WASHINGTON – It was the sainted President Abraham Lincoln – you know, tall guy, beard, the one who actually quelled an armed insurrection – who is credited with warning, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.’’
Well, folks, meet Kentucky Gov. Mad Matt “Ol’ Blood ‘n Guts’’ Bevin, who has, indeed, removed all doubt.
It was during an appearance at the Values Voters Conference here in the district last week that Matt the Lionheart revealed the potential for an Eighth Crusade to rout the infidels, much like Richard I back in the good old days of the 1100s.
In this instance, rather than take on Saladin, Ol’ Blood ‘n Guts is keeping a wary eye on that pagan Hillary Clinton and her secret plan to crush Christianity like a bug should she become president.
Mad Matt offered an apocalyptic view of an America molded by the hands of the tyrant Clinton, asserting that there are those who fear the great nation couldn’t survive such a fate.
But Matt the Lionheart is confidant the paragons of virtue will prevail – even if it requires the shedding of blood.
“I do think it would be possible, but at what price?’’ Bevin asked. “At what price? The roots of the tree of liberty are watered by what? The blood of who? The tyrants, to be sure, but who else? The patriots.
“Whose blood will be shed? It may be that of those in this room. It might be that of our children and grandchildren. I have nine children. It breaks my heart to think that it might be their blood is needed to redeem something, to reclaim something that we, through our apathy and our indifference, have given away. Don’t let it happen.’’
Praise the lord and pass the ammunition!
Now, there’s a possibility Mad Matt is just a stumblebum who kind of misspoke by ginning up enthusiasm for an armed insurrection. Really, who among us hasn’t sworn to take up arms and let blood spill to overthrow Godless America? Be reasonable, folks.
But then there’s this interview with PoliZette, a website run by conservative commentator Laura Ingraham, in which the man representing the commonwealth to the world warned that America is “at a fork in the road,’’ possibly headed “towards a more godless, more corrupt bureaucratic, more authoritarian approach.’’
“Our founding fathers knew and said that the roots of liberty are watered by the blood of tyrants and the blood of patriots,” Bevin said. “If we don’t step up when we have a chance to engage ideologically, philosophically, politically — then we will ultimately find ourselves forced to the point that as a people we will be forced to shed the blood of both tyrant and patriots.”
So, no it’s pretty clear Mad Matt is willing to shed blood – probably someone else’s – to storm the parapets of Godless liberalism.
Since these remarks became public and folks learned about them, reacting in much the same way as the opening night audience for “Springtime for Hitler,’’ the governor has offered a tut-tut — his remarks have been misconstrued.
The governor insists he was actually talking about the nation’s military (yeah, that’s the ticket) and how the U.S. can’t be complacent when it comes to radical Islamic extremists looking to destroy our freedoms.
What this means is, on top of proving himself to be a fool, the governor of the commonwealth has shown himself to be a liar. He wasn’t discussing the military or Islam. He was talking about Hillary Clinton, godless liberalism and his own American Crusade. There’s no other way to take that backing and filling. He declared in his talk that “we’re killing children, then it’s ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell,’ now it’s this gender-bending kind of ‘don’t be a bigot,’ ‘don’t be unreasonable,’ ‘don’t be unenlightened.’”
“I want us to be able to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we don’t have to do it physically,” he said. “But that may, in fact, be the case.”
Mad Matt’s comments don’t merit concern. They deserve ridicule. So we can change the words to the old hymn, “Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe, along with Gov. Matt ‘Ol Blood ‘n Guts Bevin: Forward into battle see His banners go!
No mention of the military. No mention of Islam. What a maroon.
It’s worth noting that Mad Matt’s comment were offered during the so-called Values Voters Conference where talking about going to battle and literally spilling the blood of your ideological foe is apparently embraced. Interesting values on display by social conservatives these days.
And it’s worth repeating that an armed insurrection seeking to protect the values of a certain quadrants of American society has been tried before, about 150 years ago. It didn’t take.
It’s, sadly, past time for the 4.3 million residents of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to draw the conclusion that their governor is a nudnik, a stooge, a nincompoop. He displays the class of a pig in slop. And he is making a state that seemed to finally be on the right path in regard to education and jobs a laughingstock yet again.
Consider: You have a nice little business, making plenty of money, and you’re thinking of expanding into other states. You’re dealing with the various economic authorities and you’re about to make a decision. Are you going to locate in Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois or the state where the governor is promoting an insurrection against the infidels if Hillary Clinton becomes president?
Boy, have to think about that one.
Several commentators, apparently unaware that Mad Matt is a boob, have wrung their hands over his “Onward Christian Soldiers marching as to war’’ spiel. Matthew Yglesias, a fine writer for the website Vox, characterized Ol’ Blood ‘n Guts’ comments as “really scary,’’
In fact, the remarks are really scary only if you take Mad Matt Bevin seriously, which is just impossible to do. From sparking a feud with former Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear to endangering the University of Louisville’s status in the national higher education spectrum to nastily criticizing House Democrats from failing to show up for work when they were actually dealing with the budget, Bevin is a joke. A sick joke, but a joke nonetheless.
No, Mad Matt’s comments don’t merit concern. They deserve ridicule. So we can change the words to the old hymn, “Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe, along with Gov. Matt ‘Ol Blood ‘n Guts Bevin: Forward into battle see His banners go!
This record has been accomplished in just 10 months’ time. What other wonders might possibly lay ahead from the great commonwealth?
Washington correspondent Bill Straub served 11 years as the Frankfort Bureau chief for The Kentucky Post. He also is the former White House/political correspondent for Scripps Howard News Service. A member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, he currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, and writes frequently about the federal government and politics. Email him at williamgstraub@gmail.com.
I found the Governor’s words … confusing, at best. Who does he see as the enemy if Clinton wins? Democrats? I’ll never forget what Jon Stewart said in the last election: “Republicans love America; they just hate half the people who live there.”
Wow, Bill Straub is exceedingly foolish. All Governor Bevin did was to quote one of the best of our Founding Fathers. Of course, anything America’s Founders said or did puts the liberals in a fit of apolexy nowadays.
First off, I’m not surprised Jill is confused. Second, Mr. Straub has made it painfully obvious that media types no longer have to even try to pretend some semblance of objectivity. The way the Governor’s comments have been parsed and portrayed is astounding, that is until you realize the media has set aside all pretense of laying in bed with their liberal loves and will work assiduously to condemn any conservative representative or group. When the writer uses the phrase “so-called Values Voters Conference”, it is more than a little telling. When they resort to calling someone names it’s obvious. When they ignore (or are ignorant of) a quote from one of this nation’s founding fathers, it’s worthy of ridicule.