October 28, 2012

"New Orleans fans boo Madonna after she demands they vote for Obama."

Always one to pick up and run with a trend, she changed to: "Seriously, I don't care who you vote for.... Do not take this privilege for granted. Go vote."

Privilege? Hey, lady, this is America. It's not a privilege. It's a right.

65 comments:

Cosmic Conservative said...

When I saw this story, my immediate reaction was "What? People still pay good American money to watch Madonna on stage?"

Wow. Gag me with a spoon...

TWM said...

I, too, am amazed anyone pays to see Madonna anymore. Well, maybe Europeans, but who is America thinks she is anything but a irrelevant washed-up old hag?

Lots I guess.

Still, it's interesting she got so many boos and walk-outs. Considering how I imagine her audience skews politically, I figure it's just another example of the tide turning against the Dems.

great Unknown said...

Professor, she was originally pushing Obama. Coming from that perspective, there are no "rights," only "privileges" granted by the government.
Give her points for consistency.

Auntie Ann said...

She forgets the old adage: If you're not liberal when you're young, you're heartless; if you're not conservative when you get older, you're brainless.

Her audiences have aged into conservatism. She hasn't.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

Let's not judge Madonna on her political acumen, after all she's a singer.

And her music is vacuous and insipid.

Michael K said...

After Madonna's romp with Dennis Rodman, she was old news.

dreams said...

Like Obama, Madonna is willing to lead from behind, so far she has been more successful.

Dante said...

Privilege? Hey, lady, this is America. It's not a privilege. It's a right.

Is it a right, as in guaranteed by the constitution? It's a serious question, as I don't know. I was under the impression states get to decide how they set up how they are run.

Not that I go in for this stuff "Everyone ought to vote," as it assumes people have access to the information that affects them, so they can make a choice that aligns with their desires/morality/etc. I'm not so certain they do.

That, and her comment on Obama, bother me about Madonna. Not to mention the implicit idea that because she is a successful singer, she has some authority on who one ought to vote for, her assumption that the "privilege" of voting is even in ones own interests.

Shouting Thomas said...

Seems like a seriously stupid thing to do when people are paying good money for something called entertainment.

I play in smaller venues and make less money. But, I'm always acutely aware that the audience is there to forget their troubles, have a drink or two and have a good time.

Maybe things are different for Madonna and her audience, but I doubt it.

Original Mike said...

How much did these people pay for the priviledge to be propositioned by Madonna?

BaltoHvar said...

It would seem to me that instead of preaching politics, an "entertainer" of her wealth and stature would do better by choosing a charity to donate to, and challenge her audience to contribute.

Either choose a national cause, or scout local causes, and match the funds collected at the venues. That would be something they'd get some serious mileage out of.

But I dream...

Titus said...

she did a tour date in New Orleans, la? wow. Next you hear her tour will head to Indianapolis. How low grade.

Titus said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dreams said...

"Everyone ought to vote,"

I don't think everyone should vote. Those who are uninformed and don't know who to vote for, which I hear every election, shouldn't vote because they might vote for the candidate who doesn't share their values or their thinking on the current issues. In my example, it would be better to not vote rather than vote for the wrong candidate.

edutcher said...

Madge is way past her sell-by date.

She also forgets the lesson of the Ditzy Twits.

Or thinks it can't happen to her.

PS IIRC, voting as a right doesn't come in until the XIV Amendment.

Titus said...

Maybe if she said David Vitter is da man the crowd would of been more excited.

He is a great senator.

Anonymous said...

Obama is skipping campaign visits to VA and CO Monday so he can head to DC to monitor the storm.
He is keeping stops in FL and OH. Makes me think he knows CO and VA are lost.

Hmmm, I can't believe he actually cares about victims of the storm unless they are prevented from casting ballots. I won't be surprised if they try to extend voting or something along those lines. They will use the storm for advantage if they have to.

Wince said...

Madonna's live audience is predominately heterosexual women (on a "girls night out") and gays.

Regional differences aside, this reaction is interesting demographically.

Anonymous said...

Your driver's license, is, however, a privilege, not a right. (Sorry, just zoned back to high school Driver's Ed for a second.)

Original Mike said...

"Hey, lady, this is America. [Voting is] not a privilege. It's a right."

Yep. On par with free contraceptives.

Clyde said...

Madge forgot that her "vote for Obama" shtick only works in blue states where her ideas are part of the hive-mind.

Shut up and sing...

Cedarford said...

While voting is a right, it is a right that America would be better off with some limits imposed.
Just as felons can't buy guns or vote..
Voting should be limited to US citizens only.
It should not be given to people that reach, say 30 without ever being off welfare...who only vote to get other people's money to pay for Mo' Free Stuff.
Voting should not be allowed for people who are institutionalized with significant mental impairment.

To preserve other Rights, no Right can be absolute.

The right of felons, aliens, and parasites to vote has to be balanced against the right of those with money or property the members of the 1st group wish to vote to take away.

bgates said...

