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Right-wing pundits now lecturing the military about guns

November 11, 2009 1:58 pm ET by Eric Boehlert

Interesting to watch, to say the least. It's sort of like watching right-wing pundits lecture police chiefs about guns when they're not sufficiently radical in their pro-guns views. But watching the same commentators now target the U.S. military is really a bit much.

In the wake of the Ft. Hood handgun massacre, more and more conservative commentators, adopting an at-times openly hostile tone towards the military, are explaining exactly what went wrong on the Army base. Mostly, conservatives are calling out the U.S. military as a bastion of liberalism where political correctness runs amok, which I'm guessing comes as a surprise to those who actually serve in the military, especially Muslim American soldiers.

Now the latest emerging talking point is that U.S. Army bases need more guns and that, according to today's WashTimes editorial, basically everyone at Ft. Hood should be walking around with a loaded pistol, if they want.

The argument is to be expected, since following the gun massacre at Virginia Tech, conservatives immediately began lobbying in hopes of passing a law which would allow college students to carry loaded weapons and turn campuses into gun meccas. And now the rhetorical push is on to do the same at military bases, as conservative commentators lecture the military about how to deal with guns.

As General (Ret.) Barry McCaffrey noted on MSNBC, immediately following  the Ft. Hood shooting, "There is ferocious gun control measures on soldiers and families on a military installation." Who do you think has a better handle on how to deal with firearms in the real world, military commanders or editorial writers for the Washington Times?

UPDATED: And just so you know, according to the WashTimes, the Ft. Hood shooting was all Bill Clinton's fault. That's how the Times couches its rhetoric, which allows the editorial to directly attack Clinton (instead of the Pentagon) for allegedly instituting gun control measure on military bases. But the larger premise is unmistakable: the WashTimes know better how guns should be handled on bases than do military commanders.  

UPDATED: And no, of course the WashTimes doesn't spend one sentencing contemplating where and how the Ft. Hood shooter was able to purchase his guns and bags full of ammunition.

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    • Author by Midnight Kevin (November 11, 2009 2:16 pm ET)
      2  
      Right-wing pundits are fueled by their distrust and hatred of their opposing political counterparts and now they are trying to infuse that distrust and hatred into the military. I wouldn't be surprised if any kind of rebellion or coup attempt were to come from the right, not the supposed subversive liberals...
      ---------------------------
      The Midnight Review
      Mum Is The Word
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    • Author by magnolialover (November 11, 2009 2:20 pm ET)
      2  
      And it looks like in Texas, you don't need a permit to purchase a handgun. You don't need to register said handgun. And there is no licensing of the owners of handguns.

      Although, if you want to carry, you have to have a license for that.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by dirtylittlereligion (November 11, 2009 3:36 pm ET)
      1  
      Well, to be honest, they want everyone EXCEPT muslims to be carrying around loaded guns. Oh, and what the hell, if you don't look "american" enough, you don't get a gun either. Ok, Ok, fine. ONLY WHITE CHRISTIAN MEN GET GUNS.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by mikelartist (November 11, 2009 4:08 pm ET)
         
      Isn't it amazing that the Washington Times escaped the anthrax attacks back in 2001? I ask this as one of those red herring, open ended, rhetorical questions the right is so good at.

      Perhaps there is reason to look into it given their anti military, anti American stance in this Fort Hood arms issue.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by rwmacdonald2091 (November 11, 2009 5:15 pm ET)
      3  
      Just think, the right wing is this crazy just after 10 months of the Obama administration. What on earth is it going to look like a year from now?
      Report Abuse
      • Author by bintx (November 11, 2009 5:54 pm ET)
           
        Actually, Obama has only been president for 9 1/2 months. Won't be 10 until the 20th of November. Pet peeve, sorry! LOL!

        They started going crazy the day after he was nominated.
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    • Author by paul8616 (November 11, 2009 8:02 pm ET)
         
      Recall the uproar that occurred recently after the FBI released its report about white supremacist groups recruiting veterans. The same voices went into overdrive, erroneously criticizing the Obama administration for trying to demean the military.

      Basically: They're just crazy. They have no wisdom to offer on these subjects. Hopefully military leadership understands this fact.
      Report Abuse

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