Oprah: A Pawn of the Left?

 

Consider the possibility that Oprah Winfrey may actually run for president. There are plenty of reasons why she shouldn’t or wouldn’t, but let me tell you why she might, and why the Right should be concerned. I want to thank Georgi Boorman for her article in The Federalist for inspiring me to explore the following: why we should be worried if Oprah runs for president.

First, Oprah has a huge fan base. They adore her. Unlike Barack Obama, people feel as if they know her, know what kind of person she is, and admire her integrity and directness. I have to admit that I do like and admire Oprah; after all, she overcame huge odds to become one of the most successful people in the world. And she’s likeable and smart, too. Anyway, when people like a celebrity a lot, they will give credence to his or her ideas, and they especially like Oprah because she essentially says to her audience: you can do anything:

The highest honor on earth that you will ever have is the honor of being yourself. And your only job in the world is to figure out, that’s what this movie is about … people think your job is to get up and go and raise money and take care of your family. That’s an obligation that you have, but your only true job as a human being is to discover why you came, why you are here.

Every one of us has an internal guidance, a GPS, an intuition, a heart print, a heartsong that speaks to us. Your only job is to be able to listen and discern when it’s speaking versus when your head and your personality is speaking. And if you follow that, you will be led to the highest good for you. Always.

Now before you start rolling your eyes, remember that people in our culture today want to be reassured, coddled and encouraged. They love the idea that success will come to them, that they just have to want it enough. Unfortunately in offering this advice, Oprah seriously underrates her own abilities to succeed, including discipline, drive and dedication. Those qualities are part of her make-up, and I think she assumes everyone else shares those same qualities and will make the most of them. But she’s wrong.

So Oprah has developed a huge audience that has essentially deified her, that believe she is spiritually deep and knowing. If Oprah says a person can be successful, well, it must be the Truth.

Even now Oprah is showing up in the spotlight more often, although she has left television. I suspect she is testing the waters for a presidential run. Her motivation may actually be to serve “her people”, i.e., fans (like a female Moses who will lead them to the Promised Land), so I think she’s considering the role of president of the United States, even if she says she’s not.

Two developments will be intersecting over the coming months, as Oprah becomes more visible and her ideas become even more mainstream. Slowly people will begin to realize that their personal success isn’t just around the corner, as Oprah has predicted. But rather than question her ideas, they will assume that they have to wish harder for good outcomes. And over the next two years, when they realize their dreams still have not come through, they will look for someone to blame. And it won’t be Oprah, whom they adore. It will be Trump, whom they’ve been conditioned to hate and blame for everything.

Meanwhile, the Left will find a way to persuade Oprah that she has a calling to run for president. Rather than emphasizing power, they will frame the position as an opportunity to serve, to humbly accept this duty to help the country and rescue it from Trump. They will de-emphasize Leftist ideology, and rather than talking in Leftist terms, they will speak in Utopian terms. They will say, yes, the country has become successful and Trump has been able to back laws that have helped people get by. But he hasn’t helped them realize their dreams, the way Oprah would if she were in power. As the population nurses its own greed, narcissism, and apathy, Trump will be further demonized (if that’s possible) and Oprah will be discussed in messianic terms. Her opponents will be reluctant to criticize her because they will be labeled racist. And of course, the mainstream media will be thrilled to have her run.

Once she is in office, the ideologues will work through her, manipulate and control her, and assure her that their Leftist ideas will support her Utopian dreams.

Does this sound crazy? That’s because you are on the Right. But for people who are either on the Left or don’t know what they are, who treasure their materialistic dreams, Oprah fits the bill.

I think we should be worried.

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  1. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Valiuth (View Comment):
    Maybe having the president actually be a loved and unifying figure might be good for us, instead of the president being an object of deep partisan divide. Plus Republicans only seem to be fiscally responsible when a Democrat is in charge so putting Oprah in might mean a slow down in the budget busting spending. Also since Oprah is a businesswoman I think she will have a far more practical understanding of the effects of taxes on a business and investment incentives then any other Democrat. You really have to take her seriously but not literally.

    Emphasis added. ISWYDT.

    OK, 1 vote for Oprah down, 15,999,999 (or whatever is required to win the Electoral College) to go.

    Well think you need about somewhere north of 60,000,000 but they have to be in the right place too. You only need 270 electors though, but I’m not one. Also I don’t think I will vote for Oprah, though I doubt I will vote for Trump. Maybe I will vote again for Evan McMullin in the hopes of something crazy happening.

