OPINION | Chris McCarthy: Congressman with Criminal Record vs NRA

Democrat Rep. Bobby Rush of Chicago is the leading advocate for gun control in Congress and he has a long history of criminal behavior and gun violence. 

Historian and economist Dr. Murry Rothbard once pointed out that we often overlook the total life of political figures in our country. It is as if the person suddenly materialized on the political scene for a period of time and then disappears after they serve in office. His point is that people arrive in a position of power with personal connections, views, and obligations that guide their decisions within the government.

Bobby Rush is honest about his personal connections and the views he held prior to being elected to United States House of Representatives. He has never disavowed his previous life and he has never changed his goals even when he has changed his tactics.

Bobby Rush joined the Army as a volunteer. He then went AWOL and joined the Black Panther Party. The BPP considered themselves the "vanguard" of the communist revolution in America. Their allies were the communist dictatorships in North Korea, North Vietnam, Cuba and Maoist China. The BPP required members to read the "little red book" of quotes from Chairman Mao. The North Vietnamese gave the BPP an embassy building. Castro gave safe haven to violent radicals from America and this Cuban protection continues to this day. How Bobby Rush the AWOL soldier ultimately received an honorable discharge is still an oddity.

Bobby Rush served time in jail for illegal guns. He advocated the murder of police. He made common cause with other violent revolutionaries. He had a son with a woman, although he never gave the boy his last name and the mother's aunt raised the child. He named the boy "Huey" after BPP leader Huey Newton. When his son was born Huey Newton was a violent convicted felon. Newton had been convicted of stabbing a man to death and of murdering a police officer. Bobby Rush named his son after a person who had murdered a police officer! Huey Newton was murdered over a drug deal and so was the boy Rush named after him.

Another of his sons was convicted of sexually assaulting women while he was working as an official in an Illinois prison.

Democrat Rep. Bobby Rush has been among the leading sponsors of gun control bills in our Congress. He is the sponsor of over 25 bills attacking the right of Americans to privately own firearms. He has honestly said his goal is to confiscate all handguns in America. He attacks the rights of law-abiding gun owners despite ignoring those same laws and serving jail time for illegal guns.

Bobby Rush has visited communist Cuba numerous times. The Cuban communists supported numerous violent terrorist organizations in America and still runs vast espionage networks here. Bobby Rush said speaking with Fidel Castro was "like speaking with an old friend" and has used his position in Congress to support that communist dictatorship off our coast. Bobby Rush advocates the same position on gun ownership as the communist dictatorship in Cuba.

There are 30 National Rifle Association affiliated gun clubs in southeastern Massachusetts. I stand with the thousands of American gun owners who are good solid citizens. I doubt any NRA members named their kids after cop killers, served time in prison for illegal guns or support communist dictatorships. Research what the Founding Fathers said about government officials like Bobby Rush.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. Email: Chris.McCarthy@Townsquaremedia.com