NRA News: In new ‘Fast and Furious’ Report, Democrats Clear Justice Appointees of Wrongdoing
Cam Edwards talks to Howard Nemerov from PJ Media
CNN Asks “Why is support for gun control at record lows?
This week Gallup announced the findings of a new poll that suggested that Americans are against gun control, and CNN covered this by putting a negative spin that asked, “Why is support for gun control at record lows?” This is a subtle bias, but a bias nonetheless. Jack Cafferty, who offered the question in his column, further noted:
“What’s interesting here is Americans are shifting to a more pro-gun stance despite high profile incidents of gun violence – like the Arizona shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others.”
These events actually make Americans feel less safe, and while he is correct in stating that these are “high profile,” they are the rare exception to the rule. The truth is that Americans are waking up to the fact that we could very easily lose our Second Amendment rights.
And let’s consider one other point he makes:
“Only Democrats, Eastern residents and those without guns in their homes still favor stricter gun laws.”
First, we disagree that “Democrats” are anti-gun or in favor of gun control. Perhaps “Liberals” are anti-gun but as a seasoned newsman Cafferty should know better than to confuse Democrats with Liberals. But let’s consider the other point: “Eastern residents” – as in those in Boston and New York City – the latter where much of the media is based. This certainly is a good point, as those in New York City are often brainwashed against guns, and the very Liberal attitude causes people to be anti-gun. This in turn causes the bias in the media and the cycle begins anew.
As we’ve long maintained, New Yorkers – including the New York based media – tend to be out of touch with the country, and often believe that their liberal views are those of all Americans. But the Gallup poll now suggests otherwise.
Gawker Calls Melson Move “Great ‘win’ for the NRA!”
This week Gawker covered Kenneth Melson’s move from head of the ATF, but as usual the left-leaning gossip site interjected with its usual bias and misleading reporting:
“The Obama administration picked a quiet late-summer day to finally remove acting ATF director Kenneth Melson over the botched ‘Fast and Furious’ operation that ultimately put assault rifles into the hands of criminals along the border. Melson wasn’t fired though — merely relocated to a new Justice Department job. This is a great ‘win’ for the NRA!”
This is not a win for the NRA, this is really a loss for all Americans, and it cost the lives of two agents. This is a debacle beyond words, and Melson should have flat out resigned. The Obama administration has dragged this out for months, and Attorney General Eric Holder continues to deny knowing about it. How is that possible, and why isn’t he being moved to a new position, such as bat boy for a minor league baseball team? Even that might be too much responsibility for him. No, this is not a win in any sense of the word.
Of course this wasn’t all Gawker had to say, and the post continued:
“It was a terrible self-inflicted error from the ATF on which the administration’s enemies were quick to pounce. But in the long-run, it’s just another victory in the National Rifle Association’s permanent war to delegitimize the ATF as an institution. ‘B. Todd Jones’ will only ever be an acting ATF director, just as Melson was only ever an acting ATF director, and just as whoever else comes along next — especially in a Democratic administration — will probably only ever be an acting ATF director, serving without a mandate to turn the bureau into a more effective one. The Senate has not confirmed an ATF director since 2006, thanks to the NRA’s successful lobbying efforts. 2006! They’ve all been acting directors since then. So if we want a better ATF, then the first step should be not subverting its very existence at every turn.”
Gawker of course seems to imply that the ATF ultimately failed because the Senator has not confirmed an ATF director since 2006. What is missing from this story is that prior to 2006 ATF directors were not confirmed, but this came up because a prior director spent a small fortune decorating his office. Before this ATF directors were not confirmed by the Senate.
But Gawker plays politics suggesting that the NRA will stand in the way of a Democratic administration and possibly Democratic controlled Senate. But the truth is that the Senate never confirmed anyone during the President Bush’s term when it was controlled by Republicans. Much of this is because many of the nominees have shown their true colors about the issue of gun control. So yes, the NRA has done its job of working to block the confirmation. Is this really a problem.
Both parties attempt to block confirmations, and while the media plays up when Republicans do it, the Democrats also work to block confirmations. This is how the game is played in Washington, D.C. It is just clear that Gawker doesn’t like the rules. But they were the ones who said this was a ‘win’ for the NRA. Maybe we should take those wins when we can get them!
The Hill: Dem senator pressures Obama on gun control
The Hill is reporting at least one Democratic Senator, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, is putting the pressure for Obama to push for gun control. The Hill quotes Lautenberg:
“I am writing to express my concern with the administration’s silence on critical gun issues and to seek some leadership to better protect the American people,” he wrote. “The issues transcend partisanship and could attract bipartisan support.”
We fully encourage President Obama to make gun control a cornerstone of his 2012 re-election campaign. He should vow to close gun shows, not just he loophole, he should promise to tax ammunition, ban all guns that hold more than one bullet and ban private sales. Then he can go back to being a community organizer in 2013!
Gun Business: Colt Fights to Keep Military Contracts, But Story Shows Deeper Ties With Lawmakers
Time and time again some liberals question the power of the so-called “gun lobby,” suggesting that the NRA is a nefarious organization pulling all sorts of strings. Where does the power really come however? Is the gun lobby simply in bed with the Republican Party?
First, no it is not. The people in America are guaranteed the right to keep and bear arms, and while actually only a handful of politicians are on the soap box trying to push for gun control, the truth is that more politicians respect this right and understand it. However, the media tends to side with the anti-gun crowd and thus the low voice sounds like a lion’s roar.
Second, many Democrats are pro-gun rights too. And many Democrats – despite the notion that it is the party of the little guy – also are pro-business. In the case of some gun makers, these two issues cross paths.
