Stars Of ‘Parks And Rec’ Drag NRA For Swiping Scene From Their Show (TWEETS)

By
Darrell Lucus
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It seems that right-wingers have a really bad habit of taking music, film clips, or television clips and using it for ends that the creators would have never endorsed. For instance, during the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump got busted in the chops for using music from Neil Young, R.E.M., Aerosmith, and Adele without their permission. And you may remember that when rogue Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis was released from jail, she took the stage to the strains of “Eye of the Tiger”–much to Survivor’s outrage.

Well, add the National Rifle Association to that list. On Wednesday, the NRA’s social media team thanked Dana Loesch for going to a CNN town hall in Sunrise, Florida on the NRA’s behalf–using a clip from the NBC hit series “Parks and Recreation.”

The clip shows the main character, Leslie Knope, mouthing the words “thank you.” Considering that most of the nation saw Loesch make a fool out of herself by refusing to answer a simple question, it’s hard to understand what the NRA saw that was worthy of applause.


When Amy Poehler, who played Knope, saw this GIF floating around, she was not happy at all. She made her displeasure known to the show’s co-creator, Michael Schur, who was equally outraged.

Apparently that GIF set Schur off. He spent most of Thursday trolling right-wingers about their unwillingness to actually do something about the gun problem.

He’s also donating to the March for Our Lives being organized by the survivors of the Douglas High shooting; it will take place on March 24 in Washington.

Nick Offerman, who played Knope’s boss, Ron Swanson, was equally disgusted by the NRA’s gambit.

As was Adam Scott, who played Knope’s husband, Ben Wyatt.

So for the second time in 72 hours, the NRA has made itself look completely foolish. And the Twitterverse is loving it.

No response from the NRA as of yet.


This is yet another reminder that the right still doesn’t really get how social media really works. It also shows that the NRA is of a piece with Trump. They seem to think media rights are just things in their way.

(featured image courtesy Peabody Awards, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)

Darrell Lucus
Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.

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