Jon Voight, Father Of Angelina Jolie, Blasts Barack Obama As A 'Socialist'

Voight wrote an opinion editorial for The Washington Times, in which he admits that during the Vietnam era he was caught up in the "hysteria" which was brought about by what he calls the "Marxist propaganda underlying the so-called peace movement." Voight says that Obama is sowing socialist seeds in young people and points out that people are affected by those that teach them when they are young.

Sen. Barack Obama has grown up with the teaching of very angry, militant white and black people: the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, William Ayers and Rev. Michael Pfleger. We cannot say we are not affected by teachers who are militant and angry. We know too well that we become like them, and Mr. Obama will run this country in their mindset.

Voight claims that Democrats have worked a "propaganda campaign with subliminal messages, creating a God-like figure in a man who falls short in every way", as he goes on to explain why he feels as he does. He goes on to call John McCain great and an American legend and he says there is not a cell in his body that can accept "the idea that Mr. Obama can keep us safe from the terrorists around the world."

This is a perilous time, and more than ever, the world needs a united and strong America. If, God forbid, we live to see Mr. Obama president, we will live through a socialist era that America has not seen before, and our country will be weakened in every way.

His criticisms against Obama has ignited a firestorm among liberal blogs, that The Politico describes as going "ballistic", to which many rarely see when celebrities come out on behalf of Obama. Jeffrey Wells, who runs the movie and pop culture website Hollywood-Elsewhere.com, suggested what many are interpreting as "blacklisting" Voight because of his criticisms about Obama in the opinion editorial. Wells writes "[Voight is] obviously entitled to say and write whatever he wants. But it's only natural that industry-based Obama supporters will henceforth regard him askance. Honestly? If I were a producer and I had to make a casting decision about hiring Voight or some older actor who hadn't pissed me off with an idiotic Washington Times op-ed piece, I might very well say to myself, ‘Voight? Let him eat cake.'" Voight responds, via The Politico by stating, “It’s out of line to insinuate that we should blacklist people for speaking their minds. It’s a strange thing when people in this country can’t express their opinions without being attacked." He then points out that liberals often speak out about political issues and that, "it’s an important time for people on the conservative side to speak out.”

Voight's daughter, Jolie, has stated that she has not yet decided who she will be supporting or voting for. Voight has just joined the list of actors, celebrities and Hollywood types that are known conservatives or Republicans.