    Lets be honest here though Oprah wouldn’t be the Democrats worst choice for candidate, in fact she might be one of their better choices.

    My personal bet is and has been since November 9th 2016 that Hillary will run again in 2020 for the Demcoratic nomination and I don’t think her odds of winning it all primary and presidency are nill. That would be pure crazyness but more so than electing Trump? Who knows? God loves irony it seems.

    • #31
  2. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Valiuth (View Comment):
    Lets be honest here though Oprah wouldn’t be the Democrats worst choice for candidate, in fact she might be one of their better choices.

    Good point, @valiuth. Can any of you skeptics of my argument point to anyone better than Oprah? I know they are in a mess, but again, that old messiah argument . . .

    • #32
  3. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Rodin (View Comment):
    The bruising that Oprah would suffer in gaining the nomination coupled with the campaigning skills of an incumbent president make an Oprah win very unlikely.

    My money is on Kamala Harris.  The more she says “No”, the more they’ll want her.

    • #33
  4. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Valiuth (View Comment):
    Maybe I will vote again for Evan McMullin in the hopes of something crazy happening.

    LOL something crazy did happen – Trump won!

    • #34
  5. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Suffice to say, I agree with a lot of the previously stated objections, particularly the one about Oprah’s popularity being dependent on her mostly staying out of politics.

    But another thing I think you’re underestimating, @susanquinn, is the number of people who would feel condescended to if the Democrats nominate a celebrity. I remember feminists’ reaction to Sarah Palin being something along the lines of, “Do they really think we’ll vote for them just because there’s a woman on the ticket?”* I think there’s a non-trivial number of voters in the center who will see the Democrats nominate a celebrity and say, “Do they really think that Trump only won because he’s a celebrity and not because of anything substantial, and all they have to do is put up a celebrity of their own?”


    *Never mind that they tried to use this exact logic in 2016.

    • #35
  6. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    Alternate candidate – Michelle Obama.     The book release is, to me, the tip off.    Book releases in Nov 2018.    She gets to do the big, National book tour.   Months of free publicity galore.    It’ll be a campaign in everything but name.   And…All paid for by the publisher or by others ostensibly interested in the book.  None of those irritating FEC reporting or fundraising regulations.    Then, assuming that she and the book are well received ….

    • #36
  7. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    Susan Quinn: I think we should be worried.

    I could not agree more.

    And she could win. Trump has a woman problem–deserved or not, it’s there. In 2016, it was cancelled out by Bill Clinton’s presence in the race. Remove Bill Clinton and the race changes.

    Oprah has goodwill galore, and she has the advantage that Trump had–name recognition.

    In a debate, if Trump is rude to Oprah, it could hurt him. She has no Benghazi in her background nor a State Department server in her private home bathroom. Like Trump in 2016, she has never served in elected office so there is no record to hold her accountable for.

    She might lose because Trump has been so successful in creating jobs, lowering taxes, reducing the regulatory burden on businesses, and stemming the tide of refugees to Western Europe because of his administration’s effective military strategy in Syria. Certainly in the “It’s the economy, stupid” areas, he would win.

    Unless the Federal Reserve allows inflation to rise, which it could. Then there would be a big problem for Trump in a race with Oprah, who feels everyone’s pain. She would definitely be a force to be reckoned with in the next election.

    • #37
  8. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Umbra Fractus (View Comment):
    I think there’s a non-trivial number of voters in the center who will see the Democrats nominate a celebrity and say, “Do they really think that Trump only won because he’s a celebrity and not because of anything substantial, and all they have to do is put up a celebrity of their own?”

    I think they’ll say it has more to do with how bright, thoughtful, spiritually deep and philanthropic she is. They’ll downplay the celebrity. The top Left behind the scenes don’t care who they get–as long as they can win. To begin with someone that people actually like this time is a step in the right direction!

    • #38
  9. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Ekosj (View Comment):
    Alternate candidate – Michelle Obama. The book release is, to me, the tip off. Book releases in Nov 2018. She gets to do the big, National book tour. Months of free publicity galore. It’ll be a campaign in everything but name. And…All paid for by the publisher or by others ostensibly interested in the book. None of those irritating FEC reporting or fundraising regulations. Then, assuming that she and the book are well received ….

    Oh, wait, wait! Now I see it: Michelle running with Oprah as her running mate!! Good grief.

