Ron Gould Shotguns Civility
By Michael Bryan
Ron Gould, candidate for the GOP nomination for Arizona's Congressional District 4, drinks deeply from the "2nd Amendment remedies" well, proving conclusively that he hasn't any actual ideas, only a ball of undefined rage which needs to be directed through the barrel of a gun.
Gould's latest ad features him toting a shotgun around the border (presumably hunting for them durned 'illegals') and then demonstrating his opinion of "government run health care" by shooting a copy of the Affordable Care Act, then smirking the exit line, "Because Washington needs a straight shooter." The double entendre – suggesting that we need to send someone to Washington to shoot the place up (maybe some liberals? maybe the President?) – couldn't more clearly appeal to the basest eliminationist streak in right wing politics.
The gun-play by right-wing politicos is appalling and despicable. Have they learned nothing from the Tucson Massacre? Such violent calls to action have no place in American politics. Given our history of political assassinations, civil political violence, and extremist terrorism, it is deeply irresponsible for our wanna-be leaders to go around promoting themselves by shooting those things they disagree with.
The underlying message of the ad is set up in the language of the very first line: "Washington doesn't get us." Gould is building upon decades of GOP messaging that has positioned our federal government as some sort of alien, face-sucking parasite that "we" normal people should resent and reject: by sending some gun-wielding yokel to Congress to put things aright… by selling out to his corporate donors and becoming a millionaire lobbyist, presumably… ::shrug::
I understand that Americans hate the government right now – and Congress most of all. It's a dysfunctional, gridlocked, ugly, partisan, hell-mouth with an approval rating somewhere below that of pedophiles.
What made it that way? The deluge of special interest money politicians have become dependent on to browbeat and hoodwink the public into voting for them (which in GOP terms are always unions and public employees, never the mega-corps whom they fellate with policy favors in return for campaign cash – no, those are sacrosanct "job creators" who must be appeased like Olympian Gods in order to bestow the benefices of wage slavery on we mere mortals), the extreme ideological intensity (which was instituted by Gingrich and fanned into a conflagration of spittle-flecked rabidity most recently by the Billionaire-backed Tea Party movement), and the inability to address major problems (see special interest money deeply committed to ensuring the status quo, or worse…).
Yes, Americans have plenty to dislike about Congress. And much of it stems from madly auditioning corporate shills and wanna-be sellouts like Gould, who have turned representative government into a twisted, populist, id-tickling, performance art designed to translate hatred and fear into votes for poseurs like Gould, who are more than happy to sell their constituents into slavery to the corporate-fascist vulture capitalists paying for the performance.
Mr. Gould, you may have the perfect right to say and do such juvenile and disturbing things, but you should demonstrate that you can recognize when you have gone to far by pulling this ad.
Watch the obnoxious Gould and and his ghoulish ad after the click…