Ruffalo: Impeach Bush and Cheney

Few performances have impressed me as much as Mark Ruffalo’s breakthrough turn in Kenneth Lonergan’s 1996 off-Broadway drama “This Is Our Youth.” Having attended junior high with some aimless youth from the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it was eerie how perfectly Lonergan’s dialogue captured them, and how movingly Ruffalo brought it to life. I’m not a frequent theatergoer, but it was easily one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.
Movie stars don’t usually leave me awestruck but true talent does, so I was grateful for the chance to tell this to Ruffalo when I saw him at In Style’s annual Toronto fest party Wednesday night. He’s in town filming the role of a doctor in a city affected by a blinding plague in Fernando Meirelles’ “Blindness” (just picked up for the U.S. by Miramax for around $5 million). He’s also promoting Terry George’s drama “Reservation Road” from Focus Features, and seemed understandably fatigued by the dual duties.
So I asked him what he’d be interested in discussing outside the standard “what drew you to this project” questions. “I wish someone would ask me what I think about Bush and Cheney,” he said.
“We should begin articles of impeachment against them. There’s so much corruption in this administration now and an unprecedented consolidation of power,” he continued. “That kind of concentration of power will corrupt any individual. It’s very dangerous, and whether it’s a Democrat or a Republican in the Oval Office next, this is something we need to do for our children and for their children. Impeachment is not a bad thing. It’s a corrective our forefathers put into the constitution for exactly what’s happening now.”
Ruffalo and I shook hands and parted ways. I turned and saw Paris Hilton sitting in a banquette. When I got home I realized it had been 9/11 that day, and not one of the dozens of people I’d spoken with at the festival brought it up, including me. (Gregg Goldstein)

Comments

[Matt]

Maybe I'm being cynical but it sounds like he's trying to become the next George Clooney.

Seems to be a bit of a tendency in Hollywood for stars to think that they are obligated to get political. I reckon he should just stick to what he's good at and leave the politics to people who really care about it and can pursue it full-time.

[Andrew Y. Wang]

Bush is the worst president in American history. Bush facilitated the 9/11 attacks. Subsequently, Bush lied to Congress and the American people relative to the reasons for invading Iraq. Bush purposefully misled Congress and the American people. Then, Bush murdered more than 4,000 United States service members. And Bush wounded more than 30,000 United States service members. In torturing prisoners of war, Bush patently violated the Geneva Convention. Bush unlawfully wiretapped United States citizens. In using “signing statements” to challenge hundreds of laws passed by Congress, Bush violated the Constitution. Bush has ignored global warming. Bush is guilty of criminal negligence relative to the response to Hurricane Katrina. Bush disobeys our democratic values and Constitution. Bush is a disgrace to the United States.

Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA