Image Credit: CNN
Sean Penn may have a bigger foe than Mr. Hand in the Tea Party, but, still, a rep for the conservative movement is still willing to sit down and share a pizza (or, let’s face it, more likely tea) with the man who was Jeff Spicoli. After the actor appeared on Piers Morgan Tonight Friday and called the Tea Party the “Get the N-Word Out of the White House Party,” the co-founder and national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots released a statement to EW, inviting Penn to meet with members of the movement.
Said Mark Meckler: “I’m fairly certain that Sean Penn has never been to a tea party or met anyone who belongs to a local tea party. I’d be happy to sit down and speak with him if he’s ever interested in really speaking with one of us and learning what we are about instead of just slandering millions of his fellow American citizens with racist hatred. This kind of rhetoric, while protected by the First Amendment, has no place in reasonable discourse in America. Then again, no one has ever accused Sean Penn of ‘reasonable discourse.’”
Oh, Zingbot would be proud! Penn’s rep has yet to respond to EW’s request for comment, so it’s time to hear your thoughts, PopWatchers. Should Penn take them up on their offer, or should he bag any Tea Party meeting?
Read more:
Sean Penn on ‘Piers Morgan’: Tea Party wants to ‘lynch’ Obama
The political discourse in this country would improve if each side actually listened to what the other side has to say.
Exactly
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is he on crack?
are you on crack?
Are you???
1) There are more than 2 sides.
2) There is a such thing as being wrong.
where was the tea party when Bush led us into a war under false pretenses or had our gas prices go up to record levels?
there was no t party then
He shouldn’t meet these jokers. They r trying to go mainstream.
The Tea Party, from what I understand, is against massive spending. Those “two wars” account for less than 1/11 of our debt, and President Obama is on a pace to exceed in four years, by a large margin, the debt GWB ran up in eight.
Bush has been gone for nearly 3 years. You can’t change history. Get over it. Obummer has done thrice the damage.
The tea party didnt exsist when bush was in office…
In 2007 the annual deficit spending was $161 billion which included the two wars. In 2011 the annual deficit spending is $1.3 trillion.
The Tea Party is about stopping this out of control spending. Calling us name or racist is plan silly. It isn’t about hating Obama because he’s black, it isn’t even about hate at all, it’s about not agreeing with his Socialist tax and spend policies. Throwing good money after bad doesn’t solve anything.
If it was about race, why does Herman Cain have so much support from so many in the Tea Party? Stop the name calling and debate the issues.
James, Bush is not the President anymore. Let it go and go see a therapist if you need help doing so. Obambam is the one screwing things up now, but I don’t see you commenting on that..
Agree completely.
Why is that Hank Williams Jr spouts his idiotic statement comparing the current president to Hitler and is called on it (rightly so), and yet when Sean Penn says that an entire party is racist and would like to lynch Obama, no one says a word?
Because what Sean Penn said was true.
Penn is friends with dictators and terrorists. No matter how off the tea party may be, his friends are worse.
I call it hyopcrisy – one side is allowed to say whatever it wants, but the other side isn’t? I’m more middle-of-the-road, so I don’t totally agree with either side, but it’s just wrong to slap such an insulting label on a group made up of millions of people. No matter who you are or what party you belong to.
@DB Do everyone else a favor, Stop trying to think. You obviously don’t have the skill set for it.
Penn speaks the truth and the tea baggers can’t handle the truth. They only know hatred and bigotry.
Actually, I’m a conservative in my political opinions and I don’t hate anyone. I find it disheartening how much horrible bigotry and racism there is in this world, having many friends from different social, racial and religious backgrounds. And yet I can identify with many of the tea party’s points and I do not find them capable of what Sean Penn accuses them of. I’m supporting Herman Cain for the GOP and it’s my understanding that much of his support comes from the tea party.
You are an ignorant idiot. Go back to grade school. The tea party loves Herman Cain and he is black. Since you probably dont like Herman Cain, you are a racist.
