The Other McCain

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Ali Akbar’s Invitation to Morgan Freeman

Posted on | September 27, 2011 | 17 Comments

He wants him to come to a Tea Party:

Dear Mr. Freeman,
My name is Ali Akbar. I’m a 26 year-old African-American small business owner and a tea party activist. . . .
I idolized you as a boy. Growing up without a father, you were one of the strong black men in my life who gave me a model to follow. Each of the characters you played had dignity and confidence. I tried to emulate the strength you projected. . . .
I’ve attended dozens of tea party events. I’ve helped organize them, and I’ve even spoken at a few. The tea party is not what is often depicted in the news. It is people of all colors who are terribly concerned about the direction that America is heading. We don’t trust big government to make decisions for us. And we fear that the present administration’s spending is going to lead our country down a path to insolvency, much like what Greece is currently facing. . . .
I’m hoping that you’ll come to a tea party in Tennessee — the place of your birth. Really anywhere in the country that works for you; I’ll set it up with the one of the thousands of activists I know around our great country. I’d be delighted to introduce you to good people who will welcome you with open arms, disagree with you, and then feed you some of the best barbeque you’ve ever tasted. . . .

Read the whole thing.

Category: Tea Party

Comments

17 Responses to “Ali Akbar’s Invitation to Morgan Freeman”

  1. serfer62
    September 28th, 2011 @ 3:05 am

    Ali good luck but I think he”ll not come.

    I hope he does though

  2. Joe
    September 28th, 2011 @ 3:25 am

    If he did come, I think Morgan Freeman might actually change his tune.  I think he is a fair man, just wrong on this issue.  Hell, I have prejudged people in the past. 

    It is a good offer.  I am sure Ali would show him a good time (and good BBQ). 

  3. Anonymous
    September 28th, 2011 @ 3:27 am

    I don’t know Mr. Freeman, but I have an idea how he developed his political world view. Far too many people barely pay attention to the news beyond catching a few minutes of ABC/CBS/NBC. If they read a newspaper they glance at the headlines, maybe read a line or two of the first paragraph, scan the editorials and then go to the sports. Most people are too busy living to critically think about political policy and the end result of policies. That is how we got in this fiscal mess. People hear about a problem or a tragedy and their first response is “the government ought to” or there “ought a be a law.” It is a natural reaction. People don’t want to think that bad things can happen and they have (or the government as their representative has) no ability to ensure it won’t happen again. So, to pretend we are addressing these problems we pass laws, and grow government bureaucracy. The likely temporary  problem now has a permanent “solution” with all the associated administrative costs. The mentality of the Tea Party movement is we can read the writing on the wall and the debt is unsustainable. I didn’t become concerned about government spending because a black guy became president. I’ve been concerned for decades. His actions/spending were so outrageous and compounded an already bad situation to the point that regular folks, who don’t normally pay attention, got concerned. We can either start to fix things now or we can become Greece in the very near future.

  4. JeffS
    September 28th, 2011 @ 3:30 am

    I hope that we have more young people like Mr. Akbar; America’s future would be bright and in good hands, should we get through the current problems.

  5. ThePaganTemple
    September 28th, 2011 @ 3:59 am

    I have an invitation for Morgan Freeman too, but I’d probably have to promise to keep it between me and him.

  6. ThomasD
    September 28th, 2011 @ 4:41 am

    Akbar is laboring under the, perhaps, mistaken impression that Freeman was speaking clearly and honestly.  Allow me to offer a synopsis of what Freeman was really trying to communicate.

    “Hellooo Hollywood, please disregard all that silly distraction about me bumping uglies with my step-grand daughter.  And oh by the way,  not to complain but, times are tough, and money is getting kinda tight, what with that horrid Bush economy.  If you could see it in your concerned and deeply caring hearts to throw me, an African American just like our great and noble Dear Leader,  a choice part or two I sure would appreciate it.  After all, we caring and deeply concerned peoples need to sticks together.”

