Danny Glover and Bradley Whitford wax poetic at labor protests

The words “organized labor protest” bring to mind a lot of things. But “poetry” isn’t usually one of them. 

That is, until actors Danny Glover and Bradley Whitford embraced their sensitive sides at protests in Wisconsin and Indiana over the past few days. 

Whitford, a former “West Wing” star, took to a stage on Saturday outside Wisconsin’s state capitol, where, despite the nasty weather, he led public employees in a dramatic call for, “A future where our schools are as shiny as our missiles .... and a country that finally realizes its spectacular promise.” 

Everything seemed very straightforward until Whitford grabbed an extra microphone on his way off stage. His voice cracked as he uttered breathlessly, “You all look so beautiful to me!” Definitely more Malibu than Milwaukee. 

Glover followed up Whitford’s act in Indianapolis on Monday, reciting a dramatic poem by Langston Hughes before more than 1,000 union laborers protesting in the statehouse:

O, let America be America again—

The land that never has been yet—

And yet must be — the land where every man is free.

Despite the artsy-ness, both Whitford and Glover were big hits with protesters, some of whom had been picketing for nearly a week.

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