I doubt you like Herman Cain who the Tea Party supports so therefore you are a racist. Get over your racism. It is 2011!
If you believe that, then you’re just as batty as Sean Penn.
[The above is in response to Eric, not Pete.]
That’s a ridiculous statement. Does Sean Penn know every single person who follows the ideals of the Tea Party? He can magically determine they are all racists? I am not politically affiliated, but the statement you just made was a$$inine.
How would people know who to vote for if actors didn’t tell them?
You have obviously never been to a tea party gathering either.
@ Cal…I’m afraid that you are grossly misinformed, my friend. I dare you to prove any of the trash that Sean Penn has said about the Tea Party is true. There has not been one documented, proven incident of any Tea Party member at any Tea Party rally being racist or hateful. The racist and hateful one is Sean Penn and those who tout him as some sort of intelligent being….Oh, sorry, that would be YOU.
Will someone please show one piece of actual evidence that the underlying motive of the tea party is racist? They can’t. Yet, our liberal, OWS protesters openly display antisemitic signs and that doesn’t spark any ire from the leftist media. The left’s tactic is to say something over and over again until the useful idiots, who don’t bother examining the facts, start believing the babble.
Because Penn is a alcoholic and everyone in Hollywood and America make excuses for him instead of making him man up. If the Malibu police dept would quit giving him breaks every time he is pulled over and arrest him for DUI and sentence him longer than Lindsay gets maybe he would get some help instead of having all of Hollywood and the public enabling him.
Racists like you and the teabaggers never think they’re racist. You think just because you don’t wear a white hood, you can fly under the radar with your bigotry.
Racists like Tom Strong never have actual evidence for their accusation that the Tea Party people are racist. Quit projecting, Tom.
@Chris any many others, IF you would listen to Hank (not the left media) He did NOT compare Obama to Hitler, he said about Obama and Boehner playing golf “That would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu” GET YOU FACTS STRAIGHT!
And honestly that’s why I find Sarandon’s comments much more offensive that Hank Jr’s.
Sorry, idiot. That’s still the same as comparing Obama to Hitler.
@Tom: No, it’s really not. He was trying to make a point about the extremes, not comparing Obama to Hitler directly. You hear what you want to, instead of what is actually said.
Sarandon’s comment was not untrue. The pope was in the Nazi youth. But it leads to the same point. Both Hank’s and Susan’s comments have been reduced to sound bites intended to rile others (and perhaps that was the intention of both). I’m more offended by Hank’s comment because it belittles the Holocaust. Susan’s is factually accurate.
@Well Every young boy of age was cobscripted to the Hitler Youth.I find it hard to believe that one would consider all German men Nazi. By his age he wasn’t “drafted” until 1941 & then the war was over in ’45.
@Well
And the pope refused to go to the meetings for Hitler Youth.
You moron. He DID NOT compare Obama to Hitler. He made a comparison using two polar opposites from history. The fact that morons such as yourself and the media can’t ascertain the difference speaks volumes about the crappy education in this country.
Hank Williams did respond, today, with an apology. He apologized to the 2 remaining members of the Hitler family for his slur.
Chris,
Keep waiving your ignorance around like a badge of honor. Hank Williams statement was a simile. If you do not understand what that is, try taking an english comp. course.
There is absolutely no need for Penn to listen to morons. Everyone knows what the so called Tea Party people are up to. The “other side” has enough radio and television stations where they broadcast their hatred propaganda. Nazi Goebbels would envy them.
And that’s why things will to continue to be the way they are. You have no right to complain then.
Correct Damon. People who are narrow minded, I find their view less credible. I’m sure other would ,too.
Huh?
So Socialists camped out in NYC sh*tting on police cars are fine with you?
Everyone??? Then what the millions of people in the Tea party? Does this mean that they are not people and in your twisted little fascist world don’t count. Next thing you will want to put them in camps for their own protection.
