U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Matthew McConaughey may be a viable candidate for Texas governor,” The Dallas Morning News reported Monday. “Poll shows actor ahead of [two-term Republican incumbent Governor Greg] Abbott.”
“For months, McConaughey has teased political pundits and TV talk show hosts with musings that he might enter politics in his home state,” the article explains. “If he were to take the plunge and run for governor, the poll found, 45% of Texas registered voters would vote for McConaughey, 33% would vote for Abbott and 22% would vote for someone else.”
That makes fair the question: Why is he a “viable candidate” who is pulling such promising early numbers?
What has the actor said or done to convince a substantial percentage of Texas voters that he is qualified to exercise political power over their lives? What public policy positions has he championed to inspire that level of voter confidence and support?
Evidently, he presents himself as “aggressively centric,” whatever that means. And he’s a famous Hollywood star that People Magazine once named its “Sexiest Man Alive.” And, say some hoping to make a Trump comparison, he’s a political outsider.
They can say that again. Per a March report by The Texas Tribune, “The actor hasn’t voted in a primary since at least 2012 and has never donated to a Texas or federal campaign.”
So what does McConaughey stand for? Aside from himself? Does “centrist” mean like a Mitt Romney “centrist Republican” or a Mark Kelly “centrist Democrat”? And how do his “centrist” positions – if we can ever find out what they are – square with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
When it comes to the Second Amendment, the actor has already let the cat out of the bag. He’s a gun-grabber wannabe.
Citing his October 2020 interview with Joe Rogan, The Tribune article elaborates:
“…McConaughey offered a more direct position on another hot-button issue — gun control — saying it is ‘too easy to get a gun sometimes, that there should be that background check.’ McConaughey has a history of being more outspoken on gun violence than other politically charged issues. In 2018, he spoke at the March for Our Lives rally in Austin, calling for banning assault weapons for civilians, restricting high-capacity magazines and strengthening background checks.”
Supposedly adult Americans exercising their right of self-determination vote for celebrities based on all they know about them—which is generally “informed” by scripted, directed, optimally angled, and lighted images projected on a screen, and on the gushing praise of publicists. That they would cede great powers based on professionally-manipulated illusions speaks more to starry-eyed childishness than anything else.
We saw it years ago, when the California GOP backed “action star” Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor, and warnings of his anti-gun inclinations were relegated to echo chambers and all but drowned out or ignored, including by “pro-gun” groups.
We see it in the mounting enthusiasm for a celebrity like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson running for president. He’s another self-described “centrist” who endorsed the Biden/Harris ticket and its gun-grabbing agenda.
Unfortunately, or more accurately, outrageously, the same mob mentality for style over substance is what elects not just celebrities, but career politicians as well. In a perverse way, “progressives” who smear gun owners as “extremists” for insisting representatives adhere to the Constitution have a point.
But to do otherwise is inexcusably lazy citizenship malpractice. And that threatens everything.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
