Is Pete Townsend a conservative or Liberal?

[coloradodem2005]

I know that he supported the war initally, but he was quite unhappy about Bush using WGFA in 2000.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

1. Left-wing but idiosyncratic, to say the least.

[rlev1223]

2. At Woodstock....

..he smashed Abbie Hoffman with a guitar when Hoffman started ranting
politics and wouldn't get off the stage. Two of my favorite people slugging it out.

[Westegg]

5. I believe Pete later said he had no idea...

..who this shaggy-haired madman ranting about John Sinclair was, and what he was doing on HIS stage (Pete was pretty territorial). So he kicked his ass off. Fair enough, and a fine example of Abbie fucking with the wrong Mod for neither the first nor the last time. (I adore Abbie but he could be a clueless cat at times.) There's a nice (very brief) audio sound-bite of this on the Who's box-set. But the fact that this great visual, amongst many others, was either not captured by the "Woodstock" camera-people or else deliberately left out of the final film is why it's only a good documentary and not the great one it might have been.

[KurtNYC]

3. Wouldn't let F911 use "Won't get fooled again"

So I think your question is a good one.

"we have a saying in texas and you probably have it here too. It goes "fool me once, shame on shame on you, fool me won't get fooled agin!"

[Beware the Beast Man]

7. Long pauses are sorely missing from your transcription!

That is my wife's favorite sound bite from the film.

"Fool me once.........shame on you................(shrug and shake head) we won't get fooled again!"

[KurtNYC]

8. Mark Crispin Miller pointed out

that Bush could not finish that quote as written (for him) because Bush absolutely cannot say the phrase "shame on me"

And of course you're right about the pauses.

[Nomad559]

14. Bush ... Fool Me Once - Video

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/multimedia/foolbush.mov

[SiouxJ]

10. Is that true?

That's interesting because in my mind I was thinking it would be perfect to break into that song at that moment (at the end, after Shrub's babbling). I also have written to the Kerry Campaign, suggesting use of that song in advertising. I thought it was a natural.

[KurtNYC]

11. Here's Pete's take on what happened

Sounds like he might have let them use it if they asked right. Kind of a long semi-confusing answer though.

http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/diary/display.cfm?id=89&zone=diary

[SiouxJ]

13. Very interesting article

it explains a lot. Thanks!

I find this quote interesting: "he’ll have to work very, very hard to convince me that a man with a camera is going to change the world more effectively than a man with a guitar." - Pete - it's not guitars AGAINST cameras! It's guitars WITH cameras. We all need to work together to change the world.

[Susang]

4. Pete is undefinable

It would probably be a waste of time to try and define him by terms like conservative and liberal. He's always been contradictory and difficult. Can't see that changing now.

[Westegg]

6. I completely agree. (n/t)

[Fenris]

9. Pete is Pete

And that's all we can expect.

[Mr.Green93]

12. wanker