November 1, 2006

I Had My Bible and I Had My Gun


Conrad Burns, running behind in Montana’s Senate race, is the beneficiary of an advertising campaign by the National Rifle Association — 7 billboards; 4,143 radio ads on 88 stations; 1,824 cable tv ads; and inserts in 11 newspapers.

Nationwide, the NRA is all over this election. In a video ad running on Newsmax, the NRA describes how victims of hurricane Katrina had their guns forcefully yanked out of their hands by bullying cops. One elderly woman who was trying to protect her dogs says she was slammed against the wall and put in a headlock by the invading police when they saw she was clutching a pistol in one hand. Then there’s the little old African-American minister woman who was plenty put out when the cops came to her house. “Why come and get my gun?” she says in the ad. “I am a good citizen. What are you worried about me for? I am a widow.I am 65 and I am here by myself.”

But she wasn’t scared: “I had my Bible and I had my gun.”

DOES IT FEEL LIKE POLITICS IS AT A BREAKING POINT?

Headshot of Editor in Chief of Mother Jones, Clara Jeffery

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Signed by Clara Jeffery

Clara Jeffery, Editor-in-Chief

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