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Tombstone actor Kurt Russell is refusing to back down to the mob. The actor has caught some heat over his conservative statement but pointed to the Founding Fathers to defend his statement.
Kurt Russell said he thinks actors should stay out of politics. He made that clear during an interview with The New York Times. Russell identifies himself as a “hardcore libertarian.”
What a refreshing take from an actor. Actors seem to think they are the authority on all subjects because they pretend to be other people in movies.
When the reporter asked a question regarding gun control, Russell said, “If you think gun control is going to change the terrorists’ point of view, I think you’re, like, out of your mind.”
That statement made the media lose their collective mind.
Truth Tent reported:
In an interview with The Daily Beast, the Tango & Cash star not only doubled down on his gun control remarks but also explained how he became a libertarian. “When I was a young guy, I was finding myself not quite being able to see the things that were going on and buy into a political culture,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do, so I finally said, ‘Why don’t I go back and see what the Founding Fathers were all about, and see how that stacked up. Well, I found them and I found libertarianism. They were pretty radical guys, and damn smart, and I just believe in that old-time stuff and think they had great ideas.”
Russell mentioned in another interview his view on the right to bear arms. He said, “I think there’s a very strong reason the Founding Fathers had for the Second Amendment and that is that no government ever hasn’t had to fight its own people,” he said. “I think that’s an important part of our existence.”
Russell hasn’t ever discussed his libertarianism and his deeper beliefs publicly. He usually turns down invitations to appear on political talk shows, which is consistent with his belief that actors should have no part in lecturing Americans on politics.
“I don’t want to go on those shows and have someone think: ‘The last thing I want to do is watch Kurt Russell talk about sh*t that I don’t think he knows anything about.”
He also said, “I believe in limited Constitutional government, free market capitalism, reach for the brass ring,” he said. “There’s this place where you can go do that and don’t step on anybody’s toes and still try to reach for the brass ring.”
It was once pointed out to him that his political views are in the “extreme minority” in Hollywood. He responded to that and said, “I’ve heard some pretty rough things through the years that were really undeserved,” he said. “But the number one thing was my case was worse, because I couldn’t say, ‘I’m a Republican, sorry.’ I wasn’t a Republican, I was worse: I was a hardcore libertarian.”
“I was brought up as a Republican, but when I realized that at the end of the day there wasn’t much difference between a Democrat and Republican, I became a libertarian,” Russell said.
He also commented on the extremely fake nature of Hollywood.
“I’m not a Bill Maher libertarian,” Russell declared. “That’s faux-libertarianism. He doesn’t know what it is. I like him, and he’s a nice guy, but seriously, that’s not libertarianism. The other thing I’ve found is that a lot of liberals in Hollywood are faux-liberals, and a lot of Republicans in Hollywood are faux-conservatives.”
Russell also said that his political views have made him unpopular in the Hollywood crowd.
“As the years have gone by, yes, I clearly at times was—at least in terms of ‘the hang’—politically persona non grata,” he said. “But I always had a good time talking about things with people. The thing people did get to know about me if they engaged me is that I’m fair, I’m pretty energetic, and I’m pretty knowledgeable. I don’t pop off without finding out about stuff—and I like finding out about stuff, and don’t have that much of an agenda about it.”
