“As we have seen in the last year, grass roots support for the rights of gun owners has repeatedly trumped big-money campaigns funded by people such as former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others who agree with Weinstein. As long as the political left and its Hollywood ATM machines keep showing their contempt for the Constitution, the NRA has little to fear from Harvey Weinstein or Meryl Streep.” – Jonathan S. Tobin, Guns, Hollywood Hypocrisy, and the NRA [at commentarymagazine.com]

53 COMMENTS

  1. It would seem he’s holding a copy of my (original) hometown newspaper, The CULPEPER STAR-EXPONENT.

    Can you confirm, Dan?

    • You are a better man than me. When I see the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal I begin twitching uncontrollably in what I can only assume is some un-resolved PTSD response.

    • Yeah, funny how he thinks that making a fascist propaganda film against the NRA can influence people but Hollywood continually maintains that making violent movies, video games and song lyrics do not affect people’s behavior.

      It can’t be both.

  2. “But while fears that liberals are planning to take away private guns in order to facilitate a totalitarian state are absurd”,

    Yep; I’m sure the German Jews were saying that to themselves as they walked into the showers after a hard days work; The ability at delusion and denial in the human psyche is boundless.

    • The thing is too that it isn’t necessarily the liberals who are the threat. Let’s say the democrats succeed in heavily restricting guns over the next 20 years, that could open the door for future tyranny in like 50 to 100 years. Who knows what political parties might exist down the line.

      • Bingo. I’m not worried about the current incompetents, but the future may bring more competency to the statist worldview.

      • Hitler (Nazi’s- National Socialists)came into power during the Great Depression and used the firearm registry started by the Weimar Government (originally to stop communist radicals from getting guns-OOPS), to seize guns from the Jews and from groups not friendly to him.

        When, not if, we have our own repeat of what will be the Greatest Depression; have no doubt in the chaos that would follow; that the push to complete gun registration and confiscation would be next and the mechanisnms in place (NDAA) for totalitarian government would be fully activated.

        We would be really lucky to go 20 years before this happens. I see five years, probably less.

    • “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Socialist.

      Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

      Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Jew.

      Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.”

      – Martin Niemöller

  3. *I originally posted this in the Utah thread a little bit ago, before this thread was here. Posting here, as it’s apropos*

    S.E. Cupp – Spare us the gun lecture, Harvey

    Weinstein told his buddy Piers Morgan that he is “planning a movie that will make the NRA “wish they weren’t alive.””

    S.E. Cupp: “If we’re to assume Weinstein is motivated by a deep concern about gun violence (and not sheer arrogance), then it’s also worth pointing out that he’s got the wrong target. The NRA represents law-abiding gun owners, not criminals. A gangbanger in Chicago doesn’t care about the NRA, isn’t motivated or supported by the NRA, and may not even know what the NRA is. In vowing to take down this powerful organization supported by millions of law-abiding citizens, Weinstein will simply end up empowering and emboldening it.

    Hollywood boycott, anyone?

    • Look at #2, “‘Some people play golf … I shoot'” in the slideshow. That guy (with his demeanor in the pic, and comment about “venting”) is almost doing the job of the antis for them.

      Though S.E. Cupp is ostensibly pro gun, and used the term “Military Style-” rather than Assault rifle, I’m sure she could have found some non-stereotypical people to feature.

    • It would not be reasonable to “boycott Hollywood” as a general principle, however, certain personages in Hollywood that are overly full of themselves and “Legends in their own minds” tend to make the error of publicly aligning themselves with extremist political causes and that gives us a perfect opportunity to boycott them specifically and any production they are a part of.

      Will I ever spend a dime on Susan Sarandon, Barbara Streisand, Michael Moore, George Clooney, or this idiot Weinstein again, to name but a few who have “outed” themselves? Not willingly. I very often cannot even stomach their films when they are available over broadcast media at no additional charge! It’s a pretty good bet they don’t notice and/or don’t care, but it certainly makes me feel better.

      As for Weinstein’s anti-NRA movie, what a laugh. The only people who will pay to see it are leftists who already agree with its (faulty) premise and it will be a massive windfall for NRA memberships in the year it is released, guaranteed.

      And I’ve always thought Meryl Streep was over-rated anyway. No loss.

  4. Seriously, the one thing that the NRA does to get more cash flow is to have stories about the newest threat to gun ownership. Aka “ramping up the fear”. So this genius decides to make a movie attacking the NRA and makes public threats like he did is pretty much just free advertising for the NRA. Wow.
    Wish they were dead?The NRA is probably just laughing as the support cash flows in.

    • Not only is the NRA going to laugh all the way to the bank, but they’re going to continue to effectively combat the political underpinnings of the civilian disarmament complex.

      Their man only barely lost the gubernatorial race in Virginia, which the other side won solely for the fact that they DIDN’T run on a primarily gun-control centric platform by the way (despite whatever delusions the left will invariably spout), but their other boys n’ gals won 64 of the 66 other political races that were run alongside the big gubernatorial contest.

