Tinseltown Conservatives Bruce Jenner and Jason Sehorn Talk Politics
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This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," March 30, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Being a conservative in Hollywood has never been easy. Ronald Reagan experienced Hollywood's nasty political culture firsthand, as a TV and movie star in the '40s and '50s and during his five year stint as the president of the Screen Actors' Guild.
Well, so has anything changed, and if not, well, how do you bring conservative values to Los Angeles?
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Joining me are two Hollywood — dare I say — conservative, a rare breed around here. Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner. Former USC football star who went on to play in the NFL for the Giants and the St. Louis Rams, Jason Sehorn.
Guys, good to see you.
BRUCE JENNER, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Good to see you.
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JASON SEHORN, FORMER PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER: Good to be back.
HANNITY: Good to see you.
You know, here we are in California. And I think back, Jimmy Stewart; I think back, you know, John Wayne; I think back, Bob Hope, you know, entertaining our troops.
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JENNER: Some really great patriots who served.
HANNITY: Yes, what happened?
JENNER: I don't know. That's a good question. You know, here's — I would sit on the sidelines for years and years and years, but to see what's happening to our country right now, my father fought in World War II...
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HANNITY: As the...
JENNER: Fifth Ranger Battalion. Landed on Omaha Beach. You know, guys on the left of him died; guys on the right of him died. For some reason, he made it through. And what was he doing? He was fighting for our freedoms and for our country.
I wore USA across my chest in 1976
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HANNITY: I remember that.
JENNER: And I'm very proud to be able to do that.
But, you know, my dad at the age of 19 was fighting a war for this country. And I just thought to myself, you know what? I don't like the direction our country is going in right now. It's time to come out and, you know, try to be more vocal and doing what I can do.
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HANNITY: Listen, I know people, because they've told me privately, they work in the film industry, in the television industry, and because they've come out as conservatives, they have been ostracized. They have been punished. They have paid a price. They come on my show, and that's it. It's like the kiss of death: no more movies.
SEHORN: You know, it's interesting you talk about that. There's friends I have that, before this last election, when Bush was president for eight years, you know, there wasn't a lot of dialogue. Then all of a sudden, Obama got in, and there's dialogue. But if we disagree, we don't speak any more.
It's like I've always — I've never understood why my opinion was devalued because I was a conservative or because I didn't think the way some people think here. And unfortunately, with some people — I'm not going to say all of them — but your opinion is devalued. They don't want to hear it. So they'd rather just push you away.
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HANNITY: I think there's an all-out effort, and maybe we'll get into this on our great Great American Panel. I think there's an all-out effort. If you're a conservative in the media, you're going to be smeared. Your character is going to be assassinated, the besmirching.
Look, it's not just, for example, Fox News, which has been a big target. It's Rush Limbaugh. It's Mark Levin. It's talk radio. It's now the Tea Party movement. You know, "Oh, you're a bunch of wild, crazed racist bigots that don't love the country."
I mean, it's — this is all happening from the government. The government is attacking its people. In all my years, I've never seen government or politicians do this. Have you ever seen that?
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JENNER: No, I never have.
SEHORN: What's amazing to me is it's still the minority. The part that they're attacking is still the smallest part of the media. They still have, you know, 90 percent of it under control.
HANNITY: They've got it all.
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SEHORN: And they're just attacking this small group that doesn't agree with them or doesn't go with the flow. And that's what's got to be frustrating, even for the people who might side with them. To see something being attacked for their opinion in this country. It's their opinion.
HANNITY: Listen, I've got to tell you something. It's almost like every, you know, print writer, every anchor, every newspaper reporter, you know every cable host except that's on Fox that has different view or invites guests, they have that tingly feeling running up and down their leg every time Obama speaks.
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JENNER: Yes. I don't quite get it. But you know, there is kind of an underground conservative movement in Hollywood, really. Gary Sinise...
HANNITY: You're going to — you're going to out them all now.
JENNER: I got more respect for him for what he does as a person than really this show, this and that because what he's done for the guys in Iraq. And he's a great American.
