Sunday
Aug162009
Chris Matthews Interviews William Kostric About His Decision To Legally Carry A Firearm To Obama's New Hampshire Health Care Town Hall Meeting
(Screenshot...video is below)
This is not about politics for me. This is beautiful live theater. The salient points seem to be:
- Matthews thought he could run over Kostric, and he was wrong. Kostric showed quickly that he blames both political parties for our current mess, which likely caught Matthews off-guard. Kostric then announced he was a Ron Paul supporter, which seemed to perturb Matthews even more.
To me this is much ado about nothing. Obama's secret service detail should be applauded for not over-reacting and detaining Kostric. A non-event, but loads of drama, a good discussion from Hardball, and a few expletives from Chris Matthews.
Update: I've added a short video of Ron Paul's response from MSNBC with Ed Schultz.
See also:
Ron Paul responds.
Aug 16, 2009 at 2:07 PM
Reader Comments (17)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/byron-williams/protests-may-be-many-thin_b_260547.html
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32914
Chris Mattews better calm down or his heart is going to explode like Tim Russerts. I miss Tim.
I just noticed that the guy is wearing the Free State Project shirt in the interview, haha. Awesome.
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rogoff59/English
The reason he takes it to a rally is the same reason he takes it to the grocery store. Because you never know when an emergency will occur, and it's best to be prepared needlessly than to be caught unprepared.
I keep fire extinguishers in my home. Doing so isn't an indication that I plan on setting fire to my home.
I do not own a gun and if I did I probably wouldn't carry it publicly even if allowed.
My point was that this guy was not a threat and the SS made the smart choice to leave him alone and avoid further controversy.
It was very poor symbolism on his part but he was trying to make a point, I suppose.
William moved to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project ( http://www.freestateproject.org ) years ago.
Live Free or Die!
1) Thomas Jefferson was speaking metaphorically (doubtful)
2) Kostric wants revolution (the main way a patriot would spill blood)
3) Kostric supports assassination (against who he perceives as tyrants)
Surely, debating health care doesn't rise to the level of tyrants. Kostric's position is that of a veiled threat. It comes close to what is called terroristic threats. I have a friend that was arrested for saying something similar. If he wants to open carry it's fine with me. However in Florida, we have a long list of where I cannot carry and it doesn't bother me in the least. I can see their reasons. BTW, Tim McVeigh was wearing the same t-shirt when he was caught. Was that the kind of blood Kostric wants to water the tree of liberty with?
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9A4SU8G1&show_article=1
While I don't agree with what he did, it is the harsh reality that the public isn't going to wake up easily, and it will probably take very dramatic measures to stop the slide into tyranny. So this guy tried to make a point, but maybe it was counterproductive.
re: McVeigh
The party line story about McVeigh is even less believable than, say, that of the financial mess we're in today. He was just another in a long line of convenient lone gunmen.
That people are having hissy fits over the fact that Kostric brought a gun within a few miles of the Holy Personage of the President is predictable, but I just don't see the argument here (for having a hissy fit). Just the opposite, the fact that people ARE having hissy fits makes what Kostric did all the more necessary. The Bill of Rights is far more important than any politician, even if his name happens to be Barack Obama. And the rights enshrined there are certainly more important than what people reverently refer to as "the office of the Presidency." Wearing a sidearm during Obama's propaganda stop makes this demonstrably clear. On the other hand, the guys that launched raw eggs at Cheney's motorcade also made their point. Bravo to them, too.
In any case, I'm glad people are (finally!) beginning to show some healthy self-respect before the politicians. Put Kostric's actions in a line starting with the Iraq invasion. Then move on to the TARP bailouts, the "stimulus," and now the health care debates -- people are tired of not being listened to and they're tired of being lied to. Reminding the politicians that we're angry, informed and armed might produce better results than giving them the obeisance they've come to expect.
Robert...I think we are all pretty much saying the same thing, including you: that we understand and can to different extents appreciate the symbolism of Kristic's actions in a Bill Of Rights sense. And also to different extents each of us worries about the unknown factor of potential violence tht comes from having people in public places with loaded weapons, which your comments illustrate.
Regarding the Jefferson quote...funny thing is I had forgotten the rest of the quote and so had I been there and seen the sign, the blood of tyrants part would have been lost on me.
I think what's going on is that are some people out there who are getting really, really angry. We think we're angry around here but we're a bunch of sissies.
Thre's a quote about governments fearing their people instead of people fearing the gubmint. I think we are finally trending toward the former as the people are starting to show their resentment for so much of what has happened since 9/11.