Garofalo has been open and outspoken regarding her
liberal political views, appearing in the past with figures such as
Ralph Nader (whom she supported in 2000, but opposed in 2004) and
Jello Biafra at various events. She has expressed
feminist views in interviews throughout her career and more recently, advocated
pacifism.
She is an
atheist and has participated in a radio interview by Freethought Radio, a show by the
Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Following the
9/11 terrorist attacks, she was quoted as saying (in the November 2001 issue of
Commentary magazine), "Who would have thought that I'd be angry on behalf of my country? I'm used to being angry at my country."
She became more prominent as an activist when she voiced opposition to what became the
2003 Iraq War, appearing on
CNN and
Fox News to discuss it. She said that she was approached by groups such as
MoveOn.org and Win Without War to go on TV, because these organizations say that the networks were not allowing antiwar voices to be heard. Garofalo and the other celebrities who appeared at the time said they thought their fame could lend attention to a side they believed was being ignored by the corporate media. Her appearances on cable news prior to the war garnered her praise from the left and spots on the cover of
Ms. and
Venus magazines. Garofalo has had frequent on-air political disputes with
Bill O'Reilly, Brian Kilmeade and
Jonah Goldberg.
Prior to the 2003 Iraq War, she took a position on the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. For example, in a
February 24, 2003 FOX News Sunday interview with Tony Snow (3 weeks before the war began), Garofalo said of Saddam Hussein, "Yes, I think lots of people are eager to obtain weapons of mass destruction. But there's no evidence that he (Hussein) has weapons of mass destruction. There's been no evidence of him testing nuclear weapons. We have people that are in our face with nuclear weapons. We've got Iran and North Korea. We've got a problem with Pakistan. You know, I don't know what to say about that. There's a whole lot of people that are going nuclear. And I think that Saddam Hussein is actually, with the evidence, the least able to use nuclear weapons and the least obvious offender in that area at this moment."
In March 2003, she took part in the
Code Pink antiwar march in Washington, D.C. That fall, she served as emcee at several stops on the
Tell Us the Truth tour, a political-themed concert series featuring
Steve Earle, Billy Bragg, Tom Morello and others. Throughout the year, Garofalo also actively campaigned for
Howard Dean.
She is a signatory to the "
9/11 Truth Statement".
