Actor Matthew Modine is the latest lib from sunny Southern California to preach about guns, even invoking the name of Ronald Reagan while doing it.
The Modine family is probably like most others. Like my own, there is a mix of liberals and conservatives. My older brother and uncle lean left while the rest of us in my immediate family are conservative to varying degrees.
My paternal grandmother was raised a Democrat and has been one all of her life. They were Democrats and Methodists. Nothing would ever change that.
One of my great aunts was a delegate to the 1972 Democratic Convention. And the tradition continues: another great aunt and uncle are big supporters of Tom Daschle.
So, knowing a little about Matthew Modine, his politics and movie choices, I was surprised when his brother Mike introduced himself years ago.
We were both on the campaign trail. He was running for some local office, perhaps the mass transit board, and I, being ambitious and naive, had jumped into the race for mayor.1
At first I was skeptical about his claim. I’ve run into all sorts of people who say the darnedest things when I’ve been out campaigning.
Then I looked him over carefully. Sure enough, Mike had that Modine look in his face. He shared certain facial features with his more famous brother.
Not only was he a Modine, he was a Republican, he said. A Republican? Hmmmm.
I don’t know how conservative Mike was or is. I had a feeling he might be one of those Republican-in-name-only fellas, like Colin Powell or John McCain.
Mike told me a little about the family. There were several brothers, he said. The exact number I can’t remember. It may have been four or five.2
I’d like to hear his thoughts on all of this. What does he think of Obama? Gun control? The budget?
I much prefer Rob Lowe’s style to Mike’s brother Matthew.
LOWE: Look . . . I like guns, and I don’t own an assault rifle. I wouldn’t know what to do with one. I wouldn’t know why I would want one. I also see that if you’re a law-abiding person and you bought it under the law, having it taken from you, I can see why people would have a problem with that. . . .
I do think that the last thing viewers want is another Hollywood actor telling them anything about guns, pro or con.
I don’t own any guns at the moment, but I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to buy a rifle or carry a hand gun.
If folks don’t intend to commit crimes with ’em, then I could really care less what they have in their arsenals. My philosophy is generally libertarian: live and let live.
I sure wish Obama, Big Sis and their cronies had the same attitude.
AJH
1. Originally I had written about Matthew Modine’s brother Geoff, who, despite searching using Google and DexKnows.com, I could not locate. Looking up the election records helped. Actually his name is Mike, and in 1994 he was running to be a state representative. Why I thought it was Geoff, I don’t know. I wrote that his “parents picked an odd spelling for his name.” Still, I don’t have any current information on him, where he’s living and what he’s up to. It looks like he has relocated to Harrisburg.
2. There are seven siblings, according to an interview given by Matthew and TVGuide.com. If I remember correctly, Mike may have told me the kids were all boys. (But I thought his name was Geoff, remember.)
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