Posted on 07/01/2010 7:08:29 AM PDT by Ogie Oglethorpe
Multiple sources tell me the National Rifle Association is planning to endorse liberal Harry Reid against pro-gun champion Sharron Angle.
Two weeks ago, I told you about the carveout the NRA received in exchange for their support for the DISCLOSE ACT deal.
Then this week, RedState broke the story of the “gag order” the NRA issued to members of its Board on the Kagan nomination.
Now, I’m getting credible reports that the NRA is leaning toward endorsing Harry Reid, even though the NRA is finally saying it will score a vote on Kagan — something that was not a sure thing.
Why would they do this? Why would they go out of their way to protect a Senator who has demonstrated a repeated hostility to the Second Amendment in his votes and his leadership?
Well, I thought perhaps the NRA carveout in the DISCLOSE Act might be the answer. But, there is more. It turns out, Reid secured a $61 million earmark for a gun range in Clark County, Nevada.
NRA members were recently treated to a three-page spread in the American Rifleman about a visit to Nevada by Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox to “thank” Reid for the earmark. The article even includes a cliché picture of Reid cutting a ribbon with a gigantic pair of scissors. (Every good porker has his own giant pair of gold earmark scissors.) More here.
Here is a video of the event from Reid’s youtube site.
At 3:25, you can hear LaPierre touting Reid’s record on guns saying, “I also want to thank you, Senator, for your support every day for the Second Amendment and for the rights of American gun owners. “
The American Rifleman article also commends Reid’s Second Amendment record noting, “His dedication to this project is just one of the ways Sen. Reid has demonstrated his support for gun owners and the Second Amendment.”
Well, that’s all very nice. What politician representing a pro-gun red state wouldn’t want Wayne LaPierre to come out for a personal photo op at their earmark ribbon cutting.
But, here is the problem. Reid has not supported the Second Amendment “every day.” Or ever.
Reid has a lifetime rating of “F” from Gun Owners of America (who Ron Paul once called “the only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington”). GOA is actively supporting the 100% pro-gun Republican nominee, Sharron Angle, in her campaign to unseat Harry Reid.
But if you don’t believe GOA, see for yourself below the fold. Then call (800) 392-VOTE (8683) before it is too late and make the NRA knows they’d be betraying second amendment voters by endorsing Harry Reid.
Below are just a few of the votes that demonstrate Reid’s longstanding hostility to guns and the Second Amendment. Not included in this list is the long list of consistent and active support for anti-gun nominees to the Federal Judiciary and to high level cabinet posts. The reason I did not include anti-gun nominees is because he supported every last one of them.
June 28, 1991. Vote No. 115. Voted for a 5 day waiting period for handgun purchases.
October 21, 1993. Vote 325. Voted to eliminate the Army Civilian Marksmanship Program. Only the most fringe anti-gun Senators voted for the amendment.
November 19, 1993. Vote 385. Allow states to impose waiting periods over and above the 5 days waiting period required under the Brady Bill.
November 19, 1993. Vote 386. Voted to eliminate he 5-year sunset in the Brady Bill.
November 19, 1993. Vote 387. Voted to close off debate on the Brady Bill.
November 19, 1993. Vote 390. Voted to close off debate on the Brady Bill.
November 20, 1993. Vote 394. Voted for the Brady Bill, which imposed a 5-business-day waiting period before purchasing a handgun.
August 25, 1994. Vote 294. Voted to close off debate on the Clinton Crime Bill, which contained the ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
August 25, 1994. Vote 295. Voted for the Clinton Crime Bill, which contained the ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
April 17, 1996. Vote 64. Voted to expand the statute of limitations for paperwork violations in National Firearms Act from 3 years to 5 years.
June 27, 1996. Vote 178. Voting to destroy 176,000 M-1 Garand rifles from World War II, and 150 million rounds of 30 caliber ammunition, rather than giving them to the Federal Civilian Marksmanship program.
September 12, 1996. Vote 287. Voted to spend $21.5 million for a study on putting “taggants” in black and smokeless gunpowder.
September 12, 1996. Vote 290. Voted to make it a Federal crime to possess a gun within 1,000 yards of a school.
