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NRA-PVF Updates 7th District Challenger Rating

June 3, 2014 by vagunrights

The NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF) has posted an update to the candidate rating for 7th District GOP challenger Dave Brat.  Last week the web site noted  a “?” by Brat’s name, indicating that he had not returned his candidate questionnaire.  The campaign challenged that assessment, even to the point of a Brat supporter contacting this EVC.  That individual was directed to have the candidate or his campaign to call NRA Federal Affairs.  Apparently that occurred as today, the NRA-PVF web site now indicates that Brat has an “AQ” rating, meaning the candidate’s responses to the NRA-PVF Candidate Questionnaire indicates he is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment but does not have a voting record on Second Amendment issues.  The GOP Primary is June 10th.

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NRA-PVF Endorses Cantor, Wittman in June 10th Primary

May 30, 2014 by vagunrights

The NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF) has posted the endorsements for the June 10th primaries in Virginia and has endorsed House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the 7th Congressional District and Congressman Rob Wittman in the 1st Congressional District for the June 10th Republican Primary.  Cantor received the NRA-PVF highest rating of “A+” and Wittman received an “A” rating.  Cantor’s opponent, Dave Brat, had a “?” by his name, indicating that Brat apparently did not return his NRA candidate questionaire.    It is unknown why Brat would not have returned his questionnaire given he is running as the Tea Party supported candidate.  Wittman’s opponent Anthony Riedel received a rating of “AQ” indicating a pro-gun candidate whose rating is based solely on the candidate’s responses to the NRA-PVF Candidate Questionnaire and who does not have a voting record on Second Amendment issues.

In the 8th Congressional District Democrat Primary, gun owners have no choice from which to choose.  All of the  candidates either received a ? or an “F”.  One of the “?” candidates however is former Lt. Governor Don Beyer.  He was no friend to gun owners as Lt. Governor and when he was a candidate for Governor in 1997, was the darling of the gun ban crowd.

The NRA has what is commonly referred to as an “incumbant friendly” endorsement policy:

NRA has an incumbent-friendly policy that dictates our support for pro-gun incumbents seeking reelection. It is important that we stand with our friends who stand with us in Congress or the state legislature through their actions. Of course, should a pro-gun challenger win his election, and stay true to support for our gun rights, then he will be the beneficiary of this policy when seeking re-election.

Our endorsement is not given lightly; it is something that is reserved for those candidates who meet certain criteria and something that must be earned.

Virginia gun owners in the 7th District have a true friend in Congressman Cantor.  While a member of both the House of Delegates in the General Assembly and the House of Representatives in Congress, Cantor has a voting record supporting our 2nd Amendment freedom.   In the 1st Congressional District, Wittman likewise has a voting record supporting our rights going back to his days in the General Assembly’s House of Delegates.

Please note the NRA is a single issue organization and is only concerned with the issue of our 2nd Amendment Rights.  In the 7th Congressional District, the intra-party contest between Cantor and Brat has come down to who is the most conservative.  Brat’s supporters believe Cantor has abandoned his conservative principles on issues such as spending and immigration.  Cantor has tried to paint Brat as a “liberal college professor” because of his serving as one of former Governor Tim Kaine’s economic advisors.  NRA would likely tell Brat supporters upset that the organization endorsed Cantor that none of those concerns were considered in their endorsement.  Obviously NRA does not lobby on the issue of immigration or federal spending.  Their issue is the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and on that issue, Both Cantor and Wittman have been our friends.

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Has Dave Brat Changed His Stripes?

May 27, 2014 by vagunrights

We are just a couple weeks away from the 7th Congressional District Republican Primary and if you are like me, you can’t wait for this to end.  On the way to Lake Anna yesterday to spend Memorial Day with friends, you couldn’t miss all of the Tea Party homemade billboards along Rt. 33, some trashing Congressman Eric Cantor and some singing the praises of Randolph Macon Econ Professor and challenger Dave Brat.  Cantor’s campaign has painted Brat as a “liberal professor” that advised tax raising former governor and now U.S. Senator Tim Kaine.  Brat and his supporters (some of whom have been strong supporters of Cantor in the past) have cried foul.  There may be some hyperbole in that claim but Brian Kirwin has a post over at Bearing Drift that indicates the label “liberal college professor” may be on target, or at least may have been about nine years ago.

