obama because of his race. Everyone I talked to had legitimate reasons for not wanting Obama in office.

So, if these uneducated racists that you say are a "big chunk" of the republicans, than why wouldn't I have heard more of that?

[–] RobSac 15 years ago

In all fairness to you, and I thought about this as I was watching it...these are the types of people that actually go to political rallies. I voted for Obama, and supported him all along. But go to a rally? Ehh, the crowds... Most people just don't go to rallies. And in most cases, the people who do tend to be on the extreme end. They live for politics, and, you've got crazies on both ends. But I have to tell you, a lot of those people accusing Obama of being a Muslim, a terrorist sympathizer, even the "anti christ" (LOL), looked a lot like normal, everyday Americans. That's a disturbing fact that can't be ignored, and these people are f'n nuts! But to be fair, that guy who said he wouldn't vote for a "n***er" looked like he spawned from a swamp. He does not represent most conservatives, and certainly not the Republican platform. I just can't believe A. Pelosi didn't get the name of his company on the side of his truck! What a blown opportunity.

[–] steelbreeze676 15 years ago

Any honest American citizen knows there's no such thing as a "conservative" anymore.

[–] loungelizard5000 15 years ago

turnbu23 put it perfectly. THREE TIMES...

[–] spinflux 15 years ago

As a conservative, I am offended

Wow, call Ripley's Believe it or Not! An offended conservative. What else is new under the sun today?

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] resch-3 15 years ago

This movie was more disturbing than offensive, in my opinion.

I pray that Pelosi cherry picked the dumb folks because if these are 'average americans' then I fear for the future of my country. Disagreeing politically is fine, but this goes deeper than that. The truly troubling thing is how rumors and innuendo turn into hardened facts in these people's minds.

[–] spinflux 15 years ago

That's how I felt when I watched "Jesus Camp". I was in awe of how disturbing it was and could only hope this was the minority of Christians in America. Like, the 15% whom unwaveringly supported Dumbya. I mean, I read about silly things like anti-science bigoted zealots, but to see it in action, to see kids idolizing and praying around a cardboard cutout of Bush next to a place called "Devil's Lake", was highly disturbing. It freaked me the freak out, to be honest. If I were impressionable, that scene alone would make me a believer...in the ANTI-CHRIST.

The second time I viewed it, I just thought it was funny.

[–] rogerscorpion 15 years ago

Mr Skeems, I'm thrilled to encounter a conservative who, I'm inferring isn't a Limbaugh fan.
It'd take a true intellectual conservative, such as yourself, to portray them accurately--not a liberal, such as Pelosi or myself.

Carpe Noctem

[–] Movie-Jay 15 years ago

I'm an Independent. I actually would have been a good old-time conservative who believed in equality for all, respect for a balanced budget, and with a streak of libertarianism on social issues and values, since it takes a whole lot of different kinds of folks to make up the tapestry of one amazing country.

Like Jesus Camp, this doc is fascinating in how it shows in particular, those folks who are very emotional about what they believe in. The disturbing thing is when we are confronted with those proud redneck dudes at the trailer park, and the one guy with silver hair and the "Growing Old Disgracefully" t-shirt reveals to us the kind of progress there's been in race relations in America. I'm not kidding. Didn't you get the idea that some of these people weren't old-time racists, they were simply using their backstory as an excuse to not go along?

What does the guy say? "We were taught these values when we were young and so that's how it is and we'll never change". It's like he's not even racist, but simply pointing to an upbringing as if to say, "you see, I get a pass because I'm from that, and stuff my parents said was way worse".

In terms of psychology, that guy was fascinating because it was almost like something out of South Park. It was this close to satire in the sense that he was actually defending his ignorance by arguing for the ignorance that was pumped into him as a kid, like that let's you off the hook.

The flag-pin stuff really irked some people, and all that footage is fascinating too because it's like the easiest way to get simple-minded people on your side and against other people.

What I've really noticed as I begin to shed my youth is that the Republican Party pretends it's the "macho" party all the time, but really a good deal of 'em on the crazy-right are just sentimentalists. It's all teenage girly-girl emotional crap like "he's not wearing a flagpin" or "we don't need a strategy going into Iraq cause WE'RE the good guys!".

The thing that has actually hijacked the Republican Party is sentimentality over every little friggin' thing of non-importance, and putting way too much blind faith into that sentiment without actually questioning or studying things very closely.

[–] MydnightRose 15 years ago

The black guy made some really good points and he was right. She either wants to ignore the racism in her home state or she just can't find it because they hide it well. I remember my father once asking would you rather have the racists be honest with you and keep it out in the open, or have them smile and lie to your face?

http://patienceisavirtureidonothave.blogspot.com/

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] mjk113876 15 years ago

I saw this documentary today and I have to say I did enjoy it. Do I think every republican/conservative is like this? No. I'd be acting like the people on this documentary who were using the N word or wouldn't vote for Obama because he was black. I'm a member of the green party but I did vote for Obama. I'll say this: I do like John McCain. I just thought the better man for the job was Obama.

[–] Moviemaster89 15 years ago

There is no intellectual movement on the right, which is the problem. The more I listen to the american right and the republican party I see that they are exactly like this