McConaughey Just Picked His Political Party. Huge Mistake
Oscar-winner's gun control speech marked an accidental turning point
Matthew McConaughey is a cut above most political celebrities.
He doesn’t spit fire and brimstone like director Rob Reiner or Alyssa Milano. Nor does he bend the truth until it snaps like a branch, as the “View” hosts do on a regular basis.
The Oscar winner is calm, measured and unwilling to demonize the mainstream Left or Right.
In a way, he’s everything we want in a celebrity sticking his neck out on the issues of the day. Except he just made the biggest mistake of his quasi-political life.
He chose a side. And he chose badly for more than a few reasons.
McConaughey’s recent gun control plea, made via the current White House’s invitation, won’t be easily forgotten. His policy suggestions proved generic and unlikely to move the needle on gun violence.
Then again, why would anyone expect the “Dallas Buyers Club” star to set forth any bold new agendas? He’s an actor, not a gun control expert. He brings a layman’s touch to the subject, meaning there’s little reason for him to even be on such an important political stage.
It’s one thing for a celebrity to share a hot take on Twitter. It’s another to travel to Washington, D.C. and demand said take be given the gravitas of a State of the Union address.
RELATED: McConaughey, Brand Nail the Clueless Elite
Figures like John Lott and Dana Loesch have been enmeshed in guns for years, if not decades. Agree or disagree with their opinions, they’ve studied the topic aggressively and offer sober insights.
What has McConaughey done to measure up?
More importantly, the star has been carefully straddling the line between Democrats and Republicans in recent years. He’s teased running for Texas governor, inserting himself into various narratives along the way.
And he’s done so without choosing a party. That’s no accident.
Embracing generic gun control platitudes, from the Biden White House pulpit of all places, changed that. And he did it at a moment when Team Biden is on its heels, pounded by terrible polling numbers and facing a Red Wave come November.
It’s not politically smart to back the wrong horse.
Not only did McConaughey pick a political side, but he also did so at the worst possible time. Today’s Democratic party doesn’t resemble the one President Barack Obama commandeered just a few short years ago.
It’s angry, uncompromising and beholden to its far-Left base. And that seems to clash with everything the actor represents.
The modern Left looks the other way when its side commits political violence, or it implicitly eggs it on. It gently nods as protesters descend on the homes of Supreme Court Justices, assuming the legal eagles lean to the Right.
McConaughey’s “new” side often demands abortion up until birth, cheers on Big Tech censorship and champions Cancel Culture.
The actor may not embrace those extreme measures, but his new party does. And how will Democrats take to McConaughey’s kinder, gentler approach? They’ll rage against his willingness to defend Trump voters, as he’s done in the past. They’ll steam over his inability to demonize the other side.
Conservatives offer a bigger tent today, witness Dr. Oz’s primary victory in Pennsylvania. Or, closer to Hollywood, look at how the Right rallies behind left-leaning comics like Ricky Gervais, Joe Rogan and Dave Chappelle.
No one fought harder for Rogan than the Right, and even he admitted as much.
Republicans might have made room for a center-leaning soul who just so happened to be a movie star. Democrats may cheer McConaughey on as he pushes more gun control measures, but every other time he opens his mouth they’ll demand he shut it, and fast.
The political neophyte will learn that lesson soon enough.
Wow, I can’t believe McConaughey would Switch sides like that! He’s always been so independent and non-political, it’s crazy to see him jump into the fray like this. I’m really disappointed in him, especially since he’s been a fan favorite for so long. #McConaughey #Politics #Disappointed
Let’s not ban illegal drugs. After all illegal drugs don’t harm or kill people, do they.
I’m a Marine Corps veteran, a father, a husband, and a responsible firearm owner. There is a compromise that Noone has mentioned.
Yes to background checks.
Yes to required training.
Yes to raising the age limit to buy a firearm from 18 to 25, not 21.
The compromise? Raise the age of draft eligibility to 25 and make it as inclusive as the left wants everything else to be.
Also, raise the age to vote to match. If people under 25 (as I suggest) or 21 (as most suggest), aren’t responsible enough to buy a tool, how can they be responsible enough to make decisions for our country that could take years to overcome?
Omit the red flag laws altogether. Due process MUST not be circumvented.
Guns don’t kill people, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE.
This article did not age well. The left is not rejected. Trumpians and the GOP got their butts whipped and people are tired of mass shootings, election deniers and those who will not concede. Also sick of the attack on women’s rights and trans
This article reads like a high school freshman wrote it.
I watched it and I won’t watch him anymore tho, that’s for sure
And he cares? better yet, do we? BLEEP no, stfu
His Only side is for teachers and children. He’s asking BOTH sides to compromise and come up with a solution
At least be serious if you want to be taken seriously
Matthew may have to give up his membership in the “Longhorn Fan Club”. Calling for “Red Flag” Laws, when Democrats are calling Republican Membership a “Red Flag”, leaves little to the imagination.