  7. Ed Driscoll » Tea Party Makes Morgan Freeman an Offer He Can’t Accept
    September 28th, 2011 @ 1:52 am

    […] My name is Ali Akbar. I’m a 26 year-old African-American small business owner and a tea party activist. . . . I idolized you as a boy. Growing up without a father, you were one of the strong black men in my life who gave me a model to follow. Each of the characters you played had dignity and confidence. I tried to emulate the strength you projected. . . . […]

  8. Adjoran
    September 28th, 2011 @ 6:15 am

    I suspect Freeman and many other black Americans who are embarrassed by Obama’s performance and sensitive to the sharp criticism of him from white Republicans are just over-compensating, in a form of denial. 

    His most faithful demographics in 2008 were blacks and young adults.  Both are suffering even higher rates of unemployment than the work force as a whole, and are generally negatively impacted by the policies which put further hobbles on growth.  They may continue to believe it isn’t his fault for another 13 months, but it is hard to imagine them showing up in 2008’s record turnout numbers this time around.

    I hope he does attend a rally firsthand, so his view of them aren’t caricatures drawn by their enemies, but I doubt he will.

  9. Joe
    September 28th, 2011 @ 7:21 am

    Of course, the GOP elites are trying to woo Christie.  And if they don’t win his affections, they will move on to Daniels. 

    Why not embrace Cain? 

    Freeman might construe it as raaaaacism, but it is not.  It is a lack of conservative convictions by some in the party.  Unfortunately many of them are leading the party.  The base and the tea party needs to resist this. 

  10. Michael Wiley
    September 28th, 2011 @ 10:47 am

    A very gracious and thoughtful officer, Ali. Would really like for Mr. Freeman take you up on it. My suspicion is that he would be too embarrassed to take you up on it, but who knows. 

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    September 28th, 2011 @ 9:32 am

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  12. rosalie
    September 28th, 2011 @ 2:02 pm

    I doubt if he would attend. Freeman is probably indoctrinated, and at his age, he’s not going to change.  He sounded good with Wallace, but maybe his true feelings were revealed this time.    I would think that at this point it wouldn’t be a concern, but he might be afraid of not getting work.  Eastwood, Willis, Selleck, etc. have gotten away with being registered Republicans so I don’t understand why some do and some don’t. 

  13. Anonymous
    September 28th, 2011 @ 2:34 pm

    Anyone who thinks that Freeman would even consider this offer, or would have his tune changed by attending, is delusional. This man is a liberal with a racial chip on his shoulder, no different than M. Waters, Jackson-Lee, Sharpton, etc. et al. He does not possess the intelligence or humility to be embarrassed, nor the courage to be proven wrong. All liberals are the same: they cannot tolerate facts, freedom, or individuality. This was a gallant effort, but you’d have a better chance getting The Emperor to attend a rally = no chance in hell.

  14. ThePaganTemple
    September 28th, 2011 @ 3:05 pm

    Mainly he would be afraid of offending his fan base, especially among the African American community.

  15. ThePaganTemple
    September 28th, 2011 @ 3:08 pm

    True, the closest he might come to attending a Tea party event would be by walking through one, pretty much the way John Lewis and other members of the CBC “attended” a Tea Party rally. And we saw how that turned out.

  16. Haley's Buttery Biscuit
    September 29th, 2011 @ 2:03 am

    Poor Morgan made a fool of himself this year in the Mississippi Democratic primary for governor (he lives in Charleston, MS).  He backed a wealthy white businessman (actually, his business partner in a couple of ventures in Clarksdale, Mississippi) against a very popular Black mayor from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  Morgan was all over the place trying to boost his white buddy over the black guy, but his white buddy still got creamed.  As a result, Morgan is persona non grata amongst Mississippi’s black politicos.  I sense these latest comments are just an effort on his part to re-build his street cred.  After all, he spent six months trying to “keep that black guy outta” the Mississippi governor’s office.

  17. Garofalo: My New Raaaaacedar Can Tell That The Herman Cain Enthusiasm Is Like, Totally KKKamouflage : The Other McCain
    September 29th, 2011 @ 8:37 pm

    […] should go. He really deserves more than this sad toss-off from Garofalo. Could she perhaps take the Akbar Challenge, and show up at a Tea Party, one wonders? Maybe she could bring Morgan Freeman.Category: […]