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Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Fast Terry McAuliffe

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , on August 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Guns owners already know that Terry McAuliffe is no friend of gun owners.  But there are more reasons than his support for gun control to make sure Terry “Party Animal” McAuliffe does not become Virginia’s next Governor.

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Obama Supported Stand Your Ground Before He Opposed It

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on July 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

John Lott has the details. I guess this is just like everything else when it comes to Obama, his support for a policy or a campaign promise always comes with an expiration date.

Update:

CONTRARY TO REPORTS, OBAMA DID NOT SPONSOR STAND YOUR GROUND IN 2004

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Bloomberg Ups Ante Against Democrats Who Blocked Background Check Bill

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on June 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The New York Times reports that Bloomberg is urging that donations should be withheld from Democrats who supported the filibuster against Schumer/Manchin/Toomey:

On Wednesday, Mr. Bloomberg will send a personal letter to hundreds of the biggest Democratic donors in New York urging them to cut off contributions to the four Democratic senators who helped block a bill in April that would have strengthened background checks on gun purchasers.

Bloomberg is known for using his mega-bucks to try to sway votes for gun control bills he supports.  He is now hoping getting donors to withhold money will have an equal impact.  It will be interesting to see if Democrat donors want to hold their majority more than they support Bloomberg’s gun control schemes because you have to figure that GOP candidates challenging vulnerable Dems will be as pro-rights if not more so than the incumbents that Bloomberg is targeting.  They’ve already told Bloomberg as much:

The move could inflame tensions that have simmered for weeks between Mr. Bloomberg, who blames the four Democrats for the defeat of the bill, and Democratic Senate leaders, who have privately told City Hall that the attacks can serve only to empower a Republican majority openly hostile to Mr. Bloomberg’s priorities.

This should be interesting and fun to watch.

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Mark Levin makes a lot of sense

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , on June 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

John Lott points to Mark Levin’s comments on Neil Cavuto’s Thursday program to make the point that the government is collecting an awful lot of data on us. And Sebastian makes the point that using the excuse that “Bush did it” does not make it right.  I voted for George W. Bush twice but I did not support everything he did, including this. South Carolina U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham may be happy that the government is collecting data on him but just because I don’t talk to terrorists doesn’t mean I should be okay with it.  A good friend posted the following on Facebook yesterday and I could not agree more:

Let’s summarize. The IRS is targeting political opponents of the government for special scrutiny. The Justice Department is secretly gathering information about journalists’ sources for purpose of silencing those sources. The administration acknowledges sanctioning the murder of American citizens abroad without legal proceeding or trial.And now we learn that the NSA is gathering information en …masse about Americans private use of wireless telephones without probable cause. (To be clear, my comments are not implied criticism of the current President. All of these are bipartisan behaviours triggered by 9/11.)Question: At what point do we acknowledge that the American system of government has descended into tyranny?

Here are few quotes on the subject to spur your thoughts:

“If tyranny and oppression come to this land it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”
― James Madison

“When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty.”
― Thomas Jefferson

“I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
― James Madison

“The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.”
― James Madison

“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
― James Madison, Federalist Papers

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
― Benjamin Franklin, Memoirs of the life & writings of Benjamin Franklin

“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence -– it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and fearful master.”
― George Washington

“But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”
― John Adams

“Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.”
― Thomas Jefferson

“Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and opressions of the body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.”
― Thomas Jefferson

“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
― Samuel Adams

All quotes from http://www.goodreads.com/.

I can’t think of anything else to add to these fine statesmen.

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Reason-Rupe Poll Respondents Say Congress Should Forget Gun Control

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , on May 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

A recent Reason-Rupe Poll found that 54% of Americans say Congress should cut spending from current levels and 62 percent say Congress should forget about gun control and move on to other issues.

You can hear Emily Ekins her talk about it below.

Hat Tip to Cam Edwards and NRANews

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Bloomberg Ignors Harry Reid Warning

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , , , on May 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Politico reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that targeting Democrats on gun votes could backfire and harm the party.  Bloomberg decided to ignor the warning.

Ads from the Bloomberg-funded Mayors Against Illegal Guns are going up soon in Alaska, Arkansas and North Dakota — three states with Democratic senators who broke with the White House on last month’s background checks vote.

The group is also moving as many as 60 field organizers into about a dozen states where senators — Democrats and Republicans — voted against bill, with the goal of building infrastructure and countering gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association.

