GMA Promotes Liberal Redford: ‘Hollywood Legend Saves the Planet’

Photo of Scott Whitlock.
By Scott Whitlock | May 2, 2007 - 12:35 ET

On Wednesday’s "Good Morning America," weatherman Sam Champion, once again, touted a celebrity’s support of liberal environmental policies. In a brief segment discussing actor Robert Redford’s new TV series, the ABC host attempted to portray the activism of the famously liberal celebrity as something new.

An onscreen graphic hyperbolically asserted, "Redford Goes Green: Hollywood Legend Saves The Planet" and Champion said of the actor, "But now, he’s a pioneer for the environment." Redford goes green? Now, he’s a pioneer for the environment? It’s more than a little disingenuous for the GMA anchor to try and pass Redford’s liberalism as something new.

In 2006, for example, Redford attacked President Bush’s energy policy as a "disaster" and "an insult."

In the segment, which aired at 8:51am on May 2, Champion seemed to indicate that because Redford has starred in films with scenic backgrounds, his commitment to the environment is obvious:

Sam Champion: "From the arid wild west of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,’ to the lush Savannahs in ‘Out of Africa,’ the environment has long been a co-star in many of Robert Redford's films. The big screen clearly shows his personal commitment to the planet and with global warming making headlines, Redford’s finding growing support for his green sentiment."

Robert Redford: "I think a lot of people want to act. I think they want to feel they can have a role to play in their future."

Champion: "Now, In his newest role, Robert Redford is behind the scenes and the environment is taking center stage. It’s a new weekly primetime series, ‘The Green,’ highlighting individuals and solutions to the problems facing our planet."

Redford: "To me, the great, exciting thing about it is that those new ideas will create new innovations and those innovations will lead to new industries, which will lead new jobs, which changes the economy. I think people want to know what, what can be done of a positive nature, particularly what they can do personally."

Champion closed the segment by noting some of the "extreme" solutions that will be offered in Mr. Redford’s new show:

Champion: "So, the show takes on topics and people. Now, among the innovators featured in ‘The Green,’ some of them are extreme, like the guy who runs his car on leftover fried chicken oil and a woman who makes clothes out of soda bottles. She actually does. Uh, I don’t know. It’s a look at what’s new and it’ll always be exciting and what’s new in an eco-friendly world. And you can see ‘The Green’ on Tuesdays on the Sundance Channel."

In the past, Sam Champion has adopted a variety of tactics to promote liberal environmental initiatives. One strategy is to tout celebrities, such as when he highlighted the Oscars going green. On another occasion, he promoted "elite and sexy" stars who support liberal policies.

Other times, the GMA host inserts environmental issues into seemingly innocuous stories. In April, he discussed "green weddings."

Finally, when all else fails, ABC’s weatherman will simply scold viewers for contributing to global warming.

—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.

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Liberals need a cup of STFU

Here's a novel idea.  How about when the DEBATE actually IS over and the PEOPLE have decided what the solution will be if there is actually warming occuring due to are petty existence, THEN we can start making laws and regualtions concerning our planets status.  I am sick and tired of hearing people talk about AGE as if it proven fact with out a PEEP being heard from the other large side of the DEBATE.  Why is it that liberals always seem to have this "I must rescue you from yourself" mentallity?  I think it's a condition that negates institutionalizing of which.  Here we have an entire region of the planet waging war on us, and these pointy headed, do as I say not as I do, HYPOCRITES trying to explain to me that my very existence is somehow killing the planet!  Holy Hellions.. 

Carbon credits...   Morons.  think they can throw money at ANY problem. 

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If I may spiff, a graphic to augment your subject line.

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

MM -- do they--

MM -- do they--have go cups???

Not the STFU mrbill, but he

Not the STFU mrbill, but here's my to- go- cup.

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

Why must Liberals &quot;rescu

Why must Liberals "rescue you"?  Because what they're after is power; what they hate is other people being free like they are.  So they dream up schemes to get people dependent upon them for safety, livelihood, survival, etc. which makes them the rulers and everyone else the serfs. 

They cleverly use things that are difficult to go against without risking being labeled something negative.  Too oppose them is to oppose a clean environment, or to oppose economic equality, or this right or that right.  It's a lot more than mere hypocrisy, it's a diabolical totalitarian power grab.

Well, praising Robert Redfo

Well, praising Robert Redford is much better than praising that other actor. You know, the one that created that annual film festival that results in thousands of people travelling by car and plane to that little town just so they can watch movies. That actor is a very irresponsible person who is encouraging people to unnecessarily...

Nevermind.

I was under the impression th

I was under the impression that Champion was a meteorologist or had some science degree. I just read that he went to college for braodcast news and has zero science credentials. Therefore he is abusing his position and misleading viewers who think he has some sort of expertise and gravitas when in fact he has as much (or little) as Redford.

