I assumed at first that he was doing this because, in the eternal “Obama: incompetent or evil?” debate, he had come down on the side of the latter. But no. This doesn’t appear to be an anti-Hopenchange thing specifically.

Tim Thomas posted the following statement on his Facebook page regarding his decision to not attend a ceremony at the White House to honor the Bruins for their Stanley Cup win last June:

“I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT”

Meanwhile, at the White House:

During his speech, President Obama spoke glowingly about Thomas and his performance.

“This Stanley Cup was won by defense as much as by offense,” Obama said. “Tim Thomas posted two shutouts in the Stanley Cup Finals and set an all-time record for saves in the postseason and he also earned the honor being only the second American ever to be recognized as the Stanley Cup playoff’s MVP.”

Thomas is a devoted tea partier, to the point where he wears the Gadsden flag motto on his mask. Anyone know if he’s endorsed a candidate for president? I searched online but couldn’t find anything, although “not Romney” seems a safe bet.