Posted on 04/09/2008 8:15:33 PM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
If Sen. John McCain expects the support of gun owners in this year’s presidential race, the Arizona Republican must make an effort to overcome some decisions the National Rifle Association (NRA) has found troubling.
“John McCain still has some work to do to give them a comfort level,” Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA, said during an interview with The Hill. “Truth be told, he’s not there yet.”
Cox said McCain and the anti-gun control group have endured some “high-profile disagreements” in the last several years that have left many gun owners concerned about his candidacy.
Specifically, McCain played a leading role in crafting the campaign finance reform law that bears his name and that also enraged many lobbying groups. The NRA was one of the most outspoken.
At the group’s national convention in 2001, NRA President Wayne LaPierre vocalized that dismay.
“Is it possible that John McCain thinks you have too much freedom?” LaPierre asked, before adding: “I don’t know what’s happening to John McCain.”
The Arizona senator also ran afoul of the group when he pushed for tighter restrictions on buying guns at gun shows.
To be sure, McCain has often been a friend on issues dear to the NRA, Cox said. But Cox added that his members intend to scrutinize the candidates’ entire legislative records, and not just the points of agreement.
“We owe it to our members and our supporters to tell the truth about all of [the candidates], and we’re not going to sugarcoat it,” Cox said.
A key question among members that surfaces when Cox travels the country is this: “What’s the deal with John McCain?”
Cox said that members have expressed “a lot of borderline resentment in some circles” over McCain. But because of the outright disdain for both of the Democratic candidates’ past positions on gun control, the NRA is actively seeking a way for McCain to directly address its members and smooth over past troubles.
“He will be asked about gun shows. He will be asked about campaign finance reform,” Cox said. “Can he help himself? Yes. Can he hurt himself? Yes.”
McCain may be on his way to winning these critics over. As the Supreme Court considers the landmark Washington, D.C., gun ban, McCain was one of 55 lawmakers to sign a “friend of the court” amicus brief.
Both Democratic candidates, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.), did not. Tucker Bounds, a McCain spokesman, said the senator has a strong record on gun owners' rights, which is in "sharp contrast to his potential rivals."
"Senators Obama and Clinton have recklessly supported some of the most controversial attacks on the Second Amendment, and that’s going to make a major difference with voters this fall,” Bounds said.
The NRA expects to spend between $18 million and $20 million this year on campaigns ranging from state legislative races to the presidency. But the group has yet to endorse McCain, and in the absence of an incumbent, likely won’t do so until after the summer conventions.
Additionally, the group is launching an ambitious “seven- or eight-figure” voter registration drive, something it has never done before.
“This is arguably the most important year in NRA history,” Cox said.
Ping.
I thought Songbird`s strategy was clear,
f**k the conservative base, run to the left and pick up
independants and middle of the road democrats.
The NRA bashing McCain is pretty pointless.
f**k the conservative base, run to the left and pick up
independants and middle of the road democrats.
He can believe in the Great Pumpkin, too, if he likes.
Same results, either way.
I’m going to see Sandy Froman, immediate past pres of the NRA on Friday. I’ll ask her if she’s supporting McCain, but I already know the answer because I attended a speech she gave a couple of months ago, and she’s very concerned about SC justices and says we NEED to elect whichever GOP got the nomination.
Does anyone really trust Johnny Mac to support 2A issues?
There's "one born every minute," as they say. ;)
McLame may be ambivilant but the other two are really outspoken anti gun.
"F"
Fasten your seat belts. It is going to be a rought 4-8 years.
Yup. Socialist, Communist, or Would-Be King of All Mexico. Whatta choice.
If folks have time to listen, the video of Monday’s gun rally at the PA state capitol is worth watching:
mms://media1.pahousegop.com/video/170204423.wmv
Just to show how "compassionate" conservatives are......I'm taking up a collection to buy the McCain campaign a calculator that actually works. They need to take a recount.
McCainiac would not win election for dog-catcher with that bunch.
My friend on the PAC won't speak for the entire group, but he said he's going to recommend they stay out of the presidential race this year outside of the ratings (mixed v unacceptable), and concentrate on the state level races and the Tim Walberg race. The most they'll probably say is that McCain is better than Obama/Clinton.
“McLame may be ambivilant but the other two are really outspoken anti gun.”
Ambivalent is not a word I would use.
http://gunowners.org/pres08/mccain.htm
http://www.gunowners.org/mccaintb.htm
Many of the Reagan Democrats that he is targeting own guns and are NRA members, blue collar Ohio union members, etc. I think the NRA has some juice here.
$5 says the NRA will endorse or quasi-endorse McCain. They are pragmatic if nothing else, even to a fault - and I’m usually pragmatic myself.
[::nods::] The only principled choice any conservative can make, this year.
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