I don't have a problem with o

I don't have a problem with our finding a ways to eliminate pollution, but this "Global Warming" crap is just deceptive manipulation concocted by environmentalists. It seems that old joke about lawyers can apply to liberals. “How can you tell if a liberal is lying? Answer, when their lips are moving.”  This debate is NOT over. Saying the debate is over is another way of control and manipulation! What a bunch of crap! Even if this “Global Warming” is real, just how much of it is REALLY man made, and how much of it is in the natural cycle of the universe?

 

Forever, I am watching a show

Forever, I am watching a show on Discovery Channel called parrallel universes. It is about the origins of the Universe, the stuff of Cosmologists. What is really telling however is one scientist who sided with "super gravity" was pitted against another group (string theorists). His carreer was almost destroyed. Grad students would not work with him he was ridiculed and marginalized no funding for his projects etc. He stated that physics was very faddish and that there are gurus that everyone follows. It turned out that his theory was correct and the other side adopted his theory and now he is "in" again. But he went through academic hell for over 10 years. It shows one that Science and Scientists can be very close minded. The debate is indeed not over. 

"A mind is a terrible thing." - A comic I forgot the name of.

I find his house interesting.

I find his house interesting.  Nice big tennis court, too bad the picture wasn't clearer on the house itself, nice spread.

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius

Too bad Redford cut down the

Too bad Redford cut down the trees for his tennis court. They could have been used to reduce his CO2 footprint. I wonder how much energy (tree cutting, trucks to haul trees away, trucks to haul materials in, heat to create the asphalt, etc) was used to build this court?

And has Redford yet admitted he made a mistake and appoligized for it?

Champion: &quot;So, the show

Champion: "So, the show takes on topics and people. Now, among the innovators featured in ‘The Green,’ some of them are extreme, like the guy who runs his car on leftover fried chicken oil and a woman who makes clothes out of soda bottles.

  Gee... why is it that all the solutions to GW are sacrifices by the 'common folks'?  I've not seen any report of a celebrity selling their mansion and moving into a small ranch home and taking the bus to work.

  But as a boomer I've seen all this eco-friendly stuff before.  In the late 60's and early 70's there was a large back to the land movement.  The goal was to live in harmony with the earth and be as self-sufficient as possible. Many lived in communes.  I had ten acres with two goats, two donkeys, a bunch of chickens and a half acre garden.  But then, I'm a rural boy to begin with so that was nothing unusual. 

  But I believe a lot of what is driving this current urge to 'go green' is the boomer fantasy of creating a socialist nirvana where everyone willingly shares in the work and rewards while living in total harmony with all of creation.  It is the old Soviet Union combined with the Native American holistic view of nature.  Out of those two influences you can find the roots of most of the special interest groups that bedevil us today.

 Remember &quot; I'd like to

 Remember " I'd like to buy the world a coke and live in harmony" and the old stand by "Kumbayah"  Utopias are forever in the mix.

"A mind is a terrible thing." - A comic I forgot the name of.

has the media ever acknowledg

has the media ever acknowledged their contribution to their own cause?  think of all the resources used by mainstream media to pimp their global warming hoax to the public ... flying equipment and personnel all around the world every day of the year has to add up.

i am also curious as to why there never seems to be any action to force the hands of these hypocrites .... it seems to be getting out of hand.

Damn, a lot of good 'stuff' o

Damn, a lot of good 'stuff' out there today---to busy to contribute though.  :(

I will leave you all with this one little tidbit:  As many of you know, in my short time here have tried to add constructive thought, informative information and share ideas, all the while keeping things on the "up and up" (even when trolls enter the picture), consise and clean.  But I am affraid I am going to digress for a moment---just a little slip---then business as usual.

"Sam Champion is in desperate need of getting his ass kicked!  An old fashioned, behind the woodshed, like your daddy used to give you, ASS WHOOPIN'!"

Ahem, excuse. Sorry about that.  Just slipped out.  I'll watch myself.

Cheers all.

Fuel from left over fried chi

Fuel from left over fried chicken oil, clothes from soda bottles, spare-a-square Sheryl Crow..   damn..  this is really getting sad, folks! 

Everytime gas prices go up th

Everytime gas prices go up they bring out the Fried Chicken car. Problem is there aint enough used oil to go around except for a couple of cars.

"A mind is a terrible thing." - A comic I forgot the name of.

Then eat more chicken and fre

Then eat more chicken and french fries, do your part!!!! 

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius

I'll sum up my view on global

I'll sum up my view on global warming and psuedo-enviromentalism thus:

"Going Green is the new Red."

Since we're talkin Redford mo

Since we're talkin Redford movies here Sam, how about Jeremiah Johnson, where he played someone who was just trying to live free but was "bothered" by people trying to kill him? How did he respond? By killing them before they had a chance to do it!

So, where would Redford or

So, where would Redford or anyone else get if they said this recycle/Polar Bear/global warming thing is a joke?

Not far - a few death threats on the internet maybe, not much else