Hey, lady, this is America.

That was no lady, that was Madonna.

bagoh20 said...

The video:

http://youtu.be/EUozTH0bb34

Actually a mixed response, and much of what she said was good stuff about democracy.

KCFleming said...

Madonna don't preach, Bam's in trouble deep
Madonna don't preach, we've been losing sleep
But we made up our mind, because of Benghazi
We're gonna dump your baby, mmm...

Saint Croix said...

This election is going to be a wipeout.

chickelit said...

I am cheered by the audience's response and Madonna's apparent loss of ciccones. Perhaps she can strap some on or get hormone replacement therapy.

Ann Althouse said...

"Is it a right, as in guaranteed by the constitution? It's a serious question, as I don't know. I was under the impression states get to decide how they set up how they are run."

First, not all rights are constitutional rights. There are statutes that set up the right to vote and as long as those exist, we have statutory rights. Many of our favorite rights are statutory. Yes, they can be changed, but so can constitutional rights. It's not easy to take them away.

Second, where there are elections, there are constitutional rights that apply, notably under the equal protection clause.

Third, the Constitution requires that the states conduct some elections, though not necessarily as the way of appointing Electors for the selecting the President. Long ago, however, all the states adopted elections as the method of selecting their electors, and once that is done, the usual set of rights apply.

So, yes, of course, we have voting rights.

Paul said...

Madonna.. AKA Ester.. is a POS has-been.

Pathetic.

Unknown said...

And if todays GOP had their way, it would only be a right for the privliged.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The beauty of "rights", as I've come to understand them, is that they are as fragile as the strength of the commitment upholding them.

Therein my faith Roe will fall.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I think I put my comment in the wrong tread.. I'm having problems with my computer. If I did it was unintentional.

wyo sis said...

Madonna, the perfect storm of irrelevance.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I want to say Roe must fall but if the commitment to keep it is stronger than the commitment to replace it... I say I'm an American first.

Urge others to "keep hope alive".

I'm saying what's coming to mind.

Anonymous said...

And if todays GOP had their way, it would only be a right for the privliged.

10/28/12 8:56 PM

Yes, Ronald, the GOP does not want PA coal miners, proprietors of small businesses, farmers in Iowa and Wisconsin to vote. You know, those fabulously privileged types.

I realize the Dems are much more inclusive. They want illegal aliens, felons, and the dear departed to have their say too.

Chuck66 said...

Several years ago she made an anti-Bush rant.

Fox News (O'Reilly I think) read here quote, but on the TV screen you saw one of her S&M shows. It made her look like an idiot.

Like when Weird Al Yankavich sings pop song lyrics to a polka tune, you realize how stupid the lyrics are.

Chuck66 said...

Bono grew up. Bruch Springsteen still thinks Billy Ayres is a hero. Some billionaires understand things as they get older, some remain dumbasses.

Dante said...

So, yes, of course, we have voting rights.

OK. I suppose I don't know the definition of "rights," and though it seems obvious to you, it isn't obvious to me. It seems to me the founders waffled on this point.

Paul said...

"And if todays GOP had their way, it would only be a right for the privliged."

Bad spelling aside I guess you mean those that are privileged to have a photo ID.

Rarefied and exclusive group there.

William said...

Madonna wasn't hip enough to get it. The fans were booing ironically. They're all Obama voters. Anyone with their head so far up their ass as to be at a Madonna concert must also be an Obama voter.....I think it's possible to be a Springsteen fan and a Romney voter, but there's no way a Madonna fan would ever vote for Romney. The equation doesn't balance.

Paul said...

'Voting rights' do not include the felons, dead, insane, illegal alien, twice-voted, etc... who don't have ID.

That is what the ID law is all about. Voter fraud dilutes all rightful votes and turns the elections into frauds.

Yes everyone has the right to vote, but only if you are legally entitled to vote.

Just a few days ago a Democratic congressman's son was caught advising on how to case ILLEGAL votes.

Original Mike said...

"And if todays GOP had their way, it would only be a right for the privliged."

What a maroon.

ricpic said...

Madonna may not be a deep thinker but she is still alive in the way those who clawed their way out of whatever hole they clawed their way out of are still desperately fighting not to fall back in that hole, in her case irrelevance, using whatever comes to hand and doing so long after those born to comfort have settled for comfortably numb.

ricpic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rcommal said...

A vote is a right. A drivers license is a privilege. Please make a note.

Penny said...

New Orleans?

I was busy reading headlines and urls earlier today and I was SURE this happened in Los Angeles?

Wow, is my face Rhettorically Scarlet!



Emil Blatz said...

How much did these fools pay to be insulted by her?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I do not understand how or why anyone would be moved to purchase a Madonna concert ticket.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Madonna was married to Sean Penn, king of the hollywood commie idiots. They should both give up theie wealth and move to North Korea.

Penny said...

