The Cutback
What is a cutback? In the words of surf writer Sam George, a cutback is:
“A maneuver in which the surfer redirects the board from its forward moving direction toward the wave’s shoulder, turning back toward the curl in an arc varying in degrees of trajectory and commitment.”
More simply stated, it is a reversal of direction back into the wave, in order to extend the ride.
Joel “Parko” Parkinson, with one of the best cutbacks ever. Photo: Pierre Tostee/WSL
Now we have surfing politician Tulsi Gabbard apparently performing a cutback of her own and reversing her direction on the 2nd Amendment and gun rights. In a recent Substack post and podcast, Gabbard says that she has essentially renounced her former gun control positions, and has seen the light. (I encourage you to read the full Substack post and/or listen to the podcast I’ve embedded at the bottom of the page.)
Through these media, Gabbard offers mea culpa in falling for the leftist narrative of “common sense,” gun laws, failing to see them as an infringement on the 2nd Amendment.
“When I went to Congress, ‘common sense’ gun laws, seemed to be just that — common sense. Nothing too extreme. When my Republican colleagues expressed concerns and opposition to adding more restrictions being touted as “common sense” to the Second Amendment, I was fairly dismissive. I didn’t understand what they were so afraid of. They argued these restrictions would inevitably lead to confiscation, and that as the power of government expanded, it was even more essential that we protect our Second Amendment. Mention of a ‘tyrannical government’ seemed so off-base to me, I didn’t give it much thought. I brushed off their objections and supported seemingly rational ideas like limited capacity magazines and banning assault rifles.”
However, she continues to explain that she now understands that the 2nd Amendment was written to protect the right of Americans to both defend themselves and their families from violence, and to check the power of a tyrannical government…and that she was wrong to dismiss the concerns of Americans who fear that the right to keep and bear arms is being infringed upon. I want to believe her.
As I wrote recently, Tulsi Gabbard is an appealing politician on many levels. By and large, I find her to be thoughtful and open-minded. She seems to be a person who can admit a mistake and correct it. Taken at face value, her words indicate essentially a full reversal of direction on gun control. If she’s being honest, this is a stunning and refreshing revelation. But she is a politician, and for that reason I still cling to a certain amount of skepticism. I hope she’s telling the truth. I hope she has indeed seen the light and abandoned her lifelong gun control tendencies.
I hope she is truly reversing direction, and not just trying to cutback into the wave to extend her ride. But the proof is in action, and I for one will be watching.
