Barkley: "I was a Republican before they lost their minds."

Barkley will not be remembered as a deep thinker. Mark my words!!!

 

maybe not, quayle on the other hand...

 

"I believe there is an ... extra, letter, missing at the end of that word..."

 

I love the fact that every single person in this article, even the outside source he calls for a comment, is a has-been.

 

The gossip pages of the NY Post? Bats, time for you to hang 'em up

 

Considering the fact that Barkley became a republican in the late 80s when he asked his Mom "Are we Republicans or Democrats?" and his mom replied "Well all the rich people are Republicans," so Charles said "Well then we're Republicans, right?" I don't think this amounts to some kind of conservative stalwart turning coat on his party.

 

Maybe I missed something but why are you leaving at 6,666?

 

apparently because he really hates Page Six?

 

How true....

 

LOL the only thing that's funny is how big of a wad your tighty whities get into as you channel your life's frustrations into a big political huff. Now that is good humor, indeed.

regarding the Buckley quote - you seem to be quite adept at picking any anti-Bush quote out of the web. Nice work brah. I'm sure you had help from one of your Bush hating blogs, but whatevah floats your boat, partner. In a statement of equal importance as that of Buckley's, I hereby declare that if I were 10 feet tall then I'd likely be a great basketball player.

 

Well one thing about Barkeley, he always said: I'm a rich guy, so I am a Republican. Now that is not enough for him to be a Republican. Bigtexx, the self proclaimed "country club Republican" is a guy who hopes to be rich some day and that is all he cares about. BTW I did not see Bigtexx in the thread where Dubya massaged Merkel defending him.

Batman, it must be embarassing even for Bigtexx to have Dubya as his hero.

 

That wasnt the way the conversation went.

 

,,,,"I was a Republican until they lost their minds," he said earlier this month at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada.

"Sir Charles" reinforced that Tuesday while speaking to a convention of public school board members in Destin, Fla.

"What I've said is I'm rich like a Republican. But I'm not one," Barkley said in remarks reported by The Birmingham News.

Barkley said his immediate goal is to get his 17-year-old daughter through high school and into college. Then he plans to decide on his future, including whether to run for governor of his home state.

"I really believe I was put on Earth to do more than play basketball and stockpile money," Barkley said. "I really want to help people improve their lives, and what's left is for me to decide how best to do that."

Alabama's last Democratic governor, Don Siegelman, said Barkley has become a role model for many people and "would make an excellent candidate for high office."

Siegelman noted that Barkley has the personal wealth to stage a strong campaign. "He's definitely going to be taken seriously," Siegelman said.

Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said Barkley was never involved with the state party when he identified himself as a Republican, and she has no idea whether he's serious when talking about a future race for governor as a Democrat.

"To be governor requires more than a publicity stunt. It requires real leadership," she said.

In Barkley's remarks in Destin, he was not complimentary of Alabama's past leadership.

"If it wasn't for Arkansas and Mississippi, we'd be dead last in everything. I think we can do better," he said.

Barkley told the school board members that poor children don't have a level playing field with wealthier students, because the poor children have to cope with more problems like crime, drugs and teen pregnancy. But he also admonished some black parents and their children.

"There are too many black kids and their parents who do not value a good education," he said. "There are places where a black kid who is a good student and tries to speak correctly, you hear stuff like, 'He's trying to be white.' Well, I say, if that's true, we need more kids trying to be white."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2531022

 

Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said Barkley was never involved with the state party when he identified himself as a Republican, and she has no idea whether he's serious when talking about a future race for governor as a Democrat.

"To be governor requires more than a publicity stunt. It requires real leadership," she said.

Yeah, she's right. Charles needs to star in some bad action movies before he would be qualified for governor.

 

In Barkley's remarks in Destin, he was not complimentary of Alabama's past leadership.

"If it wasn't for Arkansas and Mississippi, we'd be dead last in everything. I think we can do better," he said.

LMOA. I hope he runs and wins, then runs again and wins, then ...

Dude knows how to make a quote.

 

I don't know if he'd make a good governor, but I would love to see that campaign. Not for the entertainment value, but for the fact that Barkley's willing to talk very openly and honestly about serious issues that other candidates dodge or pretend don't exist. I think it would be a fantastic and refreshing campaign.

 

Politics To Geno, Barkley Holds Court
August 3, 2006
By JEFF GOLDBERG, Courant Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD -- He might have been "The Round Mound of Rebound," but Charles Barkley has no time for a Twinkie.

Actually Barkley, elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, has no time for Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, the head of the Alabama Republican Party.


Last week, Cavanaugh called Barkley's stated intention to run for governor in 2010 a publicity stunt. But judging by Barkley's performance before an audience of about 200 at the Hall of Fame Wednesday - albeit many of them too young to vote - the former NBA star has some serious political game.

"The Republicans are terrible and the Democrats aren't much better," Barkley told the gathering before signing copies of his latest book, "Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man?"

"I think I would be a great governor."

Barkley, 43, will be inducted into the Hall next month along with UConn women's coach Geno Auriemma, Big East founder Dave Gavitt, former NBA stars Dominique Wilkins and Joe Dumars and Italian national team coach Sandro Gamba.

His appearance Wednesday was Barkley's first at the Hall, and in the space of 45 minutes, the ever-loquacious Barkley touched on subjects ranging from a desire to visit China, to playing on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team to growing up in Leeds, Ala., without a father.

In between, Barkley outlined his political agenda.

"My platform is very simple: I'm going to improve public school systems and make neighborhoods safe," Barkley said. "Politicians do a great job of making you argue about things that aren't important. They want you to argue about the war in Iraq, about gay marriage and immigration. I'm against the war, but I support the troops. If gay people want to get married, that's none of my business. Immigrants are great people, working their behinds off.

"But really, America is divided by economics. It's the rich against the poor. And the gap is widening. We've got to find a way to uplift poor people. It shouldn't be the haves vs. the have-nots. My No. 1 agenda is trying to band together the poor people, especially the black people. We have to take better care of our neighborhoods, we have to stop killing each other, we have to stop having babies we can't afford and we have to strengthen education. That's what we have to do."
...
And there was plenty of the trademark Barkley humor, especially in tweaking Cavanaugh.

Barkley announced last month that he had switched political parties to the Democrats - "I was a Republican until they lost their minds." - which prompted the chairwoman's comments.

"I heard the guy. I think his name was Twinkie," Barkley said. "I normally don't respond to people named Twinkie. I've been talking about being governor for 10 years. ... Trust me, I'm on television all the time. I don't have to do anything to get publicity. Tell Twinkie that."

Barkley's willingness to speak his mind often got him in trouble as an NBA player. But he hopes it will serve him well in a political career, offering an alternative to the current roster of politicians, ones that Barkley calls "sleazy."

"I hear people always say that I'm too honest to go into politics," Barkley said. "If they think that, that should let them know the system is broken. I'm going to try to always be honest. I'm not going to be right all the time. But I think I'm always going to be honest and fair. That's all I can give to anybody."

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-barkley0803.artaug03,0,6667439.story?coll=hc-headlines-sports