An unexpected bit of motivational viewing from the House Republican Leadership.
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the party’s vote counter, began his talk by showing a clip from the movie, “The Town”, trying to forge a sense of unity among the independent-minded caucus.
One character asks his friend: “I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later.”
“Whose car are we gonna take,” the character says.
After showing the clip, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), one of the most outspoken critics of leadership among the 87 freshmen, stood up to speak, according to GOP aides. “I’m ready to drive the car,” West replied, surprising many Republicans by giving his full -throated support for the plan.*
This brief 18-second snippet on YouTube reveals the scene; it is probably one of the few in the movie with no violence or language warning necessary. Note Affleck’s character warns, “we’re gonna hurt some people” in the unspecified task:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ub792aeMjlM
The scene, of course, is about trust, loyalty and brotherhood, taken to absurd, or at least morally troubling lengths.
The selection was noticed Sen. Chuck Schumer, New York Democrat, earlier today.
Schumer, who has never stood with Joe Lieberman and Bill Bennett wanting less violent or explicit movies, who has never turned down a campaign donation from any Hollywood source ($329,000 total), and who ran one of the roughest, nastiest, and dirtiest campaigns in recent memory against Alphonse D’Amato in 1998, was shocked and appalled by the violence in the scene that follows the above dialogue.
The man has never complained about anything on prime time or at the multiplex. But if it’s shown to grown men and women at a House Republican caucus meeting, suddenly he turns into Tipper Gore.
The flexibility is amazing; Hoyer can say Republicans want to shoot Obama, Obama can say the GOP has put guns to the heads of the American people, but if Republicans watch a violent movie, they have somehow… enabled violence, or had violent thoughts, or something.
* If you had to go hurt some people, you would want Allen West doing more than just driving the car, no?