Now, Brat would not be the first person to change his views over time. But, his writings from 2005 does make one wonder just how thoroughly the Tea Party folks vetted their challenger or if it was simply “anybody but Cantor.”  And, those writings might explain why Tim Kaine chose Brat for his economic team.

Note: As of today, the NRA Political Victory Fund web site has not posted ratings for the June 10th Primary, but in 2012, Cantor earned the NRA-PVF highest rating of “A+”.  He has done nothing in the last two years that would indicate he will get a lower rating this year.

 

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They Lied

May 21, 2014 by vagunrights

Not gun related but it is election related and includes Virginia Senator Mark Warner.  This morning Jim Geraghty shared the below video as part of his Morning Jolt daily newsletter.

Obamacare is unpopular even in Virginia and “Mr. Bipartisan” Mark Warner could  take hits in is poll numbers if he is hammered enough with ads like this either by outside groups or the eventual GOP opponent.  The GOP will pick its candidate at the state GOP convention in early June.

Warner looked unbeatable going into this year’s election until former RNC and VAGOP party chairman Ed Gillespie jumped in the race.  If the GOP doesn’t commit suicide at its convention in June, the election could end up being a close race.  Despite his claims of bipartisanship, Warner has voted with Obama on almost every issue.  He also voted for the Manchin/Schumer/Toomey amendment to the 2013 gun ban legislation that would have criminalized private transfers of firearms.  For 13 years Warner has tried to cultivate a pro-gun persona.  One vote in 2013 likely changed all of that.  He wasn’t endorsed in 2008 but had an “A” rating from the NRA based on the fact he signed a number of pro-gun bills as governor.  His opponent in 2008 was former Governor and NRA Board Member Jim Gilmore, who also had an “A” rating.  We’ll see what the 2014 rating will be after having voted for Manchin as well as two anti-gun Supreme Court nominees, votes that the NRA scored.

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Anti-Gun Georgia Legislator Hosting Firearm Training

May 14, 2014 by vagunrights

The article is here.  Your reaction to the headline of the linked article and the text of the article might lead you to believe this is a pro-rights legislator who is offering a great service to his constituents.  You have to listen to the audio of the radio interview to find out he is the typical anti-rights legislator spewing misleading statistics like, “if you have a gun in your home you are more likely to injure yourself or a loved one than an intruder.”

Having said that, he is at least providing the opportunity for folks interested in, or who may have just purchased a firearm, to get some basic training.

 

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2014 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits

April 29, 2014 by vagunrights

Last weekend was the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Indianapolis where over 75,000 NRA members attended making it the 2nd largest atttendance in the 143 year history of the organization.  Besides a lot of great products on display, some new membership promotional videos featuring some of the NRA’s new commentators.  NRA is making some great outreach to women with these new resources.  And with market research showing that as much as a third of all new gun owners are women.  That’s a smart idea.

 

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More Anti-Gun Moves by Terry McAuliffe

April 14, 2014 by vagunrights

On Friday, in my role as VSSA Legislative Director, I had the opportunity to speak with Cam Edwards on NRANews’ Cam and Company about Terry McAuliffe’s latest anti-gun changes to legislation passed by the 2014 General Assembly, as well as Internet troll Mike Dickinson.

 

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New PAC Attacks Cantor

April 4, 2014 by vagunrights

I was out running errands during lunch and heard an anti-Eric Cantor ad on WRVA during Rush Limbaugh.