    • #39
  10. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Ekosj (View Comment):
    Alternate candidate – Michelle Obama. The book release is, to me, the tip off. Book releases in Nov 2018. She gets to do the big, National book tour. Months of free publicity galore. It’ll be a campaign in everything but name. And…All paid for by the publisher or by others ostensibly interested in the book. None of those irritating FEC reporting or fundraising regulations. Then, assuming that she and the book are well received ….

    I’m not so sure.  Michelle wants to live the post-Presidency luxury life now, not get involved in the nitty gritty of power politics.  Neither (IMHO) does Oprah.

    • #40
  11. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    MarciN (View Comment):
    She would definitely be a force to reckon with in the next election.

    What can I say, @marcin: great minds in alignment, aren’t we?

    • #41
  12. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    MarciN (View Comment):
    She would definitely be a force to reckon with in the next election.

    I don’t think so.  She’s a smart woman in the entertainment business, but not politics.  Trump on the other hand, was a high-powered developer in New York City, a place where power politics was part of doing business.  He only got into entertainment after his real estate career effectively ended.  He is a political animal, proven by the fact he’s in the Oval Office.

    Oprah can give away free cars to everyone, and she still wouldn’t win.

    • #42
  13. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Valiuth (View Comment):
    Well think you need about somewhere north of 60,000,000 but they have to be in the right place too.

    @valiuth, “sixty” “sixteen” — they sound so similar (doh)!

    • #43
  14. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    I understand that a major part of Trump’s appeal is that he isn’t from the “politician class.”  But his ability to break through that wall is double-edged for the right.  The left has a much deeper bench of people who seem appealing to the average American voter and who only lack “experience.”  Oprah would be a very strong candidate, as would the likes of George Clooney and Tom Hanks.  It’s all about the ability to communicate today, and the show-biz left can do that.

    • #44
  15. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    Stad (View Comment):

    Valiuth (View Comment):
    Maybe I will vote again for Evan McMullin in the hopes of something crazy happening.

    LOL something crazy did happen – Trump won!

    Good point. I guess the question to ask is what crazy thing will happen in 2020? Which of these three is crazier?

    Trump wins reelection

    Oprah becomes president

    Hillary shows us that third time’s the charm.

     

    • #45
  16. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    Hoyacon (View Comment):
    I understand that a major part of Trump’s appeal is that he isn’t from the “politician class.” But his ability to break through that wall is double-edged for the right. The left has a much deeper bench of people who seem appealing to the average American voter and who only lack “experience.” Oprah would be a very strong candidate, as would the likes of George Clooney and Tom Hanks. It’s all about the ability to communicate today, and the show-biz left can do that.

    I agree completely. George Clooney particularly. He is a politician first, actor second. And he is a nasty person, and when it comes to returning Trump’s fire, he would be just as cutting as Trump. Clooney is not a polite person.

    • #46
  17. Kate Braestrup Member
    Kate Braestrup
    @GrannyDude

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    Quote

    Apart from anything else, what I find…disconcerting? Baffling? About the left’s hopes for Michelle is that here, again, we have someone whose main claim to fame is as Wife Of. I had the same question when it came to Hillary; is she going to be the first female president, or merely a front for the return of her husband? How will we know for sure?

    At least Oprah would have earned her own way…  In a way, it would be interesting to see what she did when presented with a very different and far more serious set of duties and responsibilities.  She’s a smart woman and, unlike (ahem) so many, she hasn’t spent her entire life in Academia. She’s smart, so she sells what sells (e.g. “live your truth” nonsense) but you can bet that the people who work for her are expected to get to work on time and do what the boss says.

    So Oprah…weirdly enough… might not actually be all that bad. She might even prove to be a genuine centrist, one the left will have a hard time rejecting because she checks the identity boxes. If she makes sense, and doesn’t dump on Americans—remembering here that she’s a hit in Flyover Country too, so she knows how to do that—she could actually be a sort of gentler segue from Trump to whoever comes after Trump than we might get otherwise.

    Or not. Just blowing smoke rings and watching them float away…

     

    • #47
  18. Front Seat Cat Member
    Front Seat Cat
    @FrontSeatCat

    It doesn’t sound crazy, and I also admire her accomplishments too.  That doesn’t make her presidential material.  The way you described her and her followers reminded my of the same things that drove Obama to the forefront – and then there’s the first woman president factor.  Michele Obama will be encouraged to run, probably George Clooney for something – but I imagine it’s going to be a different world by then – and another Barack Obama – a good talker with no experience or backbone, won’t be so appealing again.

