Rocker Gene Simmons Schools Obama: When You Draw a Line in the Sand, Stick to It!
Gene Simmons is tired of watching the world walk all over the President. On Thursday’s edition of FNC’s Outnumbered the frontman for the rock band Kiss railed against Barack Obama: “I think that our president is not being a leader. He is not stepping up and drawing the line in the sand and sticking to it.”
During a discussion about Vladimir Putin defying the United States on a number of fronts Simmons told the panelists he’s seen this story before with Obama.
“I think that our president is not being a leader. He is not stepping up and drawing the line in the sand and sticking to it. He’s done that before. This is the line in the sand and then you allow - when you tell your child the word “no” and the child transgresses then the word “no” means nothing. I believe our president has got to make some strong statements and back it up. You got to say what you mean, mean what you say. If you speak softly and carry a big stick and never use the big stick, I’ll never listen to you again.”
Simmons joins actor Rob Lowe in the small but vocal list of celebrities who are fed up with Obama’s lack of leadership skills.
The following is a more complete excerpt of the discussion that was aired on the August 7 edition of FNC’s Outnumbered:
HARRIS FAULKNER: There is another conflict that is going on today that has captivated the world. And you talk about leadership and kind of the juxtaposition between where the United States stands and where others are standing this is what we’re watching.
Is Russia about to invade next door Ukraine? It’s looking that way. And just as Russian president Vladmir Putin makes quite a cozy deal with Iran, have you heard about this? Putin is retaliating against those sanctions by United States and other western countries over the Ukraine crisis. What are they doing? They’re banning American food imports, including meats fish, fruits and vegetables. Russia is also signing huge trade deal with Iran, that cozy deal I mentioned. It actually could benefit both countries evading international sanctions, each of them. Meanwhile U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is warning there is increasing threat of what I mentioned, Russia taking Ukraine by force. U.S. officials say Russia is massing 20,000 troops at the border with Ukraine. Armed with all kind of heavy weaponry that would enable a full-scale invasion.
And as a reminder that U.S. Russia tensions go far beyond Ukraine, Russia just told - you remember him - NSA leaker Edward Snowden? “Hey, you can stay in Russia for three more years Snowden.”
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FAULKNER: You know what’s really interesting Kimberly. We were also using sanctions against Iran to try to bring them to the table with the nuclear deal. These countries have palled up together against us. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I don’t remember who said it, but it was a good saying.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE: Yeah you notice because this is sort of the band of brothers of people who wish harm upon the United States that have us in disfavor. They do not like our way of life, they do not like our politics. They don’t like and respect our president. And you’re seeing this manifest itself throughout the world in international conflicts. So even when we try to do our level best to put forward some economic sanctions we’re not seeing it really work. It doesn’t matter, they’re acting anyway and working around it. Look at Putin in terms of the oil. That business is still flourishing and going on. They have ways around it, to get around these U.S. sanctions. And they’re not worried or fearful of President Obama or Secretary Kerry.
GENE SIMMONS, ROCK STAR: I think it’s worth mentioning that Putin enjoys great popularity in Russia, don’t kid yourself. We’re talking politics here and chess pieces on the table of the body politic and the world and Iran and Russia. On the street in Russia they feel strong. The people feel empowered. This has happened before in other parts of the world. Right before World War II. When the population becomes hoodwinked by somebody who is - well let’s call it for what it is. A former KGB guy. Don’t kid yourself. He’s playing a big game. He’s in for the long haul. He’s been hit before. He can withstand the pain. And he will do whatever he can to shore up his powerbase. And that’s from the peanut gallery pundit right here.
FAULKNER: You know what’s really interesting about what you say though and you bring it together with what Sandra said. The Russian people might be willing to suffer a bit if they believe they can stick it in our eye and that’s really kind of frightening because that signals to the rest of the world, Kirsten, forget about your red lines, forget about any, forget about your sanctions. You’re a lame duck to the rest of the world....Where does this leave our president and our White House though?
SIMMONS: Well, look, as a guy and I’m neither Republican or Democrat, neither liberal nor conservative. I’m a member of the American political party. I will vote my conscience every time, anytime. Overseas, fiscal policies and foreign policy, I’m very conservative. Liberal issues, live and let live. Whatever you want to do?
So having said that, in full disclosure, I think that our president is not being a leader. He is not stepping up and drawing the line in the sand and sticking to it. He’s done that before. This is the line in the sand and then you allow - when you tell your child the word “no” and the child transgresses then the word “no” means nothing. I believe our president has got to make some strong statements and back it up. You got to say what you mean, mean what you say. If you speak softly and carry a big stick and never use the big stick, I’ll never listen to you again.
— Geoffrey Dickens is Deputy Research Director at the Media Research Center. Follow Geoffrey Dickens on Twitter.