May 12, 1999. Vote 111. Voted to give the Treasury Department expansive new authority to regulate and keep records on gun shows and their participants, and criminalize many intrastate firearms transactions.
May 13, 1999. Vote 116. Voted to ban the importation of ammunition clips that can hold more than 10 rounds.
May 14, 1999. Vote 119. Voted to criminalize internet advertisements to sell legal firearms in a legal manner.
May 18, 1999. Vote 122. Voted to for Mandatory triggerlocks.
May 20, 1999. Vote 133. Voted to create new Federal regulation of pawn shops handling of guns.
May 20, 1999. Vote 134. Voted to give the Treasury Department expansive new authority to regulate and keep records on gun shows and their participants, and criminalize many intrastate firearms transactions. The vote was 50-50, with Vice President Gore casting the tie-breaking vote.
May 20, 1999. Vote 140. Voted for the Clinton Juvenile Justice bill, which contained a package of gun control measures.
July 29, 1999. Vote 224. Voted to close debate on the Clinton Juvenile Justice bill, which contained a package of gun control measures.
February 2, 2000. Vote 4. Voted to make firearms manufacturers and distributors’ debts nondischargeable in bankruptcy if they were sued because they unknowingly sold guns to individuals who used the gun in a crime. 68 Senators voted against Reid’s position, including 17 Democrats including Bryan of Nevada.
March 2, 2000. Vote 27. Voted to say that school violence was due to the fact that Congress “failed to pass reasonable, common-sense gun control measures” and call for new gun ownership restrictions on the anniversary of the Columbine shootings.
March 2, 2000. Vote 28. Voted to say that school violence was due to the fact that Congress “failed to pass reasonable, common-sense gun control measures” and call for new gun ownership restrictions on the anniversary of the Columbine shootings (reconsideration of vote 27).
March 2, 2000. Vote 32. Voted to use Federal taxpayer funds to hand out anti-gun literature in schools and to run anti-gun public service announcements.
April 6, 2000. Vote 64. Voted for a gun control package including new onerous restrictions on gun shows.
April 7, 2000. Vote 74. Voted against an amendment to provide for the enforcement of existing gun laws in lieu of new burdensome gun control mandates.
May 16, 2000. Vote 100. Voted to commend the participants of the so-called “Million Mom March” for their demand for more Federal restrictions on firearms ownership, and to urge the passage of strict gun control measures.
May 17, 2000. Vote 102. Vote to overturn the ruling of the chair that the Daschle amendment (commending the participants of the so-called “Million Mom March” for their demand for more Federal restrictions on firearms ownership, and to urge the passage of strict gun control measures) was out of order.
May 17, 2000. Vote 103. Voted against an amendment stating “the right of each law-abiding United States citizen to own a firearm for any legitimate purpose, including self-defense or recreation, should not be infringed.”
May 17, 2000. Vote 104. Voted for an amendment commending the participants of the so-called “Million Mom March” for their demand for more Federal restrictions on firearms ownership, and to urge the passage of strict gun control measures.
February 26, 2004. Vote 17. Voted for mandatory triggerlocks.
March 2, 2004. Vote 25. Voted for Federal regulation of gun shows.
July 28, 2005. Vote 207. Voted for mandatory triggerlocks.
March 5, 2009. Vote 83. Voted against a ban on the United Nations imposing taxes on American citizens after France and other world leaders proposed a global tax on firearms.
I think a lot of conservatives are doing that right now by kicking the NRA and the GOP to the curb... when they actually do an about face and start walking the conservative walk, then I'll think about rejoining.
Until then my funds only go to individuals and groups that are full in the fight!
I'm gonna take it out, put it in an envelope addressed to Sharron Angle, put the $35 the NRA thought they were going to get from me in it, and put it in the mail.
Then later next month I'm gonna become a lifetime member of GOA.
Hope it doesn't piss anybody off or anything. /s
Uh, couldn't exactly say it was launched by the NRA...
