Monday, November 26, 2012


Right-leaners are feeling existentially threatened again -- though when aren't they?

From an NPR story about libertarians from the Free State Project who try to do charity work in New Hampshire according to their political principles:



From a post at National Review's Corner titled "On Not Cooperating with Obamacare":
The Hill has an interesting story reporting on Republican governors refusing to set up state exchanges under Obamacare....


So, stalwart Obamacare opponents, time for some good old fashioned passive resistance. Go limp.
From a story at Rupert Murdoch's Daily about churches that are offering concealed weapons training: (link now dead for non-subscribers, cached article here):

"We're about 150 miles from the border with Mexico and we're very unsure about our insecure borders -- about what's coming into our cities," Pastor James Miller told NRA News. "Personally, I feel more secure that should our worship time be interrupted by a life-threatening intrusion, that we would at least stand some kind of a chance in stopping either a mass killing or terrorizing experience."
To me, the common thread here is the perception that, if you lean right, pretty much everything in life that doesn't seem to be going your way politically or culturally -- the existence of illegal immigration, say, or the existence of government -- is an existential threat justifying a Red Dawn response, or at least a lot of self-important swagger, preferably with a gun on your hip.

The gun-on-your-hip thing hasn't migrated to the realm of pure politics quite yet -- yes, Republicans in the U.S. Senate are implying that filibuster reform by the Democratic majority might lead to a shutdown of the Senate, but they don't seem to be talking about pulling weapons on Harry Reid -- but isn't that the logical next step? Armed resistance to Obamacare? The gunfight in the well of the Senate?


Victor said...

The American people have spoken - and reelected the KenyanSocialistFascistCommunistAtheistMuslim Usurper, let the Democrats keep the Senate, and make gains in the House.
And they want government to work for the people, once again.
So, what is the lesson the Conservatives learned for this?
'Nothing says "compromise," quite like a fully-loaded Glock.'

I'm all for secession.
You wanna go?
So, GO, already!
And don't let the door hitcha, where the Mason-Dixon line splitcha!!!

aimai said...

I'm fairly certain that there are elements on the right who would like their congressmen to be packing heat. The quotes in your post reveal a raging paranoia and a high level of grandiose and delusional thinking which perfectly comports with such an idea. I had this conversation with a gun nut once. He kept insisting that only his ownership of guns (and the second amendment) kept the government from taking away our rights. I listed all the rights that were important to him and to me that I could think of and asked him whether his guns or the ACLU and the lawyers had fought for those rights in his own memory? Whether he would have ever picked up his guns and given his life attempting to protect the right to freedom of speech, assembly, voting, marriage/equal marriage or anything else.

Obviously he had never used his gun in any way, nor ever would have dared to, and the real heavy lifting for his and my rights had, of course, been done by the very liberal groups he despised. I pointed out that in terms of fire power his little handgun would of course not have the slightest effect if the US government chose to use the military against him, or even just the police.

Didn't affect his fantasy life at all. He continued to believe that the second amendment was what kept the government from becoming entirely dominant and stripping us of our liberties.

I know that sounds like a penthouse letter for liberals but I really had this conversation. The take away is that these guys are such paranoid solipsists that they couldn't organize a one car funeral. They will continue to buy guns, and try to carry them, because they are existentially threatened by the very existence of other people with potential claims on them. This is also the root of their real hatred for the idea of Obama as community organizer. Community and communitarian are both dirty words in their lexicon.


M. Bouffant said...

"Second Amendment remedies," baby!