I thought it would be fun to compile a list of self-important celebrities who promise to move to Canada/England/Russia etc. when McCain wins the election. If anybody knows of any that I’ve forgotten, drop me an email at celebrity@wmbriggs.com and I’ll add them. Please include a verifiable link. More on this in a moment.
You might recall quite a few actors, actresses and sundry entertainers made similar promises to emigrate when Bush won his second term. Not one of them did what they promised they would do. I even remember getting an email from a pal of mine when Bush was elected stating that “George Bush is not my president!” He didn’t move either.
Problem is, this time I could only find two celebrities who say they’ll move when McCain wins. Just two! I even found one C-lister who promised to shift countries if Obama won (Stephen Baldwin)!
This, and other evidence, leads me to believe that McCain will win this fall. If the celebrity left can’t work up enough moral dudgeon to oppose McCain, then little stands in his way (except the press, of course).
Anyway, here’s the list (last updated 31 August 2008).
| Celebrity | Where | Quote | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Sarandon | Italy or Canada | She says if John McCain gets elected, she will move to Italy or Canada. She adds, “It’s a critical time, but I have faith in the American people.” | link |
| Michael Stipe (REM) | England | Asked what he felt it would mean for America if McCain wins the election, Stipe smiled and said: “Well I’d have to move to England”. | link |
I know Barbra Streisand is unhappy with McCain. But evidently she did not say she would move if he was elected?
These celebrities are making a big assumption: that they could get into Canada legally. Canada accepts immigrants who are young, and provide skills which their officials determine are needed. Acting is probably not on the list, because Canada has a very extensive program of nurturing its own movie industry, and trying to provide work for a big surplus of would-be actors and other entertainment folk.
Admission is strongly age-based. There is a test on the Canadian immigration website which you can take to see whether you would be welcome in Canada. Most people fail.
There is one loophole: if you give Canada about $400,000 as an interest-free loan for five years, you can be admitted as an “investor.” In other words, by demonstrating your willingness to make a very bad investment, you can buy your way in.
I pass the Canadian self-assessment test. But I’ve also got no interest in moving there if McCain wins.
Now, if Obama wins…. 😉
Seriously though, why does anyone care if celebrities want headlines by claiming that they’ll leave the country if their favorite socialist doesn’t get elected?
Meryl Streep was interviewed recently by Jonathan Ross. She didn’t say she’d move to England though. I like Meril Streep aside from this overt plug for the Democrats. This behaviour doesn’t seem to happen in the UK when it comes to the election. Maybe it’s because people know it would be unwise to show their cards being in the public eye. They would be mocked. I am sure we will see more of this though as the capricious opinions of stars sway public opinion. Some argue this is censorship of freedom of speech but the same people would call for swearing to be removed from our screens and not see this contradiction.
Briggs:
I love your table with headings of celebrity and country promised to move to. A colourful graph of petulence must surely follow in the fullness of time!
Joy,
I was somewhat taken aback that I could only find two promises. Before I started, I was sure I’d have at least a dozen.
If my financial well-being was dependent on being heard and seen trashing Bush, McCain, Republics, etc., I expect I might be tempted to make comments similar to those from Hollywood celebs.
I look at a list of names like that and I am suddenly overtaken by a burning question:
Who are these people? I have never heard of most of them, and don’t care a fig about the rest of them.
Did somebody say “fig”?
Briggs:
Madonna? Oh no, it’s too late, we’ve got her already.
We’ll give you back madonna if you give us back winnie the pooh!
Briggs:
This is a great idea. As the list grows we need develop metrics on how the economy and culture will be affected by the loss of all these talents. That way your readers can quantify the damage they are doing should they vote McCain.
Good Riddance. Someone hold the door open.
Woah. Hold on!
Just because someone says they want to come to England, does that mean we have to accept them? “Good riddance. Someone hold the door open.” Great for you, how about us?
Do I really have to take on those who feel they cannot live in their home country. I’m with Joy on this one – Winnie the Pooh every time. Unless we can have Dolly Parten? It’s been said that she has never sung a bad note – more than most can say.
On second thoughts. Only 2 “celebrities” need publicity so much that they say they will leave America? Sounds a pretty good place …
Alan: Dolly’s great but no deal.
They can have Madonna back, but Winnie the Pooh must be returned UNHARMED, complete with all his band of friends…and we’ll let them have Ken Livingstone as a retainer.
who cares – they’re called ‘actors’ for a reason…
I don’t know who Michael Stipe is but, hey, we have enough parasites of our own. You keep him. And while you are at it, please take that dumb bitch Madonna back
1. Tradesports has Obama 60-40 over McCain (likelihood).
2. Polls have Obama 2-3 points ahead of McCain.
3. President Bush has a miserable approval rating (and before you mention the Congress, realize that many people don’t know which party controls Congress…)
4. The war may be minorly better than it was 2 years ago. But it’s still a disaster in terms of strategic objective, in terms of what was touted in 2002-3.
Based on all the above (and perhaps 1 integrates all), I think Obama is more likely…although still very close. 60-40 is close in likelihood. People have a tendancy to look at it like a polling number, not realizing that it is more like (barely) marked finesse in bridge.
Using the actors for an inference is silly. Also, the reason there have been frew of these statements is that the public ones were so widely reported as not having been acted on before. Capisce?
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hmm.. i was thinking, as a radical flag-burning liberal US citizen that’s been living in Europe for the last 5 years, maybe some of you people would like to sponsor my exile. I’ll pledge to stay off US soil and refrain from voting as long as i collect a certain sum each month (dollar amount will vary depending on how badly Washington continues to tank your economy)
anyone interested?
..alaska.
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