Colin Powell Slams Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh: "Nothing Wrong With My Value System" (VIDEO)

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell took aim at Sarah Palin and the Republican party's emphasis on small-town values during an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakharia that will air this Sunday.

Powell also says that we should rethink its "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals in the military. And he tells Republicans that they should stop listening to Rush Limbaugh:

"Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?" Powell asked. "Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?"

As noted by Think Progress, Powell says:

Gov. Palin, to some extent, pushed the party more to the right, and I think she had something of a polarizing effect when she talked about how small town values are good. Well, most of us don't live in small towns. And I was raised in the South Bronx, and there's nothing wrong with my value system from the South Bronx.

And when they came to Virginia and said the southern part of Virginia is good and the northern part of Virginia is bad. The only problem with that is there are more votes in the northern part of Virginia than there are in the southern part of Virginia, so that doesn't work.

Watch it:

Comments

[Donnat]

The GOP has been playing to it's basest instincts for years. That's why they love Sarah and Rush. They don't respond to the call to our higher selves; they may not have a higher self.

[kebmo]

i think the same people that listen to limbaugh, hannity, coulter and the rest of those rightwingnuts are the ones that are sending rahm emmanuel death threats. i hope the republican party is proud of the campaign they ran and the damage it has done and is doing to the fabric of this country. i've never been more embarrassed to be an american as i was when i watched those palin rallys and witnessed with my own eyes, the great unwashed that have become the republican party. the racist, redneck, $25,000 a year "republican wannabe's" that wouldn't know a republican value if it bit them on their bulbous nose are so quick to accuse the "left" and the "liberal media" of socialism,­...yet...9 out of 10 of those of whom i speak don't even know what the hell socialism means. let's see...the federal gov't gives wall street $700B to bail 'em out,......­...but that's not socialism?
colin powell got it absolutely right when he "slammed" sarah palin. she is nothing more than an empty headed, rightwingnut, evangelical whackjob, opportunist that was in so far over her head it was frightening. i'd sooner elect tina fey

[mtflyer]

I agree 100%. One of our witty bloggers said Palin has the common sense of a deer tick!

[Trollstakeyourmeds]

Can we make that a moose tick....ju­st for continuity?

[Cogitoe]

Your logic is flawed. There are only two groups who would be sending Emmanuel death threats: (1) those connected to Blagojevich who are pissed he turned him in to the Feds, or (2) fiercely loyal Obama supporters who believe he is actions may lead to a connection with Obama and thus hurt his transition to power. Republicans are just sitting back laughing and enjoying the spectacle.

Just curious...­.who do believe is more empty headed, the governor of Alaska or the governor of Illinios?

[rhondarn62]

News Flash for Kebmo! Not everyone who is a conservative are "radical right wing nuts" who pass out death threats to anyone who disagrees with them....Th­e only reason you and others believe that we are lunatics is because of the garbage you are fed by the media....S­orry, but I have never committed a crime nor threatened anyone's life...I don't condon nor believe in violence..­.The most remote form of law that I have broken is a parking ticket and speeding ticket....­So next time, you make a comment, think about what you are saying....­As I tell my children, never judge a book by its cover....

[buckiirons]

OMG...than­k you for your comments..­..was beginning to think I am the only one out here that thinks that bail out is a socialist tactic and agenda....­good grief! And there are more than a handful of those wannabe's in good ol' Ohio where I used to be proud to be from......­....headed back to California where at least I am free to be who I am and not a sheep.....­..........

[CommonCents]

Thank you.

And, not for nothing, but I just thought of something; During the election I kept a watchful eye on the Alaska blogs and was stunned to see a series of posts about the million ($$$) dollar home that the First Dude's "friends" helped him build! THEN, after Sen. Stevens was convicted for "home renovation" irregularities, I thought for sure David Gregory and the rest of the MSM would grab the 'Palin home renovation' story and run with it!!! And what happened?.­.....Only crickets chirped...­Still chirping to this day.

[Cogitoe]

It is ironic that when Republicans defend small town values from Democrats calling these citizens rednecks clinging to guns and religion they are then accused of indirectly insulting the value systems of people from large towns. Can't we just agree that American values extend to all parts of our great country and stop letting politicians pull us a part just to win votes from their targeted demographics.

