Mr_Dictionary
Member
How do you guys get that Selleck won his argument with Rosie? Basically all he said the entire time is "I'm not the NRA" nevermind that the only reason the issue came up is because he did an ad 8 months prior that said "I am the NRA". Not only that but he later admits that he hadn't been a member of the NRA since childhood and had to rejoin so he could do the ad. He even admits that he doesn't "hang out with people of the NRA... ".
I will admit that he made points with his reference to violence being a cultural issue, but when Rosie retorted with "guns are at least partly to blame", he just let it stand. Even worse she spouted madeup statistics and sensationalism about assault weapons and he pulled his "I'm not the NRA" bit again. He did the same thing when they discussed the original intent of the constitution and Rosie ended by stating that POSSESSING an assault rifle was equivalent to shouting "Fire" in a crowded movie theatre, and he AGREED WITH HER!
I understand that he was under stress and in a hostile environment, but he was prepped and told that the issue may come up (like they do for all interviews) and he was well aware of Rosie's irrational beliefs. If he wasn't willing to defend his position, he just had to say that he didn't want to talk about that during prep and it would have died. Instead, he got up there and refused to answer questions, confirmed outright fabrications, and generally went along with Rosie's manipulation of the facts to suit her beliefs. These are not the actions of the president of the NRA.
I know that most RKBA people look at the video or read the transcript and see Selleck as winning primarily because he remains calm in the face of outright lies and distortions (and I will give him credit for that) while Rosie gets increasingly shrill, but the RKBA members are not the target audience of Rosie's show. The target audience is the enemy of the RKBA, the soccer moms and they expect and welcome Rosie's behavior. In addition, The soccer moms have no clue that Rosie's facts (which she had spouted frequently) were complete lies and distortions, and since the soccer moms watch Rosie fervently she inherently had more credibility than did Selleck. In this situation he needs to disagree totally, not attempt to correct misperceptions. As the credible host, Rosie's statements are already accepted as facts and any attempt by Selleck to correct a misperception is seen as an attempt to spin the facts not provide accurate information.
With this in mind, there is no way that Selleck effectively communicated or defended our position during this interview. It could possibly be concluded that the argument was a draw since Rosie was the one that closed the argument, but Selleck's body language is the language of an uncomfortable and defeated man not someone who is comfortable and confident in his beliefs and positions.
If Selleck is willing to truely live his "I am the NRA", then I think he can be a charismatic and particularly effect spokesperson. But, I don't think that he's willing to accept becoming an outcast in Hollywood and alienating his primary fanbase which is the soccer moms, but adopting and defending the positions and beliefs of the NRA.
By the way, the above should in no way be taken as an endorsement of Nugent. I love Nugent, but I sincerely doubt that he wants to be the head of the NRA even if he were offered the job. The NRA and Nugent are two sides of the same coin but only one side of a coin can up at a time.
Of course if the NRA wanted to create a "spirit of the NRA incarnate" position, I think Nugent would be elected to a lifetime position.
I will admit that he made points with his reference to violence being a cultural issue, but when Rosie retorted with "guns are at least partly to blame", he just let it stand. Even worse she spouted madeup statistics and sensationalism about assault weapons and he pulled his "I'm not the NRA" bit again. He did the same thing when they discussed the original intent of the constitution and Rosie ended by stating that POSSESSING an assault rifle was equivalent to shouting "Fire" in a crowded movie theatre, and he AGREED WITH HER!
I understand that he was under stress and in a hostile environment, but he was prepped and told that the issue may come up (like they do for all interviews) and he was well aware of Rosie's irrational beliefs. If he wasn't willing to defend his position, he just had to say that he didn't want to talk about that during prep and it would have died. Instead, he got up there and refused to answer questions, confirmed outright fabrications, and generally went along with Rosie's manipulation of the facts to suit her beliefs. These are not the actions of the president of the NRA.
I know that most RKBA people look at the video or read the transcript and see Selleck as winning primarily because he remains calm in the face of outright lies and distortions (and I will give him credit for that) while Rosie gets increasingly shrill, but the RKBA members are not the target audience of Rosie's show. The target audience is the enemy of the RKBA, the soccer moms and they expect and welcome Rosie's behavior. In addition, The soccer moms have no clue that Rosie's facts (which she had spouted frequently) were complete lies and distortions, and since the soccer moms watch Rosie fervently she inherently had more credibility than did Selleck. In this situation he needs to disagree totally, not attempt to correct misperceptions. As the credible host, Rosie's statements are already accepted as facts and any attempt by Selleck to correct a misperception is seen as an attempt to spin the facts not provide accurate information.
With this in mind, there is no way that Selleck effectively communicated or defended our position during this interview. It could possibly be concluded that the argument was a draw since Rosie was the one that closed the argument, but Selleck's body language is the language of an uncomfortable and defeated man not someone who is comfortable and confident in his beliefs and positions.
If Selleck is willing to truely live his "I am the NRA", then I think he can be a charismatic and particularly effect spokesperson. But, I don't think that he's willing to accept becoming an outcast in Hollywood and alienating his primary fanbase which is the soccer moms, but adopting and defending the positions and beliefs of the NRA.
By the way, the above should in no way be taken as an endorsement of Nugent. I love Nugent, but I sincerely doubt that he wants to be the head of the NRA even if he were offered the job. The NRA and Nugent are two sides of the same coin but only one side of a coin can up at a time.
Of course if the NRA wanted to create a "spirit of the NRA incarnate" position, I think Nugent would be elected to a lifetime position.
And then 9 months later was revealed to have been sending an armed bodyguard into school to watch her child. 