      Let’s not mention the MAIG mayors being ousted recently, whether by popular vote or by their own sheer stupidity, and the recent recalls and follow-up resignation in Colorado.

      But this is easily tempered by the repeated “wins” that the civilian disarmament industrial complex has made in their own backyard.

  5. Meryl Streep?

    I remember her. She was in “The River Runs Wild”. That’s the movie where she shoots the bad guy (Kevin Bacon) at the end. Kinda showed how people need guns to protect themselves don’t you think? Now what’s all this about making the NRA wish they weren’t alive???

    • They really make this too easy for us, don’t they? I envision a montage on YouTube with Meryl saying something anti-gun in the new movie, then show her shooting Kevin Bacon, followed by a clip from some other movie where she says something like “well, I guess I was wrong”.

    • Didn’t she also play the extremely Hillary-esque stage-mom in “The Manchurian Candidate” remake who was plotting to overthrow the American government? Very nice.

  6. Hollywood, Weinstein and all their other cronies are not going to stop making violent movies anytime soon. Weinstein via Miramax supported the production of Pulp Fiction. It had a budget of $8.5 million dollars and went on to rake in $213 million. Michael Moore’s film Bowling For Columbine had a budget of $4million and raked in $58million in the box office. Point is, either way Harvey goes he stands to make a good return on his investment no matter what his position is on guns. Glorify guns = CHA-CHING $$$. Vilify guns = CHA-CHING $$$. His money is just as safe as the too big to fail crowd.

    For me, it is ENTERTAINMENT. I budget for that each month. I do not mind paying $8-10 for a good movie because I check my brain at the door, sit back and enjoy the ride. The $6 bag of popcorn and $5 Coke is bullshit though.

  7. The Weinsteins of the coastal California and Boston-Washington D.C. megalopolises are utterly and totally disconnected — geographically, financially, culturally, socially, and psychologically from the other 260 million people in the United States. While they wield great influence over media and financial engines in our nation, they wield NOTHING over the hearts and minds of those other 260 million people. And as a result, they wield much less influence over political matters than they expect.

    It is amusing how their arrogance initially blinds them to that fact. Even more amusing is how they never seem to figure it out.

    • this, absolutely.

      anti-2A Californians and Northeasterners have zero connection and relation to the rest of the country, but they consistently believe themselves to be representative of the thoughts and values of those in “flyover country” – i.e. the rest of the nation.

      they have no clue how wrong they are, which is one reason why they were so flummoxed to have been beaten back from the massive anti-2A push of 2013.

      you could see it in the Prez’s face and words at his infamous pouty speech after the failure of the M-T bill. he didn’t think there was any way in hell that he could lose.

      • Where did this 260 million figure come from? I thought the number was between 225 and 230 million.

        • I estimate there are about 25 million along the coast of California and another 25 million in the Boston – Washington D.C. megalopolis. Since our nation’s population is about 310 million people, that leaves 260 million people outside of those two regions.

  8. I expect his little project to be quietly shelved and the pundits will let coverage taper off over the next few weeks.
    Harvey is like most tubby bastards- all sturm and bluster until they get hungry or tired.

  9. Look, if this fascist mouthpiece wants to waste millions of his own money producing “Triumph of the Shill”, then let him have at it. Overt propaganda isn’t going to persuade anyone of his position’s validity any more than that idiot Gore’s nonsense “Inconvenient Truth” or Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” did.

  10. I think Harvey’s just trying to get laid by some chick who is anti-gun. Hope he scores so he can put the act aside. This happens repeatedly in Hollywood. A guy with sixty guns says he’s suddenly anti-gun. Gets laid. Goes and buys sixty more. More than a few Hollywood personalities are active gun people. Bradjolina and Demi Moore come to mind. George Clooney’s so anti-gun he had to star in The American. “But that’s completely different, because the lead was a cool thoughtful conflicted assassin.” Clearly Hollywood as a culture is so sexed up and drugged up that they go through wild swings pro and anti gun. Love one minute, fear the next. Fine. Just keep makin’ the films. Harvey, you’ll always be known for Pulp Fiction, the most popular film ever among the Russian underworld. Get over it.

    • Isn’t Sean Penn a big gun guy? I thought I heard that when he hooked up with Charlize Theron, who is anti-gun, he had to keep the peace by parting with a few of his firearms. Of course, I’m not one of those who stays up on Hollywood scuttlebutt. My first thought was: Sean Penn? I thought he was married to Madonna.

      • He was, about 20 years ago. She’s since married and divorced again. With/from the English movie director Guy Ritchie, who’s a pretty hot shot director.

  11. I see that our pro2A spokesmen have begun to reach down and find their collective balls.

    About time.

    Good quote.

  12. “…Hollywood ATM machines…” = “Hollywood automated teller machine machines.”

    And that goes for VIN numbers and PIN numbers too!

    The grammar nazi hath spoken!

    • Your point is valid only if people say, “automated teller machine”, and not “ATM”. This is not the same example as “Rio Grande River”, no way.

