The Post Millenial reported that renowned actor Matthew McConaughey is potentially considering a run for Texas governor in the near future.
He appeared on the “Hugh Hewitt Show” on November 17, 2020, where he was asked about the rumors of his aspirations for higher office. The Texan icon and Oscar-winning actor expressed his interest in running for higher office but did not specify the date for his potential run.
McConaughey responded to host Hugh Hewitt, “It would be up to the people more than it would me. Politics seems to be a broken business to me right now. And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested. Pretty open-ended response, right?”
The movie star continued, “No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, or as I said earlier, denomination, we have broken those social contracts. I want to get behind personal values to rebind our social contracts with each other as Americans, as people again.”
TMZ reported that McConaughey continued to dance around the issue on November 18, when the actor made an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s show. He responded to the question with, “I have no plans to do that right now,” when, obviously, the next election is two years from “right now”.
McConaughey has taken a centrist approach to politics and criticized both the Left and the Right in American politics. In an in interview with Esquire, he said the following:
The far left doesn’t seem to want to ever be able to admit the evil that mankind can posses, and the far right doesn’t want to think past tomorrow. I want to propose meeting in the middle as a dare. I dare you to meet in the middle, instead of like, ‘Oh, that’s a place of great compromise.’
Although McConaughey is positioning himself as a centrist, his views on guns are quite alarming. Lone Star Gun Rights recently covered the actor’s participation in a number of ant-gun events:
“In 2018, he appeared in a March for Our Lives rally where he endorsed the group and gun control. He also openly backs the ‘assault weapons’ and ‘high capacity’ magazine bans.”
“One, let’s ban the assault weapons for civilians. This is a no-brainer,” he declared. “And to my friends out there, that are responsible owners of these assault weapons that they use for recreation, please let’s take one for the team and set it down.”
Although McConaughey is in favor of gun control, he believes that there is a limit to the kind of gun control that can be passed. He is of the opinion that youth gun control movements could be co-opted by gun control extremists who want to ban all firearms. The Oscar recipient claims to have grown up in a household where guns were present, which in turn shaped his views on firearms and the Second Amendment.
Although McConaughey may not be a rabid gun controller, his support for gun control only allows extremists to continue piggybacking off of his agenda. Once government encroaches on our private activities, it does not scale back. This is what centrists fail to understand.
For Democrats in the Lone Star State, McConaughey may be their best option. His celebrity status and respect among Texans would work in his favor should he decide to run for office. Democrats have not been able to field credible gubernatorial candidates in the Lone Star State over the last decade, so someone like McConaughey could potentially add a little spice to an otherwise dormant Democrat political apparatus, In addition, his centrism could be helpful in an otherwise light Red state that would perhaps be more receptive to centrist Democrats.
One thing is for sure: McConaughey’s views on the Second Amendment should concern any liberty conservative in Texas. We ultimately want a restoration of our right to bear arms, not incremental steps towards civilian disarmament. For that reason, McConaughey is not our guy.
