John Winston Lennon (R)

[Shinola]

I'd say it was a lot easier to support Republicans back in '80.

[Randall]

I don't believe this person's story.

[Shinola]

I don't believe this person's story.

Yeah it's just some dude saying something. Who knows. I just thought it was kinda funny.

[SnM]

It wouldn't surprise me if it were true. He was focused on domesticity in the last years of his life. And Lennon's "radicalism" of the late 60s and early 70s was never leading-edge - it appeared more to be fashionable.

And as many others have noted, there was some small irony in someone of Lennon's material wealth penning the lyrics to "Imagine."

Hell, maybe his philosophy in his later years is summed up in "Whatever gets you through the night": It's all right, it's all right.

[metulj]

It is important to note that the whole reason the dude lived in the States was taxation. His radicalism was maudlin in many ways.

[zulu]

I don't believe this person's story.

I would bet the story has truth to it, but that the conclusions are less than accurate. Lennon circa '79 was undoubtedly different than Lennon circa '72. He was a homebody, baking bread and raising a toddler. He also had a history of evolving perspectives. Could he have decided by that time that he was less than enthused by preachy, political output like Sometime in New York City? I bet he could. That's a pretty lousy record, compared to much of his other work. Could he have been less than excited by Jimmy Carter in '79? A lot of people were. Was he a rich guy who liked making money and gritted his teeth when the tax bill came? Oh yeah. In some of his last interviews, he made a big deal out of the Mrs.' successful investment strategies. Could he have enjoyed the sport of goading an actual commie by arguing the other side? I expect so. Could he have even liked Ronald Reagan? Over half the voting public did in 1980.

Would he have forgotten his direct experience with the paranoia of the Nixon administration? Doubtful. It's also unlikely he would've completely abandoned his penchant for rooting for the working stiff. I expect most of what this guy relates is true, but that doesn't add up to Lennon becoming a buttoned-up Republican, and if he were alive today, he probably wouldn't be making joint appearances with Ted Nugent on Fox News.

It's real easy to peg somebody like this to one point in his life and picture him as a two-dimensional character. This is why Lennon biopics are invariably awful, and for that matter, why his friend Paul McCartney, a man who's lead a continually active and productive existence, still spends 90% of current interviews answering questions about what he did 35 years ago.

[Randall]

I would bet the story has truth to it, but that the conclusions are less than accurate. Lennon circa '79 was undoubtedly different than Lennon circa '72. He was a homebody, baking bread and raising a toddler. He also had a history of evolving perspectives. Could he have decided by that time that he was less than enthused by preachy, political output like Sometime in New York City? I bet he could. That's a pretty lousy record, compared to much of his other work. Could he have been less than excited by Jimmy Carter in '79? A lot of people were. Was he a rich guy who liked making money and gritted his teeth when the tax bill came? Oh yeah. In some of his last interviews, he made a big deal out of the Mrs.' successful investment strategies. Could he have enjoyed the sport of goading an actual commie by arguing the other side? I expect so. Could he have even liked Ronald Reagan? Over half the voting public did in 1980.

Would he have forgotten his direct experience with the paranoia of the Nixon administration? Doubtful. It's also unlikely he would've completely abandoned his penchant for rooting for the working stiff. I expect most of what this guy relates is true, but that doesn't add up to Lennon becoming a buttoned-up Republican, and if he were alive today, he probably wouldn't be making joint appearances with Ted Nugent on Fox News.

It's real easy to peg somebody like this to one point in his life and picture him as a two-dimensional character. This is why Lennon biopics are invariably awful, and for that matter, why his friend Paul McCartney, a man who's lead a continually active and productive existence, still spends 90% of current interviews answering questions about what he did 35 years ago.

Well, now, you put it that way ... But still, this reeks of something that contemporary asshats will try to use in propagating asshattery.

[tardisrider]

In the words of John Lennon:

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not"

[skeelsd]

since jesus was reckon lennon was too