Acknowledge the fact that Tea Party people have a right to speak out and if anyone (including Penn) wants to make charges then they should be prepared to be challenged or enlightened to the truth. What is wrong with the truth?
Glam you have it wrong, the Nazi youth movement is alive and well under the administration. (The Occupy Wall Street People) Blaming 1% , Just as Hitler Blamed the Jews. Youth twisted by propaganda and now we have has been actors giving their useless voice. Socialism and the progressive life style does not work. Look at History East Germany the former Soviet Union.
Do it Sean. Heal America. Help us END the BiPolar politics. Those of us in the middle are sick of this extremist crap from both sides. Why any minute now they’ll be post on this site calling Penn the greatest patriot this country has ever known, then the next post wil call him a Commie. Neither are true, sick of it. Moderation America….please?
You can see the difference, one side wants to sit down and talk. The other just calls names.
Penn is on his own side. Nobody wants to claim him but everyone sure is in a hurry to say he’s on the opposing team.
Somebody missed my point. I think BOTH sides want to sit down and talk, and BOTH sides want to continue to call names. Extremists are so similar. Except for their politics.
Tea Party, Sean Penn is the best and greatest actor of his generation and a two-time Academy Award winner.
Who the hell are you?
yes and didn’t the Academy award a man who fled America instead of facing child rape charges? (Roman Polanski) is your answer.
^This
Yes…because living in a fantasy world where you get to be someone you are not all the time makes him great…whatever.
I’m sorry that your sources of greatness comes out of hellywood.
Since you like Sean Penn who probably doesn’t like African- American Herman Cain, this means you are a racist. Get over your racist attitude.
After reading some of the comments here and seeing some anti-Semitic signs of the Occupy Wall Street remind me again that the Tea Party is filled with the hate mongers.
There are hate mongers everywhere. Why, some folks hate the Religious Right. I’m just sayin’.
You do realize that the Occupy Wall Street folks are extreme left-wingers, right?
Meckler is from my hometown. It’s incredible to see a local joke being taken seriously by the national media.
Alex, EW’s comment section is hardly the “National Media.” I’m sure the fact that you are the “local joke” will remain local. Don’t worry!
Incredible zinger, the way you turned that around on me like that. You’re like a ninja with a keyboard. Meanwhile, back in reality, Mark Meckler is an embarrassment to his beautiful hometown. How this charisma-free dope attracts anyone to his cause, I’ll never know.
Thanks! You’re quite the label maker too! Just don’t use the word Nazi to describe anyone? Please? It’s the left’s biggest faux pas.
I reserve the right to use the word “Nazi” to describe actual Nazis. And, you know, soup vendors with strict rules.
No soup for you!!!!
Please ask Sean and Susan not to use that word anymore like they would use the word “idiot.” It’s not appropriate and offensive.
Actually, Esox, I’d say that throwing the word “Nazi” around is an equal opportunity faux pas. Left, right, and center, it is seriously over-used. As Alex PK suggested, can we all just agree to save it for ACTUAL Nazis and the Soup Nazi?
Not until someone here defines “actual” Nazi.
I’m sure Wikipedia has a workable definition for our purposes. In any case, I don’t know how this is where the discussion ended up, since I didn’t call anyone a Nazi, I simply pointed out that Tea Party head Mark Meckler is the shame of his hometown. And since I’m typing this from his hometown, as citizens walk by me with heads hung low in Meckler-based shame, I figure I’m well-qualified to do so.
I’d be more comfortable if at the same time you said Meckler was the shame of his hometown that you also said Penn’s comments were unacceptable and he should meet w/Tea Party. Generalizations are never appropriate regardless of who says them and who the are directed at.
And the pope was in the Nazi youth. Susan’s factually accurate – he was a Nazi.
Every Christian German child of that era was in the Nazi Youth. He didn’t go to meetings. If the JDL is on the Pope’s side on this, can’t you be?
