STREISAND - The gospel according to Streisand

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U.S. News 4/23/01

By Gloria Borger

A diva for Democrats

The gospel according to Streisand–get with it, fellas

Picture this: It's a Saturday in April in Southern California. Barbra "I'm Mad as Hell" Streisand is having a political meeting at her home. Warren and Annette are there, as are producer Norman Lear and other Hollywood libs. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt attends, too. The topic: Barbra's recent essay on the Democrats, "Nice Guys Finish Last."

First comes the diva's dramatic reading of her three-page memo (in which she refers to the "Supreme Coup" at the high court and exhorts Democrats to filibuster future "right wing" nominees, to "rock the boat," and to "talk about Republican pardons" since Clinton's pardons "have no impact on the health and welfare of the American people"). This, it turns out, is the sanitized Streisand. A careful textual analysis reveals that this memo has been edited from an original version, in which Streisand told Democrats they seemed "paralyzed, demoralized, and depressed." Or maybe bewitched, bothered, and bewildered.

But I digress. In addition to the memo, Streisand also lets it be known that she's mad at (a) Georgia Democratic Sen. Zell Miller, who voted for the Bush tax cut, (b) the eight Democrats who voted for John Ashcroft for attorney general, and (c) all Democrats who refused to defend Bill Clinton. She's so mad, in fact, that sources tell me she wants to put together a group of Democrats to buy a cable-TV network so they don't have to watch Republican talking heads. "Everybody told her it was nuts," says one well-informed source. Too bad. Because it's truly an inspired idea–a Coffee Tawk network ŕ la Saturday Night Live. (Today's topic: The Democrats and The Way We Were. Better? Or worse? Discuss amongst yourselves.) Bill O'Reilly, eat your heart out.

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001


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