Toby Keith comes clean (maybe)

So you think that country mega-star Toby Keith is some GOP slime who’s gonna get carpal tunnel from waving the flag too much? Well, the guy obviously is patriotic but before you call him a conservative war-monger, you might want to check out his recent screed at Amazon about his politics.

It’s worth quoting at length so here’s what he has to say at Amazon in his notes about his latest album:

I get roped into these political arguments, but the truth is I don’t see things right or left, I see them right or wrong. If you put check boxes on the left and right for all the big issues, my list will go back and forth all the way down. But all I have to do is disagree with a hardcore, far left liberal on one thing and they just mark me down with all the boxes on the right. And it’s pretty much the same thing on the other side.

That song says exactly how I feel about myself in the world. I have to deal with other celebrities assuming all my marks are in one column, and all it shows me is that most of those people are very uneducated. For instance, Sean Penn was accepting a humanitarian award from a freedom of speech organization recently and said Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and Toby Keith should be held accountable now that the Iraq war has gone astray. He’s lumping me in with these guys when my song clearly, word for word, indicated my support for the invasion of Afghanistan.

Now the difference between me and Sean Penn is that I’ve talked to 50 generals. I doubt he’s even talked to one. I didn’t support the war in Iraq and still don’t, but I’m sure I know more about it than he does. When he and Clooney get together and say we should go to Africa and stop the genocide, I’ll be the one over there performing for the troops when it happens.

I’m not going to apologize for where I stand. I am who I am, and if that bothers people it’s okay. And if you agree with me, that’s fine, too. I don’t feel like I have anything to prove. Not since 2000, anyway. My first seven years in the business I was fighting all the time to prove myself. But I’ve answered those questions.

So why is he going out of his way to say all of this? Is he scared that he’s gonna lose his fanbase as the Iraqi war is seen for the boondoggle it is by most of America (the way most of the world already saw it)? If not, why did he wait so long to say this? Be that as it may, kudos to him for distancing himself from O’Reily, Hannity and other lying nutjobs who twist the truth for the sake of ratings. Hopefully, Keith isn’t doing the same (again?).

—Jason Gross

9:11 am | Permalink | Comments (4)

Toby didn’t wait this long to say this....he has been saying it all along, since he was first painted as a far right conservative/warmonger. He talked this through on Dan Rather’s interview with him for 60 Minutes (2004?), numerous news articles, Larry King’s interview (2005?) etc. He just commented on it; didn’t make a big deal of it. Now it has been picked up by the media and is being made into a big deal. It just took this long for people to listen!

Comment by Lucyna from Philadelphia — September 5, 2007 @ 3:04 pm

Thank you Lucyna. Toby explained everything from day 1. If people would listen to the man instead of jumping to conclusions it would be alright. He has said the same thing from day 1, he has never changed anything. The Angry American was not about Iraq, so why people keep saying it is is beyond me. The song was written before we went into Afghanastan(sp).

You know if people would watch his biography and see the kind of man he really is, they would be amazed, but unfortunately no matter what good he does everyone is going to remember The Boot in the Ass Song.

I am a Toby Keith Warrior and proud of it. The man has done so many things for others but nobody cares about that, all they care about is the song.

I am proud of what Toby has done, Ally’s House, Salvation Army, St. Jude’s, helping people out after the tornadoes wiped out a lot of towns in Oklahoma, helped rebuild a school and most of all his support of the troops. I support the troops but don’t support the war too.

You Rock Toby, and another thing, Toby isn’t going to lose his fan base, it is getting bigger and bigger as we speak.

Comment by Jean from Wisconsin — September 5, 2007 @ 5:10 pm

I’d bet it would be safe to say that if you asked all the people who bash Toby where Iraq and Afghanistan are located on the globe, they could not tell you. They could not because they are ignorant. They are ignorant about the song because they only hear what they want to hear and they only think of our troops fighting in Iraq, when they are all over the world keeping the peace. Lord knows, someone’s gotta do it and someone’s gotta bring home to them when they are away. Toby does that and more, he never ever let’s me forget why we are free. People should open their hearts. The world is a cruel and horrible place....Toby softens that for me. ~God Bless Toby Keith~

Comment by Lee Ann from Michigan — September 6, 2007 @ 10:35 pm

I think the main reason that everyone thinks “toby” is a right wing nut job, is because of what he said about the “Dixie chicks.”

Those girls had every right to say what they did about “Bush. When he said what he did, about the girls. He offended a lot of americans, that still believe in “FREEDOM OF SPEECH.”

So in hind sight, “Toby” would have been better off keeping his trap shut on that one. If though, he truly isn’t one of the “nut job right”, then I applaud him for speaking up and letting people know.

Comment by T.J.Logan from everywhere — September 26, 2007 @ 1:06 pm

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5 September 2007

Toby Keith comes clean (maybe)

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