I’ve watched the video and at no point does he say everyone in t tea party is racist. Never even comes close to it. He speaks to the agenda of the Tea Party as a whole, but that is not saying that all the members are a certain thing.
Morgan Freeman said practically the same thing Sean Penn did. I didn’t hear the tea party asking Mr. Freeman to “sit down and talk”. True, not all tea partiers are racist, but you can believe all racist belong to the tea party. Mr. Penn need not apologize for speaking the truth.
There are wackos on both sides of the political spectrum. While I love Penn as an actor, he doesn’t know how to discuss his beliefs without using off the charts exagerrated language. I can see where he could think this based on some of the images I’ve seen from Tea Party rallies. But I’ve seen wacky images from the OWS rallies as well. If each side just wants to point to the other’s most extreme examples over and over again to prove a point, then we are doomed as a country and a people.
I really like you Polly. Prepare from the attack on both sides. They’re vile, ugly and VERY opinionated.
@Polly – excellent response. It’s hard to take Penn seriously when he is so outragous. Sometimes I wish these “celebreties” would just stick to the script (yes, I’m talking to you Susan Saranadon!)
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner for best quip! A Pulitzer Prize goes to Peanuts for having the best Quip of the day which included a well positioned zinger aimed Susan Sarandon. A round of applause please. (Everyone gives a standing ovation!)
Saranadon- I did a paper mache model of one of these in elementary school. My fav’rit dinosaur EVER!
There aren’t “millions” of people in the TeaParty. It’s a fringe group. I’d be surprised if a million people identified with the tea party.
@myspoilerzone – There are claims of from a few thousand to 3 million tea party members. I don’t remember a sign up sheet when I went to a rally, so who’s to know…
Sure Sean Penn condemns everyone but himself. Maybe he needs to acknowledge what everyone in Hollywood knows but has kept from the public. That he is an alcoholic and drinks non stop on the movies that he makes even while he is directing. Maybe he could possibly think straight if he got sober. What does he think the reason Robyn didn’t want to be married to him anymore?
I fail to see what his sobriety has to do with his political concerns. Your mention of it is tactless and insensitive and given your criticism of his insensitivities, hypocritical. Stick to the issue at hand. Whatever his opinions are, he’s entitled to them and free to express them without censorship, bombastic though they may be. I agree, that expressing them in that manner may not help further the dialogue, but it is his choice. Unfortunately, we live poised at a critical juncture in our nation’s history. Never before has so much been at stake. People are rightfully frightened. It makes for pitched battle.
SEAN PENN IS RIGHT
No actually he is way left, even farther than Hitler was.
Hitler was not on the left. The Nazi’s were fascists which is from the far right end of the political spectrum.
Yep. Fascism = right. Communism = left. Basically.
Actually, Hitler led the National Socialist German Workers’ Party– he collectivized everything. He was a leftist.
Yeah, the Tea Party is full of racists who hate N-words. That’s why they’re mostly supporting Herman Cain for President right now… what a buncha prejudiced white people. Oh, wait. Herman Cain is black. And his skin color is irrelevant. It’s his POLICY POSITIONS that matter. Gee, what a concept.
Agreed, some of us are for a candidate b’c of what they have to offer. Unlike some that voted b’c of the skin color b’c they didn’t want to look racist. That was more important to some than putting the right person in office. (by the way, I did not support McCain b’c he was/is a RINO=Republican In Name Only, he would have ruined this country too)
Racist if you didn’t vote for Obama.
Racist if you support Cain.
Which is it?
@Lilli, if you are serious, you do not care about issues that candidates differ on. Some of us do not look at color or care about color. We take people at the core of that person. If you are serious, sounds like you are the racist b’c all you see is color. I thought the left preaches tolerance? They are the least tolerable just b’c someone does not agree with them.
Sean Penn is a nutjob. He wouldn’t know how to have conversation about politics, let alone spew incessant garbage like he does. Hey penn, shut your trap and meet with this guy and tell him how you feel.