As published at TheBlaze on 12/21/13
By Wayne Allyn Root
Have you heard the joke about the family of duck hunters that took down an entire billion-dollar TV network? It’s no joke. A&E just stepped in duck poop. They made the biggest mistake in the history of Hollywood- they showed us how leftists in Hollywood (and D.C.) really think. And America said, “DUCK YOU!”
That has to make tyrants and control freaks like Obama, Hollywood, and the leftist thought police scared to death.
Something amazing is happening in America. An awakening. More people showed support for the star of “Duck Dynasty” in 24 hours than signed up for Obamacare in its first few months. Which means at this point in time, Americans are starting to come to the conclusion we’d be better off with a duck hunter in the White House than Obama. Heck, we couldn’t possibly do any worse.
In other words, the tables have turned and middle America is waking up from the shock, disarray, intimidation and distractions of the Obama years. It’s amazing to even say it out loud, but middle America, conservatives, and…gulp…Christians are coming out of the closet. A duck hunter has inspired us. And what they are saying out loud is, “We have rights too. We deserve free speech too. We’ve had enough of your oppression and intolerance towards our values and beliefs- and we’re NOT going to take it anymore.”
A&E claims the “indefinite suspension” (ie firing) of Phil Robertson is about “branding.” What they are insinuating is they couldn’t possibly allow a close-minded, Neanderthal gay basher to remain as the face of their billion dollar brand.
Well guess what? The new brand for A&E is “the Christian-hating, Bible-bashing, intolerant TV network.” Funny enough, they would have been better off with the gay bashing brand. Because the brand of intolerance towards Christians in a nation still dominated by Christians who actually believe in God, guns and the Bible, A&E no longer has a viable brand. In other words the tables have turned and A&E is “DUCKED.”
Let me first explain my background. I’m a lifelong Republican conservative. My heroes are Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater. I’m a leading conservative commentator and bestselling conservative author of “The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide.” Yet I’ve always differed from my fellow conservatives on one issue- gay rights. Like my hero Barry Goldwater, I have no problem with gays. Goldwater is the father of the modern day conservative movement, yet he too was pro gay rights. He once said of gays in the military, “I don’t care if they’re straight, I only care if they shoot straight.”
Ronald Reagan was also open-minded towards gays, as a result of a lifetime spent in Hollywood in the acting business. I’ve always been pro gay rights. I believe what people do in their private bedrooms is none of government’s business.
But this isn’t a gay rights issue. The firing of Phil Robertson, star of “Duck Dynasty” is a free speech issue. It’s symbolic of the biased, one-sided way the media and leftist elites treat free speech. People have every right to express opinions considered “progressive” or “politically correct” nowadays. But the same rules don’t apply to salt-of-the-earth, apple-pie, middle Americans who believe in God, country, guns, and yes, the Bible.
You mean Christians and conservatives don’t they have the right to free speech just like Hollywood leftists? Just like Washington DC socialists? You mean Christians or conservatives don’t have the right to express their views in the workplace, without fearing for their jobs?
Phil Robertson only expressed his personal opinions. Those opinions are shared by millions of Christians not only in America, but across the globe. Agree or disagree, he had every right to express that opinion, without losing his job. I may disagree with the exact words he chose, but I stand hand-in-hand with Phil to support his right to say it.
Oh by the way, Phil is a reality TV star. His success and popularity is based on his opinions. A&E fired a reality star for having controversial opinions? Are you kidding me? A&E execs need to visit a psychiatrist’s couch…for a few years!
The Duck Dynasty scandal is about intolerance. But the intolerance is on part of Hollywood and A&E. The star of a reality show is allowed to have opinions. If you don’t like them, you have no right to ban them. That’s intolerance. That’s tyrant’s behavior. That’s McCarthyism. That’s the attitude of police states we find in countries run by tyrants like Stalin, or Fidel Castro, or Huge Chavez, or the old East Germany. Is this what America has become under Obama?
I don’t have to agree with Phil Robertson to stand behind him. I support free speech. If it can happen to Phil, it can happen to anyone of us. I’m a TV and radio personality. I have opinions. I won’t change them, or back down. If you don’t like them, change the channel. That’s called FREEDOM.
Defenders of A&E and Hollywood claim this is about “branding.” They say a private business (like A&E) has the right to decide it’s brand and fire anyone hurting its brand.
That would be true if this was a fair two-way street. I too support private property rights for business owners (like me) to run our businesses anyway we want. Only the CEO should decide who works for his company, not government.
But this is not the way the rules currently work in America. Because if any private business said “I won’t serve a customer because of his race or sexual orientation”- would that decision be allowed by government? So is it okay not to serve a conservative or Christian?
If a businessman, in his own private business, decided to fire any employee that supports gay marriage, would that decision be allowed? If a CEO fired employees because they were atheist, would that decision be allowed? If a CEO fired a woman because she was an outspoken supporter of abortion, would that decision stand?
How about if a CEO concerned about his brand said, “You’re fired because your outspoken support of gay rights is killing my business”- would that decision be allowed?
More specifically, how about a TV network firing the star of a reality TV show because they made remarks in an interview supporting abortion or gay marriage or stem cell research. Would government, courts, or Hollywood accept that decision? Leftists and gay rights organizations would beg government to intervene. And we’d see $100 million class action lawsuits galore.
So it’s a lie to say that private businesses have a right to fire who they want. The law is only used to protect leftist and “progressive” views. This was never about “branding.” It was about the shock and horror when people who drink Obama-Kool-Aid realized that their biggest TV star actually believes in something they don’t. They had to rush to silence him.
Why? Because Obama, Hollywood and the leftists are petrified of free thought. They keep their modern day Tammany Hall going through intimidation. They cannot afford to allow conservative or Christian values to be affirmed by a pop culture celebrity- for fear it might start a trend. It might stir up the masses. It might encourage conservatives to speak out. It might embolden Christians to quote the Bible without fear. Hollywood cannot allow that. Because they know it could get out of hand. Americans might actually be inspired to fight back. Someone might escape the thought-police plantation.
A duck hunter may have just lit the spark that started a revolution. Phil Robertson just went from TV phenomenon to American hero. Americans are now unchained. We are free to speak our minds. Here’s what we have to say to control freak tyrants like Obama the Hollywood elite thought police:
“DUCK YOU!”