[reallybho]

You HAVE got to be KIDDING! Did he not just openly support BHO in the election of one of chicago's finest thug trainees to POTUS? Powell can eat some, who the hell is he to tell us what values we should adhere to? These donkeys have some very large ones when they win. We know what we believe and it is NOT going to change because we do not change values with the wind, they are values that define us. Sarah Palin was the best thing to happen to our party to get the party BACK to it's origins without swaying.

[Jeff1958]

Drink Kool-Aid much?

[doctordoubt]

much much much

[SugarMan]

If she wasn't a race baiter and had some experience, I would have voted for her.

[WestCoastWoman]

Really SugarMan..­.. what about her do you like?

[KarelS]

Really bad example of sarcasm. I suggest you lister to a few Lenny Bruce or Mort Saul albums, listen very carefully, try to get there stchick down, and then get back to us.

[CeeCee]

Mort Sahl -- and I agree with you!

[sheputstheLinPAIN]

I think you need to listen to what he said again. He did not attack anyone's values, and even said there is nothing wrong with having conservative values. He was making a political assessment. When Palin suggested that certain parts of the country have good values, she ticked off people who do not live in those areas, which cost votes. He suggested that these kinds of strategies hurt the Republican party, which they do.

Your claim that Obama is a thug trainee is your own. He is not responsible for it, or to it. That is your fantasy which you will either see play out or not, but if you're bent on seeing things one way, you'll never support things which may be in your own self interest; just like many kept supporting Bush well past his expiration date, because they didn't want to agree with those they perceived to be their enemies.

C'mon, get with it! Don't let your ideologies get the better of you! No one who is about to be president has attacked your values. You can go on living your life just as you want, so long as it's lawful. So can others who are nothing like you. We don't have to hate each other, and hating Obama and calling him names isn't going to help you, him or any of us.

[bigbingtheory]

no reallybho YOU have to be kidding. I'll remind you that Powell is a Republican. Sarah Palin represents the worst of us.

[celticjag]

I can not understand the fascination that most commentators have with Powell. As a matter of public record, while he was stationed in Vietnam, in 1968 he conducted the first investigation into charges of civilian killings at My Lai, which he dismissed as exaggerated. It turned out that women were raped and women, children and old men were massacred, the body count was app. 350 human beings. In 1963 he was involved in an operation that included the burning of villages and the loss of over 100 civilians.
In March of 2003, as SOS, he gave his infamous speech at the U.N., justifying war with Iraq. He claims that he was misled by the C.I.A. and therefore not responsible, but that was and still is b.s.! He chose to ignore Hans Blix of the U.N., who, with his inspectors, conducted over 700 inspections and did not find any WMDs in Iraq. He also ignored the findings of Mohamed ElBaradi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who found no evidence of any atomic weapons program. He is just as complicit as Bush and Cheney in the Iraqi fiasco. Obama doesn't need the baggage that Powell would bring with him!
Any and all of the above statements can be verified online or at any library, I didn't make this up.

[JayJonson]

Thanks for pointing this out. In addition, he was guilty of insubordination to Clinton over the President's attempt to lift the ban on gay men and lesbians serving in the military. And, of course, he is partly responsible for giving us George W. Bush, whom he campaigned for in 2000. I don't understand the romance people have with Powell either.

[hotstuff]

Yes, this is the Powell I truely liked, respected! I'm glad he's back and not listening to Bush/channey anymore! Good for him! He needs to lead the republican party out of the dark ages!

[LeeHInAlexandria]

Powell was never accepted by the Republicans. His true colors have come out in the last month and a half. This is all a ploy about him wanting to be accepted by the media so he can continue on the speech circuit and ride in cushy limousines.

[rasputin999]

What's the point of Powell yelling, "The barns on fore" now? he should have done it years ago. And what would he be saying if McCain had won?
Talk, that's all it is, just talk, Blah-Blah-Blah.

















What's the point of Powell shouting, "The barns on fire" now? he should have done it years ago.
Talk, that's all it is, just-talk, Blah-Blah-Blah.

[rocketgirl11]

it seems like your true colors have cameout ! for my understanding republicans use to love collen powell for his conserative ideas and quiet disposition , now all of sudden he's not accepted as a republican. and as for him wanting to be seen in the public eye he could have ranned for the presidency 8 years ago but he declined. the fact is you have a problem with him supporting barrack obama. Hump !>>> I wonder why?

