Posted on 01/26/2006 8:08:23 AM PST by areafiftyone
The latest poll is not good for the Democrats. I am not talking here of the one showing George Bush's approval rating inching up. I'm talking about the recently released Harris Poll showing John Wayne, one of the most popular movie stars of 2005. The one thing he and the Democratic Party have in common is that they are both dead.
Wayne was the quintessential anti-Democrat. Everything he stood for - from support for the Vietnam War to antipathy to the '60s and '70s counterculture - was in consonance with GOP positions. More important, though, his iconic man-on-horseback image has been adopted by virtually the entire Republican Party.
The Harris people tell us that Wayne, tied for third with Harrison Ford, is a particular favorite of men. Tom Hanks (No. 1 two years in a row) is beloved by women, and both Wayne and Hanks are the choice of conservatives. (Liberals chose Johnny Depp).
Wayne personifies the gender gap, the virtually habitual way white men vote Republican. There are many reasons for this - Democratic feminism, affirmative action, etc. - but one of them surely is that the John Wayne-style of the GOP appeals to the cowboy in most men. Even I, Eastern dude that I be, would rather follow the Duke than, say, Johnny Depp. Sorry, my man, but that's the way it is.
Back when I met Wayne, he was a dated, pro-war caricature. It was 1977 and the Duke had somehow been invited to Jimmy Carter's preinaugural gala at the Kennedy Center. When he was through addressing the crowd, he walked right at me, looming as huge and formidable as he seemed on the screen. John Wayne did not play in Westerns. John Wayne was a Western. (Actually, he hated horses and never rode if he could possibly avoid it.)
Since that night, Ronald Reagan has come and gone. Now we have another Wayne in the White House, another rancher who doesn't ranch, a cowboy who doesn't ride.
No matter. George Bush shed his family's Eastern ways just as surely as Wayne did his prosaic Iowa upbringing as Marion Morrison, son of Clyde the pharmacist.
You can scan the length and breadth of the Democratic Party and not find any breadth, and no Wayne figure either. None of the Democratic leaders seems to have what it takes to appeal to white male voters. But if you should happen to be in room 241 of the Russell Senate Office Building, you'll find Wayne galore: pictures of John McCain in various Arizona settings. He's a twofer - a military hero and a Westerner. Democrats, beware.
Okay, Bill Clinton won twice and he ain't no cowboy. So it can be done. But in the Harris Poll, Wayne's ahead of Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, George Clooney, Sean Connery and Sandra Bullock. Democrats take note. The Duke is still king.
Originally published on January 25, 2006
I'm just curious, are you a conservative or a liberal?
John Wayne has always been my all-time favorite actor. Always admired his off-screen conservative stance. Now, while the article is directed at Democrats for lacking 'cowboy' values, our current crop of Republicans should also take note. I can't imagine the Duke ignoring the border problem with Mexico, for example. Is his coonskin cap still on display at the Alamo? I haven't been in a few years.
WOW You really don't get it, do you?
Dang your right Dog was the dogs name in Big Jake
No ship according to my April 2005 listing of active Navy ships.
However, there is a USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), named after Admiral McCain, the Senator's father.
Read the article again.
Of course, he is also known for the immortal line "Da wench has a fiery spirit..."
Sam
"John Wayne didn't star in westerns, ..."
People are sick of anti-heroes. We want real heroes!
Olive Carey, who played Mrs. Jorgensen in 'The Searchers' from which your photo is taken (and who's door you show John Wayne as Ethan Edwards standing in at the movie's end) was, of course, wife of Harry Carey, a long time movie star who'd died a few years earlier. Mrs. Carey, in her role, had just ushered others into her house when Wayne paused outside on the porch. His hand over his right arm was a gesture that Harry Carey often affected. It has been said that Mrs. Carey cried when she turned to see Wayne standing in that pose. Carey was a longtime friend as well as mentor to John Wayne.
Harry Carey Jr. (Olive's son) of course was also in the movie; his role being that of her son Brad Jorgensen.
Apologies to all who disagree, but this was the finest Western ever made.
Tubby.....
or not Tubby.....
That is the question!
John Wayne doing Shakespeare!
I will not vote for McCain!!! If that is the choice I am given, I will vote Senate on down to local and skip the Presidential.
At one time when John Wayne was still alive, he seemed passe. People made fun of him as being archaic but really he represented decency and strength. Even before 9-11 I we began watching him with a new kind of respect and we thought, "What was wrong with us when we were young to think this man was so bad. He wasn't." Even Richard Pryor liked John Wayne and wanted to meet him. That's how broad his appeal was in the 70's at the same time people were making fun of him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.