Another Repub turns- CHARLES BARKLEY

[underpants]

"I'm voting for Barack Obama," he said matter-of-factly. "We are so lost and confused in the black community right now. All our kids want to be rappers or entertainers. We need to let them know they can be intelligent and articulate. It's a bigger picture than him running for president, to be honest with you."


In fact, not only is Barkley in favor of Obama, but there's no way he's voting for a Republican, saying, "There's no way in good conscience you can be a Republican right now. After what Bush and his cronies have done to America, there's no way you can honestly feel good about being a Republican."

Why all the political talk? As has been rumored in the past, Barkley is considering a run for governor of Alabama, a move that he would make without the support of African-American political leaders such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

"I don't believe in them," Barkley said. "They always play the race card, and you can't always play the race card."

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7773422?MSNHPHMA

[damonm]

1. WAY TO GO, Sir Charles!

[saracat]

2. Barkley supported Edwards in 2004.I am not sure he has been a Repug for a long time.

[underpants]

9. Someone posted on another thread that he gave up on the Repubs after Katrina

He supported Edwards? Chuck rocks.

[shayes51]

3. Old news.

He introduced Barack Obama at a rally in Alabama way back in the summer.

[Bluerthanblue]

4. still good news- regardless.

[underpants]

7. Okay I didn't know that

News to me.

and good news for Obama and us in general.

[sidwill]

5. The round mound of rebound speaks

and I am compelled to listen!

Go chuck!

[BeyondGeography]

6. "There's no way in good conscience you can be a Republican right now."

:thumbsup:

[LisaM]

8. He likes Bill Clinton, too - I've heard him on the subject

I wasn't aware he was ever considered a Republican.

[underpants]

12. He used to voice Republican type sentimients

and I think he was going to run for office as a Republican.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Barkley#Politics


Politics
Barkley spoke for many years of his Republican Party affiliation. In 1995, he considered running as a Republican candidate for Alabama's governorship in the 1998 election.<50> However, in 2006, he altered his political stance and stated:

I was a Republican until they lost their minds, "The word 'conservative' means 'discriminatory,' practically. It's a form of political discrimination. What do the Republicans run on? Against gay marriage and for a war that makes no sense. A war that was based on faulty intelligence. That's all they ever talk about. That and immigration. Another discriminatory argument for political gain.<51>

At a July 2006 meeting of the Southern Regional Conference of the National School Boards Association in Destin, Florida, Barkley lent credence to the idea of running for Governor of Alabama, stating:

I'm serious. I've got to get people to realize that the government is full of it. Republicans and Democrats want to argue over stuff that's not important, like gay marriage or the war in Iraq or illegal immigration... When I run - if I run - we're going to talk about real issues like improving our schools, cleaning up our neighborhoods of drugs and crime and making Alabama a better place for all people.<52>

In September 2006, Barkley once again reiterated his desire to run for Governor. He noted, "I can't run until 2014...I have to live there for seven years, so I'm looking for a house there as we speak."<53> In September 2007, during a broadcast on Monday Night Football, Barkley announced that he bought a house in Alabama to satisfy residency requirements for a 2014 campaign for governor. In addition, Barkley declared himself an Independent and not Democratic as previously reported. "The Republicans are full of it," Barkley said, "The Democrats are a little less full of it."<53>

[YOY]

15. He is. He's the kind you can reason with and stomache eating lunch with.

He's not a Ann Coulter/Rushbot/Jesusfreak/Uberpatriot wackjob that make you want to start a mess of jaw dislocations.

[kentuck]

10. Put Sir Charles on the campaign trail !

"After what Bush and his cronies have done to America, there's no way you can honestly feel good about being a Republican."

[MrCoffee]

11. Sir Charles' endorsement might actually sway me on this.

Charles Barkley kicks ass.

[Sticky]

13. He was against the war from day 1

Anyone remember CNN Talkback Live? He was Bobby Batista's guest during the run up to the war and slammed Bush and Chaney....the very next week the show was canceled. There were sane and courageous voices out there trying to be heard - Charles Barkley's was one of them.

[Captain Hilts]

14. He gave up on R's a long time ago. He talks politics with Kornheiser and Wilbon,-who are Dems.

Alonzo Mourning supports Hillary as does Magic Johnson.