Thread by @frodofied

I've been a fan of @rosie's for almost thirty years. So big in fact that back in the 90s I had not one, but two, talking Rosie dolls in my collection. One stayed on my bed, and one remained in the box. Dreams come true with Rosie, don't you know? My admiration has never waned. 1/

There are few artists with the kind of courage, "real guts" my dad would have called it, that O'Donnell has displayed throughout her career. I will never forget her uncomfortable, but powerful interview with Tom Selleck. Her talk show then was outlandishly popular. 2/

She was known as the Queen of Nice. And if she was the Queen of Nice, her show was the Show of Nice. Nothing untoward ever happened in that studio. Only love, sharing, and awestruck giddiness. Yet Ro was always clear about her values, but never as clear as with Selleck. 3/

Selleck was an active and vocal supporter of the National Rifle Association and O'Donnell decided to confront him. It was tense. Uncommon ground for her, the audience and the show. But she spoke truth. Selleck was unamused.

Watch:

The decision to do that was probably not the best one for the show. She knew it would alienate and anger many, but the issue mattered to her. It was bigger than her career. I loved her a lot that day. She's made many similar choices since. And always she chooses to speak. 5/

In fact, I think you would be hard pressed to find many other mainstream performers who have so consistently placed their political and moral values above their career in the way that @rosie has. That is a trait to admire from my perspective. 6/

It's been impossible not to stand in awe of the woman since Donald Trump stole the Presidency from @HillaryClinton. She has been fierce and unrelenting. Her voice and perspective have been essential, not the least of which is because we know he dislikes her so much. 7/

Trump is a sexist, hateful, disgusting human being and his smallness as a person makes it impossible for him to drop grudges of any size. If his ego gets bruised it's bruised for life. But this also makes it impossible for him to ignore those he imagines personal war with. 8/

So we know that much of what flows out of @rosie makes it, in the end, into Trump's ear. He can't help himself. He can't ignore it. This is a blessing. These petty personal wars distract Trump. They often somehow become more important than even national security issues. 9/

Normally you wouldn't find many people arguing that having a distracted sitting US President would be a good thing, but with Trump we've had to reassess all the old assumptions we had about our relationship to the Presidency. A distracted Trump is, turns out, better. 10/

A distracted Trump places his own ego above the Office he holds, always. Keeping his attention away from bills, trade, and foreign policy is the closest we get to fine these days. So, every public battle he has with someone like @rosie might save a program he might have cut. 11/

I'm talking about @Rosie tonight because the interview she did yesterday moved me deeply. Ro gets it and she tries to help others get it too. Here is a portion if you missed it.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1026636326316269570

I do this also because I have been letting the negative aspects of this social media experience affect me in ways that I'm not proud of lately. I've been short, mean spirited and, at turns, intellectually lazy as a result. So, while acknowledging @rosie I'm acknowledging me. 13/

At least the me I want to be more like again.

Fierce. Determined. Resistant. Honest. Prepared.

I have always believed in the power of example and have striven to provide a model of civility, even in the absence of it.

I will do better. Just like @rosie. So, thanks Ro. 14/

As an aside I want to plug Rosie's amazingly funny and moving stand up special that she filmed for HBO a couple of years ago. It was called "A Heartfelt Stand Up" and it is a great way to spend an hour.

#Resist #RosieOdonnell #Love

Promo: