Leave the gun, take the Constitution

June 29, 2017

By now, many of us have seen the terrifying recruitment video produced by the NRA.  In it, an attractive, white Everywoman narrates a script that depicts the exercise of the constitutionally protected right of assembly as evidence of civilization run amok.  Protest against the very real threat to democracy posed by this presidency is recast as a threat to the republic that can only be contained by letting police officers “do their jobs.” Snarling narration is imposed over images of “Black Lives Matter” protests and angry Congressional town halls, interspersed with footage of anarchists torching property.  The narrator practically hisses that “they” compare “our President” to Hitler, as if hyperbole is a crime punishable by death.

The video leaves no doubt who “they” are – Black people, feminists, Democrats, or what “they” deserve – to be controlled by cops or murdered by “real” Americans with guns.  This truly chilling video is the starkest depiction yet of the alternative universe inhabited by the radical right.  We know that they don’t trust The New York Times or The Washington Post and that this president constantly derides CNN and MSNBC.  We also know that since Trump arrived in office, he and his press secretaries have buried the American people in a blizzard of lies.  Republicans in Congress repeatedly lie about the content of their healthcare bills and deride the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.  In short, from climate change denial to mythology about criminal undocumented immigrants, Republicans are engaged in nothing less than an all-out attack on reality.

Fox News barely covered this week’s (temporary) collapse of the Senate healthcare bill, pivoting to their longstanding effort to dampen the controversy surrounding Russian election tampering (Source:  The Washington Post, 6/29/17).  Meanwhile, in the fact based media world, Mitch McConnell’s reputation as a master tactician took a hit when he was unable to assemble a Republican majority to pass his odious Obamacare repeal bill.  He was defeated by facts and people power.

In addition, this week, we learned that former Trump campaign chair, Paul Manafort, belatedly registered as a foreign agent for the work he completed in 2014 for the Ukrainian pro-Russia political party, for which he received $17 million dollars.  The Washington Post reported that the FBI has repeatedly questioned Trump foreign policy advisor, Carter Page, in its Russia probe.

Given these developments, the timing of the NRA video is not surprising.  The sinister forces behind Trump and the Congressional Republicans are losing on politics and policy.  Fewer of the American people are being fooled by their lies.  The Senate Obamacare repeal bill is polling at a dismal 15% approval rate.  Moderate Republican Senators were scared into doing the right thing by their righteously outraged constituents.  There is every indication that Mueller and the FBI are conducting a robust investigation into Russian interference and putting the screws to Trump’s cabal of criminal cronies.

Since the forces of neo-feudalism have no persuasive arguments, they are resorting to fear-mongering and violence.  We should see this video for what it is – a terrorist recruitment video outside the mainstream of acceptable political discourse.  We cannot be cowed by their threats and we will not stoop to their methods.   This week is proof that people, exercising their First Amendment rights, can impact policy and effect change.  The lesson is, leave the gun, take the Constitution.

#NRAVideo