[iswideopen]

rocketgirl11:
General Powell was asked twice to run for president at the top of the republican ticket. What happened was when he first began to consider it, he started receiving death threats and his wife demanded that he turn the offer down. She did so again the second time around. What people don't seem to understand is that the republicans "talk a good game", and that's it. When they are behing closed doors, their type of fun is "minstrel parties". Get a clue. The cover is off in a "spotlight" kind of way now. We all knew in private circles, but never spoke it out loud; until now. Thank you, Sarah "Pit-Bull Palin". You ignorance helped further the cause for Americans to really open their eyes; this time they actually "saw". And I thank every one of them from the bottom of my heart; ALL of them, regardless of race, gender, et al. for voting for PE Obama. And never forget, he was by far, the very best candidate for the job. Americans need to heal.

[hypnus]

I'm glad Powell is speaking out. He knew the Iraq war was wrong and I still fault him for not resigning over it. Had he followed his instincts and convictions, his resignation and the fall out from it could have prevented the war.

[TheAnti-Bush]

Yeah, my husband is a Naval Academy grad. and he was/is very disappointed in Powell for not resigning in protest as soon as he knew he was being used---it's a matter of honor. I felt the same. Maybe someday it will all come out in a book. It's too bad he's been so silent for so long...

[Donnat]

it only took him 8 years

[TrishJ]

I can't believe Colin Powell, the 51% Republican is wasting his ammunition with this Palin nonsense. Reality check: Palin is not in the race-it's over and she is back to being a governor.

With so many serious on the table, the former head of the Joint Chiefs and former SoS should be talking about Pakistan, Afghanistan, deployment out of Iraq, why he lied for Bush about WMDS, ANYthing but the endless talk-show gab fest about Palin.

Give it a rest, Powell.

[doublels]

the very fact that she was in the race is cause for continued criticism so she can be kept out of any national office. she sure looks like she's a'gonna try.

[BGM1906]

He's actually making good points. If his remarks can help reduce the influence Rush Limbaugh has in the country, I'm with it.

[sradag]

It's true there are many more urgent matters to attend to. But maybe all this Palin nonsense now will help to keep her out of the running later. We have four years to convince the ill-informed right that she, and those who think like her should not be allowed near Washington.

What we really need are journalists with the ballz to dig in and uncover the whole disturbing mess that has been the Bush Administration. Anyone out there?

[mtflyer]

People who think like her shouldn't be allowed anywhere in the USA. They are the Anti-Americans.

[CeeCee]

So you forbid him to do interviews now???

[WilliamP]

I'd love to hear Limbaugh and Palin respond to this. There is really nothing good that they can say in response. Especially since this is coming from such a respectable figure as Powell.

[fairywhatnot]

Smalltown values??? Well, check out the following site:

http://www.palindeception.com/blog/2008/12/more-photoshop-fun.html .
There, you will SEE PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE that Sarah Palin was FAKING her pregnancy. Small town values, my foot! She is committing insurance fraud, plain and simple, by claiming this baby (Trig) to be her child.

[swo68]

OMG you are so right! I bet she bought it on the black market for the RNC! She should be investigated for the human trade market! Maybe none of the kids are her's!? How deep can this horrible conspiracy go!? There needs to be a special commission setup. We'll call it PregoGate! Send the lawyers to Alaska now! Get PregoGate rolling! Hmm PregoGate.­.. we may need a new name. That sounds like some sort of spaghetti sauce conspiracy thing. Lets go with BabyGate.

[freedomisabsolute]

Can you come up with a better verb than slam. Criticize, assail, attack, blast, carp, admonish, chide, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove; berate or anything appropriate. Slam has such a hard hitting connotation. Saying he appeals to our lesser selves or that she polarizes not really slamming. Any time someone says something less than flattering the Huffpost calls it a slam. Should we stop expecting more from you? Why do the opposition or fringes always become the very thing they were conceived to counter?

[pixy242a]

He is right up to a point -- but Palin is the end product of Republican policy and strategy over the past 15-20 years that reached a peak under Rove.

[kylennblack]

Colin is finally on a warpath I can support. Good for him.

[DanC45]

Right on! He's unusual--a Republican with compassion and common sense.

[VikingKing]

Gen. Powell, can we talk about real issues, and the most pressing threat to everyone on the planet?
http://allanerickson.wordpress.com/2008/12/12/the-world-dithers-while-iran-slithers/

[DanC45]

Oh great, another war. I hope you are at the head of the enlistment line. It's time to back up feelings with committment. Besides, I think Israel will probably take care of Iran.