Yep. They say everyone that voted for Trump is crazy so that would mean disarmament for all those voters. I hope Cornyn doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his career on this one,
Well… I’m in Texas… I own semi-Auto 40 cal And a 556/223 with 6 or 7 30 round magazines… I vote read always… I have no problem with raising the age for semi auto “military style” weapons to 21, no problem with a waiting period of 7 days.. Not sure about the rest of the stuff like red flags etc. etc.… But I don’t find those two things any big deal…
I’m generally inclined to disagree with those restrictions. I am still thinking it through. Here’s what I’m struggling with. If we can’t trust 18 year old adults because they’re not developed enough to make good decisions why not apply this to other issues? I believe voting can lead to horrible decisions that leave people dead (see: Afghan withdrawal or the war on terror) so let’s raise age to vote back to 21.
Additionally, there is an irony in denying a civil right guaranteed in the Bill of Rights to an adult because they aren’t 21 yet using the force of law to make them register for the draft so the same gov’t can put them in harms way defending that same Constitution for the rest of us.
Well said.
Why is it that most Liberals and some Conservatives believe the Constitution granted us that right in the Bill of Rights? Are folks so uneducated they believe that?
God gave us those rights – and the Constitution only enumerates them. No law or EO can remove those rights – ever. I don’t care if all 435 House or 100 Senate members vote against that right – it will never change.
We put 18 year olds in uniform, and they are handed automatic weapons, so how does requiring civilians to be 21 to use a semi-automatic rifle make any sense?
Why does an 18 or 21 year old civilian need an automatic weapon? I don’t see the reasoning behind anyone owning an automatic weapon.
New, fully automatic weapons—weapons that reload automatically and fire continuously with one trigger pull—have been banned for civilians in the United States since the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act of 1986. Sorry, but you lost this one.
Why do you need multiple electronic devices upon which you access social media? Answer: it’s none of my business what you own. Likewise, it’s none of yours what other people own.
You’re correct. The same people pushing to raise the age to buy firearms are pushing to lower the age in other areas like voting. They are entirely inconsistent in their logic*. As far as McConaughey I think he wants to be president and he’s trying to find a way to make that happen.
And PS He hasn’t had that much hair since 1973. I’ve seen pictures of him with an almost bald head. Just another Democrat narcissist.
McConaughey is pretending to care about people in the town he hasn’t lived in or visited since he was a kid. It’s al publicity stunt and they’re even talking about running this fool for President. And yes, he could have had his news conference anywhere but they wanted to see how he’d look in the WH
Right, because moving away from one’s hometown means one doesn’t, nor ever has, cared about it and the people who live there?
Your whinging does nothing to rebuke the points McConaughey raised and only reinforces the reality that many Americans are far more interested in engaging in childish, futile character assassinations than having sensible, long overdue discussions (as grownups) about gun control.
I didnt listen to his speech about gun control. Did he say anything about mental disorders ? Cuz a gun doesn’t fire itself. An evil person kills. My family owns guns as well as my friends. No mass shootings. Aboit 8 yrs ago congress voted to decrease funding for mental institutions. They had to release all the patients in 80% of the psych facilities.
I hear ya! A-bombs don’t kill people. People kill people!
Who dropped and or created the Atom bomb tho? Certainly not another atom bomb.
Additionally the firebombing of Tokyo killed more than Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.
Chris, you are saying exactly what has happened. The people who need mental health care are not getting the help they need. The hospitals and institutions have been closed! Rather than the government making more laws, how about applying the existing laws and spend the time and $ reopening facilities to help these people.
You may want to see who the last 6 of the last 7 mass shooters are comprised of…
One other thing – most American gun owners have obtained their guns legally. The shooters, with one or maybe two exceptions, have done so illegally. That information may be verified.
Why penalize the law abiding citizens?
‘First time visitors’ are always moby trolls with less between their ears than the pathetic FOTUS (Failure of the United States) squatting in the White House.
Did you even watch his press conference? Or just regurgitating the most cherry-picked Fox News takes from it?
Let me guess; your favorite word is ‘literally’ and you occasionally make anonymous death threats on people you disagree with online.
The guy above me is right
So what did he post that was wrong? You can’t actually answer that, can you.
It wasn’t McConaughey’s press conference: it was Biden’s. McConaughey made himself a tool of the Democrats holding his “press conference” at the White House.
McConaughey could have held his announcement from an neutral location. He didn’t.
Of course you took the Fox News route. This is a website, Rob Reiner.
Maybe he should buy his wife a decent pair of shoes…green sneaks, come on man….LOL
Obviously you prefer to regurgitation on CNN or MSDNC!
Good lesson for Matt. Shows he’s not sharp enough for politics. Better suited where he is, following a script somebody else has written.
except the first video is from CBS. GJ