    • #48
  19. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Kate Braestrup (View Comment):
    So Oprah…weirdly enough… might not actually be all that bad. She might even prove to be a genuine centrist, one the left will have a hard time rejecting because she checks the identity boxes.

    Correct, @katebraestrup. The question could be whether she could fight off the Left which will do its darndest to control her. Then again, she may be smart enough to ignore them.

    • #49
  20. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Kate Braestrup (View Comment):
    So Oprah…weirdly enough… might not actually be all that bad. She might even prove to be a genuine centrist, one the left will have a hard time rejecting because she checks the identity boxes.

    Correct, @katebraestrup. The question could be whether she could fight off the Left which will do its darndest to control her. Then again, she may be smart enough to ignore them.

    What do you mean by control? I think given her background some Brooking’s Institute guy with a power point could convince her of taking a policy position, but is that “control”?

    • #50
  21. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Valiuth (View Comment):
    What do you mean by control? I think given her background some Brooking’s Institute guy with a power point could convince her of taking a policy position, but is that “control”?

    You’re right, @valiuth. That’s not control; that’s persuasion. Since the Left has persuaded many of our citizens of the virtue of their ideas, they shouldn’t have a hard time convincing Oprah. [Don’t you love it when I admit when I’m wrong?  ;-)  ]

    • #51
  22. thelonious Member
    thelonious
    @thelonious

    Stad (View Comment):

    Rodin (View Comment):
    The bruising that Oprah would suffer in gaining the nomination coupled with the campaigning skills of an incumbent president make an Oprah win very unlikely.

    My money is on Kamala Harris. The more she says “No”, the more they’ll want her.

    I think Kamala or Elizebeth Warren are the lynch pin if Oprah runs.  If it looks like the nomination might go to an old white guy like Biden and neither Warren or Harris run I think she’ll feel compelled to run.  Identity politics and all that jazz.

    • #52
  23. Quake Voter Inactive
    Quake Voter
    @QuakeVoter

    We continue to delude ourselves that Trump won the presidency by force of showmanship and celebrity alone.  It’s comforting for many to forget that two years ago this month Trump was pummeling the “greatest field of GOP candidates in history” by maintaining he would deport illegals, slash business taxes, support cops against radical black activists and Christians against attacks from the federal government, revoke “bad trade deals”, and rebuild our great military and use it sparingly (but always to destroy).

    What is Oprah’s set of issues she will base her considerable talents on?   No one thinks a “there is no red American; there is no blue America” approach is going to win the Democratic primary in two years.  (Though it might.)  The Democrats are getting their Corbyn on.  Single payer, gun confiscation, amnesty for all, Head Start for all God’s (or all the gods’) children, and transgendered and racialized everything.

    Does Oprah have the political savvy, tough personal hide (even if expressed by well timed tears), and childless momma-of-the-nation shtick to stake out the center-left of the Democratic party against the Bernie Bros and race fanatics.

    I don’t think she can.

     

     

     

    • #53
  24. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Valiuth (View Comment):
    What do you mean by control? I think given her background some Brooking’s Institute guy with a power point could convince her of taking a policy position, but is that “control”?

    You’re right, @valiuth. That’s not control; that’s persuasion. Since the Left has persuaded many of our citizens of the virtue of their ideas, they shouldn’t have a hard time convincing Oprah. [Don’t you love it when I admit when I’m wrong? ;-) ]

    I think we can safely think that Oprah will be fairly liberal in her policy leanings. But lets be honest here I don’t think the majority of voter really vote on policy per say but rather intangible assessments of competence and affinity.

    All that said I have no way to judge if she will actually run or if the Democrats can credibly draft her. There are so many Democratic politicians all chomping at the bit to run in 2020 I don’t think any of them will encourage her to do it, and I think many of them will discourage the party machine from inviting her to do it.

    Or maybe she runs to primary Trump in the Republican party. That might be the craziest thing of all. No one will expect that.

    • #54
  25. E. Kent Golding Moderator
    E. Kent Golding
    @EKentGolding

    Oprah could win.   And unite America behind things I oppose.   Her worldview makes her naturally leftist.    I do not think she hates America as much as Obama, Warren, or Kamala Harris, but who knows.    The Republicans would be smart to fear her,   and start thinking about how to oppose her.

