Does Tucker Carlson crave publicity so badly that he's willing to embrace a racist gun dealer or does he himself harbor hatred toward the president of the United States of America based on the color of his skin and wish him harm? It's a legitimate question as Carlson's website gives away guns from a known bigot.
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Reports:
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.
Threats against President Obama and our democracy must be taken seriously. There is room for debate in our nation - that is what elections are all about - but Carlson crosses a line here that must be condemned.
People of faith must demand an end to gun violence and a return to civility in public life.