Did I forget to say "I don't give a damn"?

Madonna spewing in New Orleans, Los Angeles ... Tara!

Get off the plantation, lady.

McTriumph said...

Madonna has a nice shape for her age, but like most guido chicks that age , I'd do her after her upper lip was waxed and she kept the conversation to a minimum.

Bender said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bender said...

It's not a privilege. It's a right

No, what it is is a great annoyance that even professors of law apparently do not know what a privilege is.

A privilege is, as the word itself indicates, a law (-lege) to which only some people are privy (privi-) to, that is, a right that only certain people possess and enjoy.

Privilege does not mean license, something that is granted by some authority. Rather, privileges are rights, albeit limited in application. If you are within the scope of application, then you may claim it by right.

Voting is not something that is extended to everyone. Rather, only a certain group of persons are permitted to vote, typically, those persons over 18 years who are not guilty of felonies, etc. Thus, being applicable to only some, voting is a privilege.

Driving is a privilege, not in the sense that it something granted to you by the government, but is a privilege in the sense that if you meet certain requirements, you may demand a license as a matter of right. The state cannot arbitrarily deny you a license to drive as if licensing is something that the state has the power to unilaterally grant or withhold. Rather, a license is merely legal proof that the driver is within that group of persons who have a right to drive.

Bender said...

Freedom of travel has long been understood as a fundamental right. And by freedom of travel is not meant merely travel by foot, but include vehicular travel as well.

If driving were wholly dependent upon first obtaining permission from the government -- if the government did not exist, would it be licit for you to drive? Of course you could. Travel, including travel by motor vehicle, is a fundamental right.

Now, for public safety purposes, the state might have compelling interests to prohibit that right to certain persons, and thus issue licenses as proof of being within that other group of persons who have shown they can share the road safely, but underlying that license is still a right.

Alex said...

I thought Madonna had her 15 minutes of fame around 1984.

McTriumph said...

Bender
Take a deep breath and relax, I'm 60 and might need help with Madonna, but we are not going there if her upper lip is not waxed.

I usually don't need help with women, well if they inspire, but Italian women get sasquatch at about their third decade of life. Some love it, most don't, it's like sour mash and water, an acquired taste.

darolo said...

Firstly it's a privilege to have the right to vote so Madonna is right, right! 
Secondly,  it's her show, she can do what she wants. Thirdly, I see the ever too predictable and small-minded ageist insults on here and the delusion that America is somehow superior,  yawn!  So TWM typical comment '....... maybe Europeans , but who is (sic) America thinks she is anything but a (sic) irrelevant washed-up old hag? ' Poor TMW can't even  write grammatically correct English yet  intimates America is somehow too superior to watch Madonna! LMFAO, dream on, so far hundreds of thousands of Americans have watched these shows and know quality when it's there! It amuses me how worked up people get regarding the content of Madonna's shows. She has been wielding fake guns, taking a few clothes off, supporting causes (including Vote Obama) on her bare back since May 31st when the tour started! It's all been widely publicised so why is everyone still whingeing? Why didn't these moaners sell their tickets? Please don't give me the "I thought I was coming to a music concert not a political rally' card. I see no difference in what Madonna does against me being approached and handed a flyer by Romney supporters when I take my family to a Mall to shop. Great show Madonna, you just get better and better!! Seen the rest and  I know who's best !!!!!

sean said...

I believe that the franchise is a privilege, in the Hohfeldian sense. Prof. Althouse seems to be using the words in the less sophisticated schoolyard sense (e.g., "Recess is a privilege, not a right"), whereas Madonna is referring to a more sophisticated schema.

Curious George said...

"Ronald Ward said...
And if todays GOP had their way, it would only be a right for the privliged."

You are entirely correct. I am one. Jeeves, bring me my FREE photo ID, it's time to vote.

Scott M said...

Are we absolutely certain that this was the only thing she said in the entire show that got booed? It's Madonna, after all, and she sucks canal water. Plenty to boo about.

traditionalguy said...

I wonder if Camille Paglia was one of those who booed and walked out? If Madonna/Obama lose Paglia it's all over, including the 1960's baby boomer rebellion.

Robert Cook said...

"Privilege? Hey, lady, this is America. It's not a privilege. It's a right."

I recently saw a George Carlin bit on YouTube where he asserted that we do not have "rights," but only "temporary privileges."

Rights and privileges

(Skip to 4:24 on the video.)

Robert Cook said...

"...it's interesting she got so many boos and walk-outs. Considering how I imagine her audience skews politically...."

Do you think Madonna's audience is political? Hoo-hah!

They're just pop music fans!

Robert Cook said...

"She forgets the old adage: If you're not liberal when you're young, you're heartless; if you're not conservative when you get older, you're brainless."

Just because something is an old adage doesn't mean it's true. It's easily read as the mealy-mouthed apologia of an old sell-out who was a firebrand liberal in his youth but a compromised establishmentarian in his oldth.