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HANNITY: He really is.
JENNER: And Tom Dreesen is another comedy guy who does it.
HANNITY: You are ruining every one of their careers.
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JENNER: No, but they kind of like meet on Thursdays at a restaurant. And yes, it is interesting to see, but yes, they're out there. But I think, you know, they've been kind of silenced throughout the years, certainly.
HANNITY: They really have. And it seems that there was a transformation, because I always looked at those old Hollywood guys, Hope and Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne, in particular. I always loved John Wayne. And you know...
SEHORN: Trojan. That's because he was a Trojan. He went to SC. He went to SC.
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HANNITY: I never even knew what that — but they loved their country. They supported their troops. They didn't go out there and attack the president like they did.
What do you think it is about liberalism, socialism, collectivism? Because they fly around in their private jets. They fly — they've got their limousines. They've got their, you know, high and mighty lifestyle. They're going out every night. What is it that they've got theirs and the heck with the rest of us?
SEHORN: Do as I say, not as I do. I mean, it's real simple. It's easy to preach to somebody, but it's hard to follow the advice of yourself. You know, I mean, when you look in the mirror, can you actually listen to what you say? Can you obey it? And a lot of them can't. I think that's what's frustrating.
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It's like, when you think about the direction this country is going in, where we just continue to tax the people who actually go out and do something for themselves. We continuously — you know, Reagan was, you know, I don't say demonized, but he was made fun of for the old trickle- down Reaganomics.
HANNITY: Reagan was beaten up.
SEHORN: Trickle economics — trickle-up economics doesn't work. So it's like you've got to create something in this country. You can't just keep handing it out. You've got to allow people to create jobs.
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HANNITY: They're creating dependency...
JENNER: See, this is just the mentality of it. I'm in the aviation business. We broker aircraft, and it's been a difficult year for us.
But look at how Obama demonized any CEO that's in a corporate plane. OK? He doesn't want — he flies around in his $400 million plane, but that's another deal.
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(CROSSTALK)
Look at what it does to our business. I mean, it certainly has slowed the business aviation down in America and around the world. So who gets hurt? Wait a second. Who gets hurt? The pilots.
I want — me, I want the CEO in there. Why? Because to build a plane like this right here, thousands and thousands of manufacturers, people, high-skilled jobs, making all the little pieces that go inside the airplane. The guys who have to put it together. Taxpaying, you know, guys.
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HANNITY: The guys that fly them. The hangars.
JENNER: The guys who fly them, the FBOs, where you've got to be able to put them. The guys who do the maintenance on it. That is a huge business. So just because your ego is bad, that you don't want CEO in there, doing better business...
HANNITY: Listen, it's the same...
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JENNER: ... all these people lose their jobs.
HANNITY: It's all the same with this, you know, attack-the-rich mentality. And look, the left separates us: young versus old, black versus white, rich versus poor. They're dividing this country right now, big time.
But wait a minute. But if you're going to, quote, "tax the rich into oblivion," they'll spend less money. Who's that going to hurt? That's going to hurt the person that builds the boats that rich people buy. That's going to hurt the people...
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(CROSSTALK)
That sell fus, the diamonds. I was a waiter, a bus boy, a bartender, and a dishwasher. I want rich people, when I was a young kid, going into the restaurant and buying expensive dinners because I got a job that pays me $2.50 an hour.
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SEHORN: You know, what I found so interesting this last week when I heard Caterpillar and John Deere came out and say it's going to cost a hundred million dollars. Well, who do you think is going to take that hit? Do you think Caterpillar and John Deere are going to take the hit, John Deere, or do you think the employees are going to take the hit?
It's like it gets funneled to everybody. So somebody is taking a hit for this tax on something else. It gets pushed to everybody else. The guy who makes the money who went out to start the business is always going to make his. And everybody else gets to get what he has left. If he has — if he doesn't have a lot left, there's not a lot to give.
HANNITY: Guys, good to see. Thank you for stopping by. We appreciate it.
JENNER: Thank you very much.
HANNITY: Good to see you.
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