Washington, DC—That
Tucker Carlson and the Daily Caller would promote a man like firearms
manufacturer Jim Pontillo to their readers is a testament to how far the
American Conservative movement has moved to the right in the last
several years. It is not just that Pontillo’s dislike of President
Obama is tinged with
not-so-subtle
racism (“He will never be President of the United States; that job
requires he represent all Americans, not just the angry black ones.”).
Pontillo also believes that political violence has a legitimate place in
American politics. He states that armed resistance to democratic
government is “integral to the American DNA” and
warns,
"I can't imagine how much more insult the American people are willing
to endure under the 'enterprises of ambition' by our politicians, but I
do know, gun ownership and an understanding of our American Founders'
vision will have positive and deliberate effect on the psyche of our
populace and can subdue the overzealous and prejudicial effect of this
ambition. When law is abused to achieve political ends where do the
gallant citizens turn? Quite possibly to their guns."
Such commentary would have been inappropriate and dangerous even before Gabby Giffords was shot in the head by Jared Loughner (“ You don’t have to accept the federalist laws”). That the Daily Caller would associate itself with such rhetoric in the wake of Tucson is unfathomable.
Tucker Carlson has already attempted to downplay the controversy, suggesting that the only relevant detail about Pontillo is the fact that he’s a licensed gun maker. But giving away a handgun with the Bill of Rights engraved on its side is an overtly political statement. It is therefore relevant and worth asking whether Carlson embraces Pontillo’s ideas about “Second Amendment remedies.”
Finally, it is ironic that while Pontillo sees Liberals as a bunch of Socialists and Communists that are subverting all that is great about America, he seems to see no contradiction in his own effort to void sacrosanct democratic institutions like political equality and the rule of law.
Such commentary would have been inappropriate and dangerous even before Gabby Giffords was shot in the head by Jared Loughner (“ You don’t have to accept the federalist laws”). That the Daily Caller would associate itself with such rhetoric in the wake of Tucson is unfathomable.
Tucker Carlson has already attempted to downplay the controversy, suggesting that the only relevant detail about Pontillo is the fact that he’s a licensed gun maker. But giving away a handgun with the Bill of Rights engraved on its side is an overtly political statement. It is therefore relevant and worth asking whether Carlson embraces Pontillo’s ideas about “Second Amendment remedies.”
Finally, it is ironic that while Pontillo sees Liberals as a bunch of Socialists and Communists that are subverting all that is great about America, he seems to see no contradiction in his own effort to void sacrosanct democratic institutions like political equality and the rule of law.
