Kurt Russell: I’m a ‘Hardcore Libertarian’
Mikael Thalen | Infowars.com - December 23, 2015
"I found [the Founding Fathers] and I found libertarianism. They were pretty radical guys, and damn smart..."
Hollywood actor Kurt Russell described himself as a “hardcore libertarian” during an interview this week while promoting his upcoming role in Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.”
Speaking with journalist Marlow Stern, Russell began by breaking down his recent comments on gun control that received widespread media coverage following the San Bernardino terror attack.
“[The interviewer] got into the whole thing about how gun control was somehow going to fix terrorism, and I was like, ‘Dude, I just don’t get that thinking!'” the actor said. “I just didn’t get where he was going saying that gun control was a magic wand of fixing the situation with terrorism. That isn’t going to stop them from what they want to do.”
Delving into his experience as a staunch libertarian actor in liberal Hollywood, Russell explained how unlike many others, his political views have drawn heavily from America’s Founding Fathers.
“I’m not a Bill Maher libertarian. That’s faux-libertarianism… The other thing I’ve found is that a lot of liberals in Hollywood are faux-liberals, and a lot of Republicans in Hollywood are faux-conservatives,” Russell said. “When I was a young guy, I was finding myself not quite being able to see the things that were going on and buy into a political culture. I didn’t know what to do, so I finally said, ‘Why don’t I go back and see what the Founding Fathers were all about, and see how that stacked up.'”
“Well, I found them and I found libertarianism,” he added. “They were pretty radical guys, and damn smart, and I just believe in that old-time stuff and think they had great ideas.”
Russell says his political stance was finally “cemented” several years later after attending an event for the 20th anniversary of the Cato Institute, a leading American libertarian think tank.
“Years later, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Cato Institute’s 20th anniversary and spend some real time with some amazing people,” the actor revealed. “I met some great people there, and that cemented it for me. I felt, guess what, there is a place where I can have a conversation and not be laughed at or smirked at.”
Despite constant attempts by media outlets to interview the actor specifically on his political beliefs, Russell has thus far refused to do so.
“They’re trying to constantly get me to go on these shows and whatnot, and you only end up promoting their shows. And I don’t want to go on those shows and have someone think, ‘The last thing I want to do is watch Kurt Russell talk about shit that I don’t think he knows anything about,'” he said.
In closing on the topic, Russell reiterated his belief in pure Americana, not the current political system.
“I believe in limited Constitutional government, free market capitalism, reach for the brass ring,” he added. “There’s this place where you can go do that and don’t step on anybody’s toes and still try to reach for the brass ring.”