The ad is paid for by Virginia Vision Action PAC and attacks Cantor for going to Florida this weekend to appear at a fund raiser for The Republican Main Street Partnership PAC, a newly formed “Super PAC” thats aim is to support incumbents or other “mainstream” candidates being opposed by Tea Party aligned candidates. Cantor was originally scheduled to appear with Speaker of the House John Boehner but Boehner backed out at the last-minute.   At the end of the ad, it encourages people to vote for Dave Brat for Congress, a Randolph Macon College economics professor who is challenging Cantor in the June 10th,  7th District Republican Primary.

Brat is likely going to need the help of outside groups because as of the end of April, Cantor had $1.5 million in the bank.  A quick check of the FEC only shows Brat’s candidate filing and no April Quarterly fundraising report.  It doesn’t hurt to have this ad running on the 50,000 watt blow torch WRVA, the largest and most listened to talk station in the 7th Congressional District.  WRVA airs Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity in addition to Michael Savage.  It is the 7th District’s conservative voice on radio.

NRAPVF endorsements have not been posted for the 7th District primary yet but it’s a safe bet that Cantor will get the endorsement because he has a long record of supporting the rights of Virginia gun owners.  NRA has an incumbent-friendly policy that dictates support for pro-gun incumbents seeking re-election regardless of party.  Cantor received an “A+” rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund in 2012 and has done nothing to change that rating in the last two years.  NRA is a single issue organization so no matter what one’s gripes are with Cantor’s voting record on other issues, he is good on guns.

As an aside, while I may not be completely happy with all of Cantor’s votes of late, to call him a RINO is not accurate either.  John McCain is a RINO.  Chuck Hagel is a RINO.  Eric Cantor is no RINO.

You can hear the ad below.

 

 

 

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Interesting Article on Smart Guns

February 19, 2014 by vagunrights

The Washington Post has this story on so called “Smart Guns.” The interesting point in the story is that one of the gun control group that you would think would be in favor of this , the Violence Policy Center, seems to be adamently opposed to the idea – not because it won’t work, but because it might work so well it will encourage more people to become gun owners:

Policy Center officials argue that the new technology is unlikely to stem gun homicides, which often occur between people who know each other, and that personalization will have no effect on the more than 300 million guns in circulation. The organization also questions whether the technology would deter the nearly 350,000 incidents of firearm theft per year, though some of the proposed technologies are add-ons that can be installed on existing guns.

And perhaps most important, the Violence Policy Center worries that smart guns will increase the number of firearm owners, because marketing that touts safety could sway those previously opposed to guns to make their first purchase.

Can’t have anything that creates more gun owners can we.

I remain skeptical.  My reason can best be summed up in this quote from the story:

The chief concern for potential buyers is reliability, with 44 percent of those polled by the National Shooting Sports Foundation saying the technology would not be reliable at all. A commenter in an online Glock forum explained the concern this way: “They can’t even make a cellphone that works reliably when you need it, and some dumbass thinks he can make a reliable techno-gadget gun that is supposed to safeguard you in dire circumstances?”

 

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Gun Control Advocates See State Gains – Will Virginia Be Next?

December 10, 2013 by vagunrights

The Hill has this story on how gun control advocates are touting “gains” in the states while the push for federal gun control stalled.  The thing is, with the exception of Colorado, all of those “gains” came in states that were already unfriendly to the rights of law abiding gun owners.

In the year following last December’s deadly shooting spree in Newtown, Conn., that state — along with California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and New York — enacted major reforms, the groups said.

That’s what Brady Campaign’s President, Dan Gross, called a “year of tremendous growth and momentum.”

And worse, for the gun ban groups to be crowing so loud about the gains they have made, the Brady Center’s new document grading the states on gun control note that only 10 states have an “A” or “B” grade based on their gun control laws.  Thirteen states get passing ( 7 Cs, 6 D ) grades – but Brady certainly can’t be happy with the laws in most of those states. Over half of the states have a Brady failing grade , meaning they are truely firearm friendly states (Virginia is one of the states with a “D”).

So, with Terry McAuliffe running openly supporting more gun control, is it likely Virginia will join the states that passed gun control in 2013?  Not if the House of Delegates has anything to do with it.

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