The Associated Press, via CBS News, is reporting that Colt Defense has hired a lobbyist as the Defense Department seeks a search for the successor of the Colt M4 carbine. Colt is based in West Hartford, Conn., a state and region that is essentially rock-solid Democrat. Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) is also the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee – so you can see how Colt has a friend in this Democrat.
But Liebermann is stepping down after his term ends. However, other Democrats in the House of Representative are also in key positions to be good friends to Colt.
According to the AP story:
“Colt received a no-bid contract in 1994 for the M4, a shorter and lighter version of the M16. Colt has been the military’s only source of M4s ever since.”
Another point worth considering is that Smith &Wesson is located in Springfield, Mass. Many of these companies set up shop decades (or long ago), but are now in regions known for gun control. And yet they remain very much in business and thriving. There is a certain irony to it.
Could it be – as the anti-gun control crowd just can’t understand – that even the Democrats in these hotbeds of gun control will only go so far? Do you really think that the Democrats in Massachusetts or Connecticut are going to go out and push for gun control that would drive these companies into the ground?
So where is the real lobbying power?
Rep. Dan Boren Dismisses Brady Score Card
So is gun control going to be a hot button issue in the next election? It could be as politicians react to the latest scorecard from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. But we don’t expect this to be a partisan issue – even if the DNC is suggesting it become the party of gun control.
If that becomes the case, and the Democrats are the party of gun control, we could see those in their ranks cross party lines.
Oklahoma’s Rep. Dan Boren, a Democrat, actually spoke out against the score of 2 that his state earned in the Brady score card reports Tulsa World. He was quoted stating:
“”I’d much rather for us to get a 100 percent rating from the NRA.I think most Oklahomans are of the opinion that they support the Second Amendment. The Brady Campaign holds very little water in Oklahoma.”
For the record Boren was recently re-elected to the board of the National Rifle Association, proving that it isn’t just Republicans or Conservatives who believe in the Second Amendment.
Will Guns be a Partisan Issue?
Our friend Dave Workman of Seattle Gun Rights Examiner noted that the “New DNC chief reaffirms hers it ‘the party of gun control.’” We reported on this yesterday, and found this to be a surprising turn, given that many Democratic lawmakers have shied away from the gun control issue.
But maybe the Democrats are just showing their true colors. Workman notes:
“As I noted in my book with Alan Gottlieb, These Dogs Don’t Hunt: The Democrats’ War On Guns, this political party has been responsible for all kinds of gun control laws dating back to the infamous Black Codes and New York’s Sullivan Law.”
The question this begs is whether this will result in the Democrats losing big in 2012? If they make gun control their agenda we hope they lose very big.
WaPo Seems Peeved About Obama Gun Policy
This week The Washington Post offered a profile on Steve Croely, “the White House’s point man on gun regulation policy,” and basically seemed peeved that more wasn’t being done about gun control. The paper writes:
“The result for Croley is a tree-falls-in-the-woods conundrum: If President Obama, like just about every leading Democrat, has abandoned the issue, does the administration’s gun policy even exist? Cro¬ley is undeniably present, but he doesn’t make a sound.”
Once again liberals – or at least in this case the liberal media – is upset that President Obama and the Democrats won’t push for gun control, not seeming to understand that it is a hot button political issue. This is because many democrats and independent voters support gun rights. They vote on gun rights. This is the will of the people.
Why is this point continually missed by the mainstream media? Just because a handful of media types hate guns does not mean the rest of America does. And this is why President Obama isn’t going to push it. It would be political suicide to make it an issue.
Bill Maher Rages About Evil Gun Owners Once Again
On his season premiere of his HBO series Real Time With Bill Maher the comedian once again showed how bi-polar his thinking can be. Repeatedly he suggested that there is anger from the right, and that Sarah Palin and other Republicans caused last week’s shooting in Tucson through their words. Yet, Maher also continued to badmouth these very same people – to the point that his words almost seem to encourage the very same level of violence.
More interesting is the fact that Maher continues to belittle America, noting that there are too many guns. At one point he noted that we’re seeing “two Americas,” as states such as California, New York and Massachusetts have far fewer gun owners, while other states have far higher gun ownership.
What is interesting is that Maher never notes that California, New York and Massachusetts also have among the strictest laws for owning a gun – which could be part of the reason why more of these states’ citizens aren’t gun owners. He also fails to note that crime is actually higher in California and New York than some states with so-called “lax” gun laws.
The final irony was that guest, Democratic Strategist James Carville, spent the first half of the program noting that guns are a problem in this country, that the NRA has too much power and that something needs to be done – only to later note that he has a gun, “I have several” he said while snickering. Carville in this one statement proved two things.
First, that he is a true hypocrite. And second, despite what Bill Maher tried to present, which was that Republicans own guns and Democrats are anti-gun, it is clear that gun ownership isn’t drawn on party lines.
Tonight Show and Bill Maher Spew Anti-Gun Nonsense
Bill Maher is one of those people who is a comedian by trade, yet just isn’t funny. He of course talks about paranoid right wingers, and when he says it he comes off as just a truly paranoid individual. But he took his vile and hate to the airwaves with Jay Leno this week to recap the shooting in Tucson.
Here is what Maher had to say about the Second Amendment:
“I’m so tired of hearing about the Second Amendment and the Constitution. If you love guns just admit it like it’s a vice. It’s like alcohol or drugs or sex addiction [Scattered applause] or gambling. It’s just a vice. It’s something you like. It’s not good for you or anybody else. You just like it. But stop the bulls–t about the second amendment in the Constitution, because nobody needs — nobody needs a gun that fires 31 rounds.” Read more