      Now with PIN, and whatever VIM means, the correct choice is a little less clear.

      “ATM” and “PIN” have a much shorter history in the language than “Rio Grande River”. I’d prefer to let usage sort those out.

      • Functionally, etymology is the study of the illiterate gradually bending a language to their illiteracy… Were it to follow the rules, it wouldn’t change. Thus, usage is the true metric.

        an dat be da truf so y u mad bro?

        :-p

  13. [Mr. Burns] Excellent… [/Mr. Burns]

    Let them keep making fools of themselves. Let them spread their lies and hate. Let them say in one word that they’re not coming for us, then make a movie that proves they’re absolutely 100% coming for us, and that they have no intention of stopping once they have the guns from us, that’s only the beginning…

    This is the double-edged sword of the Neo-Soviets. Emotional Decision Making. They use it to bring the gullible and uneducated to their side of the agenda, but at the same time, it makes them do really, really, dumb stuff…

    Give them all the rope they want… In the long tradition of Democrat Hate (remember, the guys with the burning crosses and pointy hats were democrats), all they know how to do with it is make a noose, and I think most of their current constituency isn’t dumb enough to fall for that one again… There’s no one left to hang but themselves.

    The NRA was founded by White Men who bought guns and gave them to Black People. They violated the Negro Disarmement Laws that made it safe for The Clan to Rape, Rob, Pilage and Murder Black People with impunity. And here the Democrats are at it again, disarming the people they hate, preparing for the next step in their plan, as always. Ask them yourself, everything they do is a ‘good first step’ towards the statist idealism-version of ethnic cleansing they dream about…

    The Neo-Soviets know full well that the color of skin doesn’t matter. It’s the content of a person’s character. That is why their new version of racist hate focuses on hating people who have good character instead of skin color. That is why, in our current society, intelligence and morality are the two most hated traits a person can possess.

    It ties into a conveniently twisted cliche: “Life is hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid.” The objective is to make it “smart” to abandon logical thought and decent behavior by making life hard on anyone who reflects those traits. The truth is that the above cliche is truncated for propaganda purposes: “Life is hard. It’s even ahrder when you’re stupid. It’s hardest when you take a stand against evil.” Evil always rewards it’s participants. 30 Pieces of Silver, anyone? The Hangman’s greatest ally is the one who lets him do it…

    We see this very principle has a very strong hold in the gun community, if I can use that phrase… So many people want to ‘stay off the radar’ and/or bury their guns… What the hell good will that ever do? “I’ll still have some guns after ‘they’ confiscate the other guns.” Really? In such an environment, what do you think you’re going to do with them? TOO LATE!

    Doing the right thing is HARD and the cowards are just taking the easy, and utterly useless, way out. We see it repeated in the Open Carry vs Concealed Carry debate. There is always a division between the cowards and those who would prefer to put it all on the line. At what point will we be stronger? … delusive phantom of hope … may your chains rest lightly upon you … Do you people even listen? cold, dead hands… Blah blah blah…

    If the time comes when you think it might be prudent to bury your guns, then the time has ALREADY PASSED that you should have been firing them!

    How late is too late? When they can make movies like this and it isn’t immediately identified by the common folk as the would-be genocidal hate speech that it is.

    • Good post. I would point out, however, that while the “neo-Soviets” make decisions based on emotion alone, the real Soviets made their decisions with cold calculation.

    • Dustin, you are an EXCELLENT writer. I urge you to consider writing and submitting articles for RF to post here.

      An additional quote that came to me in reading your comment:

      “Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim cannot help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” Robert A. Heinlein “The Notebooks of Lazarus Long” – 1972

  14. They’ve had successes at the state levels… they know how to play small ball when they realize they can’t win nationally.

  15. We must still always remain vigilant. Bloomberg and Co. aren’t going away anytime soon, and Bloomberg is so freaking rich (net worth $31 billion last I read) that he could drop hundreds of millions onto a pet cause without batting an eye. We need to get the Koch Brothers involved in gun rights more (unless they already are?).

  16. Nothing worse than a preachy movie. Movies are for entertainment, not ideological instruction.

    And if Weinstein is putting Meryl Streep in it, that guarantees I won’t be watching it (if it ever comes out). That lady’s best talent is appearing in really stupid movies; she’s a natural fit for Whinestein’s pet project.

    Picturing that oleaginous duo conspiring in some Hollywood back room is enough to cause brain damage. If Streep is the female lead, run. Just run. Don’t watch even a little bit. You’ll never get that part of your life back.

    • Nevertheless we could in our moments of otherwise un-allocated free time speculate with some humor on who the statist civilian disarmament dupe will be who plays the male lead alongside her. Or will they stick to the Hollywood playbook and make her an openly lesbian Progressive?

      Another possible chance for amusement will be to try to figure out which Hollywood Liberal elitist will be cast to play her right-wing extremist antagonist, not to mention casting for the part of Wayne LaPiere!

      • I nominate Phillip Seymour Hoffman to play “Shifty” Wayne LaPierre! But I also like Oliver Stone in the role…

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