Because we watch Trumpland TV so you don’t have to, today we learned the National Rifle Association’s television outlet has a new promo in heavy rotation pegged to last week’s CPAC circus, starring NRA prez Oliver North and every Democrat known to trigger—no pun intended—conservative outrage.
<p>Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have a new favorite line...</p>
Ah, yes, we’re starting off on the right foot here: With politicians who are no longer in office or even seeking it. We’re sure this is going in a good direction.
<p>...that Donald Trump is the symptom, not the cause. But here’s the truth: our president, and all of us who believe in making America great, <em><strong>are</em></strong> a cure.</p>
The emphasis on “are” makes no sense here; the differentiation should be on the word “cure,” as a contrast to both “symptom” and “cause.” It sounds incredibly weird—go back and watch it again. Anyway:
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<p>...a cure to an ideology of elitism.</p>
Here we are shown footage of Barack Obama wearing one of his elitist tuxedos:
<p>...that looks down on those who have guns, or pray to God, and calls our neighbors in the heartland "deplorables."</p>
North does not seem particularly confident when talking about “those who have guns” here, which seems like a problem for someone who currently holds the title of “NRA president.”
<p>A cure to an ‘America Last’ foreign policy that restricted the might of our military, and denied our wounded heroes the care they deserved.</p>
Why is the black-and-white footage also suffering from magnetic tape artifacts? We know the NRA is short on cash, but it seems they could afford something better than a VHS deck.
<p>A cure to targeting law enforcement, while celebrating those who dishonor our flag.</p>
A Colin Kaepernick reference, albeit without any video—guess the NRA couldn't afford the NFL rights fee. Also, who is he talking to? We’re over here... to your left.
Stay for the tiresome right-wing tropes:
<p>A cure to a Secretary of State who lied about Benghazi...</p>
“Take it from me, Oliver North, moral authority on lying to Congress.”
<p>...and a former president who disgracefully called the murder of those four Americans a ‘conspiracy theory.’ And a cure to those who deny America's greatness. Over the last two years, we’ve cured the ills they brought to our country. Let's stand together so the new leaders of the House of Representatives don’t make America weak again.</p>
The editing here is absolutely manic, from multiple shots of Sen. Cory Booker to the footage of Senator Kamala Harris laid atop a voiceover bemoaning “the new leaders of the House of Representatives.” They didn't even work very hard to source clean video—the first Booker shot includes an Associated Press logo and title bug.
It’s not particularly clear what action the NRATV promo is suggesting, as the call to action is... watch more NRATV? We’ll admit it: You’ve hooked us!