    My own  opinion is to go all Todd Akin,  Christine O’Donell,  Roy Moore,  etc on them.   Republicans need to register as Democrats and go all in for Hillary Clinton in the Primaries.   Oprah beats Trump, but Trump beats Clinton.  We need Clinton as our 2020 Democratic Presidential Nominee.

     

     

    • #55
  26. E. Kent Golding Moderator
    E. Kent Golding
    @EKentGolding

    thelonious (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Rodin (View Comment):
    The bruising that Oprah would suffer in gaining the nomination coupled with the campaigning skills of an incumbent president make an Oprah win very unlikely.

    My money is on Kamala Harris. The more she says “No”, the more they’ll want her.

    I think Kamala or Elizebeth Warren are the lynch pin if Oprah runs. If it looks like the nomination might go to an old white guy like Biden and neither Warren or Harris run I think she’ll feel compelled to run. Identity politics and all that jazz.

    Warren will run if she thinks she has a 5% shot.  She wants to be President, and she is getting Old.

    Kamala will run if she thinks it will not hurt her chances of eventually being President.   Kamala has time still on her side.

    My bet is they both run.  And Oprah grinds them under her heel like Trump ground the non celebrity Republican candidates under his heel in 2016.

    • #56
  27. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Quake Voter (View Comment):
    What is Oprah’s set of issues she will base her considerable talents on?

    It’s not clear that she will need to stake out issues, @quakevoter. If things are going well, she only needs to lead people to a utopia where we can all sing kumbaya. If she makes issues out of the typical Leftist agenda, she loses. I guess we can hope that’s the direction she takes.

    • #57
  28. Quake Voter Inactive
    Quake Voter
    @QuakeVoter

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Quake Voter (View Comment):
    What is Oprah’s set of issues she will base her considerable talents on?

    It’s not clear that she will need to stake out issues, @quakevoter. If things are going well, she only needs to lead people to a utopia where we can all sing kumbaya. If she makes issues out of the typical Leftist agenda, she loses. I guess we can hope that’s the direction she takes.

    I don’t see how she can kumbaya her way through the Democratic primaries without staking out positions on single payer, police/BLM, taxes on her fellow billionaires, sanctuary cities, open borders, gun confiscation, fracking/coal and the most extreme sex freak posturing.   There might be a sweet spot on these issues somewhere between Clinton 96 and Obama 2008 for the nomination and the general but I just don’t think Oprah can take the heat and hatred from the left.

    The first year of Trump’s presidency has normalized one thing for sure:  we forget that Trump’s victory in 2016 was the biggest and strangest political upset in Western electoral history.

     

    • #58
  29. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Quake Voter (View Comment):
    I don’t see how she can kumbaya her way through the Democratic primaries without staking out positions on single payer, police/BLM, taxes on her fellow billionaires, sanctuary cities, open borders, gun confiscation, fracking/coal and the most extreme sex freak posturing.

    Maybe my memory is very flawed, but I don’t remember Obama taking blatant Left political positions, do you? We know Bernie will do that, and if he runs, that might be a problem, but I don’t see her doing it.

    • #59
  30. CarolJoy Coolidge
    CarolJoy
    @CarolJoy

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Quake Voter (View Comment):
    I don’t see how she can kumbaya her way through the Democratic primaries without staking out positions on single payer, police/BLM, taxes on her fellow billionaires, sanctuary cities, open borders, gun confiscation, fracking/coal and the most extreme sex freak posturing.

    Maybe my memory is very flawed, but I don’t remember Obama taking blatant Left political positions, do you? We know Bernie will do that, and if he runs, that might be a problem, but I don’t see her doing it.

    He ran as whatever it is that a politician is when he states he will reign in Big Banks. Stated that there would be no hope for Big Bankers who didn’t keep promises to the Middle Class. That was the basic premise of  his campaign tour through Wisconsin, October 2008.

    Then Obama  won, and his Administration was a wet dream come true for Goldman Sachs.

    By the time that Geithner and Bernanke were through with the Bailouts, the Obama Administration had re-shaped the American economy such that for every dollar of profit generated in the USA, 48 cents of it now goes off to Big Investment People and Big Bankers. (To offer some perspective, back in the end days  of Carter Administration through the middle portion of Reagan’s two terms, that figure was a mere nine cents out of every dollar of profit going to Big Monied Interests.)

    • #60
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