In Arkansas, Bloomberg is placing ads in markets in Black communities, a segment of the voters that Politico notes Democrat Mark Pryor must carry to win re-election.  Senate Democrats want Bloomberg to focus on “flipping” Republicans who voted against the gun control legislation.  Biden, in an Op/Ed in this past weekend’s Houston Chronicle wrote:

In the end, I believe we will prevail. And those who wrote off gun safety legislation last month will come to realize that moment wasn’t the end at all. It was the turning point.

Biden pointed to poll numbers that suggest those who stood with law abiding gun owners have seen their poll numbers sink and those who want to criminalize private transfers have seen their poll number hold or increase.

We will see if those numbers hold.  In the end, it’s not about what the polls tell politicians, but what their constiuients tell them, and by most accounts, senators voting against Schumer, Manchin, Toomey heard from a lot more gun owners than they heard from gun ban supporters.  So, keep holding their feet to the fire and make sure they know we are watching.

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New NRA Ad Hits Obama’s Use of Law Enforcement to Push Gun Control

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on April 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

While the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) constantly provide Obama with a show of support for his gun ban schemes, a recent survey of rank and file police show a much different story.  The NRA has used the results to make this new ad.

The vote on criminalizing private sales at gun shows and through published advertisements is today at 4:00.  Tell Mark Warner to stand with rank and file law enforcement who know what really works to prevent crime and vote no on Manchin-Toomey-Schumer.

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Manchin and Toomey May Amend Background Check Amendment to Gain Support

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , on April 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The vote count continues to be close but looks to be short of the 60 votes needed for approval, so Senators Manchin and Toomey are trying to sweeten the deal to appeal to rural senators who may be concerned about the requirement that advertised private sales be done through a licensed retailer because some constituents may not have easy access.  This from Politico:

Late Monday night, the New York Times reported that Manchin and Toomey are considering a possible revision to their bill that would exempt residents in rural areas living hundreds of miles from licensed gun deals from some of the requirements of the bill.

The revision, which would be added only as amendment if the Manchin-Toomey proposal is adopted, is designed to appeal to Begich and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), said aides familiar with the issue. Manchin huddled with both Alaskan senators on the floor after a vote Monday night.

However, only four Republicans are voting for the bill at this time. They include Toomey, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Susan Collins of Maine and John McCain of Arizona.

Other Republicans are on the fence and undecided, such as Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Dean Heller of Nevada. Democrats believe they will pick up some of these Republicans.

In related news, Virginia Senator Mark Warner just spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate and his comments indicate that he supports the Manchin-Toomey-Schumer background check amendment.  Please call Senator Warner and let him know that you do not approve of his support of this amendment.  Tell him that the amendment is not pro-rights but is actually a “Bonanza of Gun Control“.

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These Senators Could Determine Fate of Manchin/Toomey/Schumer Background Check Amendment

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on April 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

David Hawkings of Roll Call lists the senators that could decide the fate of the Manchin/Toomey/Schumer background check amendment to the senate gun control bill.

Among the Republicans, only four have so far committed to voting for the background check compromise: Toomey, Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, Susan Collins of Maine and John McCain of Arizona.

And the rest of the lobbying attention is being focused on six of the GOP senators who voted last week to bring the bill to the floor in the first place. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Dean Heller of Nevada, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and John Hoeven of North Dakota.

Hawkings notes that a key to knowing if they have 60 votes is if they bring up the vote early (i.e. Tuesday).  If the vote is put off one day, then they are likely close.  The longer it is put off, the less likely it is they have the votes and the harder it will likely be to get to the magic number.

Hat tip NRANews.

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Biden Continues to Lobby GOP Senators on Gun Control

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on April 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Hill reports that Vice President Joe Biden is contacting former colleagues on Capitol Hill on a daily basis, including GOP members, to round up support for the administration’s gun ban proposals:

Biden has already held private meetings with Republican senators including John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Johnny Isakson (Ga.), according to a senior administration official. The official added that Biden would also be spending considerable time on Capitol Hill in the weeks to come.

“There are always a lot of dark alleys on these issues, but he’s been trying to shake that all out,” the official said. “He’s making sure he’s hearing from everybody and knowing where the pressure points are.”

I’m betting that he won’t have much success with Graham and Isakson on this.  McCain is a question mark.
 
Some doubt just how effective Biden will be, as he tends to act more like a hammer than a chisel:

“His effectiveness depends on how you define his role,” said GOP strategist Ken Lundberg. “So far, his work has been to rally allies and berate opponents. In that role, he’s very effective but, as for reaching out to the other side, he’s impotent. He’s breaking no new ground and that’s probably by design.”

While the media continues to tell us that all but maybe expanded background checks is dead on arrival on the Senate Floor, the administration is at least giving the appearance that they believe they can win with enough pressure.  So we need to make sure our pressure is even more than that applied by the administration.

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