.38 More Ways to Counter the Teabaggers?

I just saw this photo story at TPM. After several incidents last week in which right wing radicals showed up at health care meetings wearing guns, we now have this example of a pro-reform demonstrator, identified only as “Josh,” appearing at a weekend tea party protest packing heat.

Given that singular radical statements can disproportionately alter the political narrative (link), do you think this protest (and the image it obviously was intended to inspire) provides “an effective” demonstration? In other words, does it realistically help Obama and the cause of reform in any way? And more to the point, can fighting the symbolism of fire with the symbolism of fire actually help neutralize (as opposed to simply incite) the irrational behavior and radical gestures of the extreme right?

And then, beyond the gun, what else to do you pull out of Josh’s “presentation”? And what do you think about TPM giving Josh the visual platform, assuming it opens the way for the wingnuts to (more credibly) circulate this as “bait”?

(image: unattributed. Via TPM)