In 2002, Robert A. Levy, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, began vetting plaintiffs with Clark M. Neily III for a planned Second Amendment lawsuit that he would personally finance. Although he himself had never owned a gun, as a Constitutional scholar he had an academic interest in the subject and wanted to model his campaign after the legal strategies of Thurgood Marshall, who had successfully led the challenges that overturned school segregation.[6] They aimed for a group that would be diverse in terms of gender, race, economic background, and age, and selected six plaintiffs from their mid-20s to early 60s, three men and three women, four white and two black:[7]
Shelly Parker – {bio snipped]
Tom G. Palmer – {bio snipped]
Gillian St. Lawrence – {bio snipped]
Tracey Ambeau (now Tracey Hanson) – {bio snipped]
George Lyon – {bio snipped]
Dick Heller – a licensed special police officer for the District of Columbia. For his job, Heller carried a gun in federal office buildings, but was not allowed to have one in his home.[16] Heller had lived in southeast D.C. near the Kentucky Courts public housing complex since 1970 and had seen the neighborhood "transformed from a child-friendly welfare complex to a drug haven". Heller had also approached the National Rifle Association about a lawsuit to overturn the D.C. gun ban, but the NRA declined.
The NRA must have been infiltrated.
I am not surprised by this. Last time Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson (D-Kickback)ran here in the Neborg; the NRA backed him over conservative, pro-life, pro-gun Jon Bruning. Of course, since he had that endorsement, which he prominantly displayed on his ads, he won; just in time to give us the Cornhusker kickback....
The NRA leadership is less short sighted than many of it's members. Do you really want Schumer to be Majority Leader of the Senate?
Then it'll be Chuckie's turn to show America what a putz he is and he can be next after that.
Good on ya. I have met Larry Pratt and was very much impressed by him. His son, Eric, is also a very good man.
I'm not a life member of the GOA, but I have been a member since the late 90s. Also of the SAF, who has done much good work over the years.
I continue to harangue the NRA over their palling around with Harry Reid; if I hear anything new, I will relate it to the group. Not that it will change your mind about them, or prompt you to acknowledge the good work they have done.
Joe, let's be clear. My mind is not closed to renewing my longtime membership in the NRA, but my statement that "I have no plans" to renew does mean what it says, especially after the last telemarketing call I got from the NRA ended in a hangup from the other end after I politely but firmly stated for the third time that I wasn't going to renew right then.
I recognize the good work the NRA has done in the past, especially as part of the 1994 Republican Revolution, which was unfortunately stillborn. For example, the NRA was front and center in putting the late Mike Synar, (D-Oklahoma, Lord rest his soul), out of work after his critical vote in passing the Clinton "assault weapon" ban.
These days, I really don't think I need to enumerate the cases of the NRA's duplicity, treating gun owners the same way the Republican party treats conservatives, i.e. as if they have nowhere else to go.
Some of the anger and name-calling from fellow freepers who don't quite see things the same way some of the rest of us do, particularly those of us who have been paying attention to events in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, hasn't gone a long ways to make me think otherwise, either.
If this deal with Reid turns out to be as if it appears, (and there are pictures and a puff piece in "America's First Freedom" to support the assertion), the onus isn't on me to prove my loyalty to the NRA. My loyalty is to my rights as recognized by the 2nd amendment. The onus is on the NRA to reaffirm their loyalty to those same rights. Too many Toomey/Specter, Coburn/Rice, Angle/Reid situations to pass the credibility test for me. All these good pro-2a candidates have been undermined by the NRA just trying to make some sort of point to the beltway crowd about "bipartisanship".
The next time you harangue the folks at the NRA, tell them that you know at least one person who'd really like to see the NRA doing some of the same good work it's done in the past and who will consider renewing his membership when they do if the next telemarketing call isn't as rude as the last one was. I really miss The American Rifleman magazine if nothing else.
/rant
The NRA has become in large part a political organization and, like such, can develop a disconnect with those it represents. Which is why we all must harangue together, lest we harangue separately. $;-)
I am sure many on this forum would be more than happy to stay with the NRA should they change their direction, I dropped them in the mid '90s after their support of some anti-2A bills and politicians.
I rejoined early last year due to the high stakes with the Obamanation... but I have told them to cancel my membership (again) after it runs out in a couple of years, I refuse to support a group that sticks its finger in the eye of its membership and the 2A!
As for now I am a GOA Life Member and heavy supporter of SAF, JPFO and my Local/State Group.
Although the NRA has done some good in the past, we cannot continue to support groups that are selling us and the 2A out...
Great post OK - couldn’t have said it better. Take care.
Thanks Ogie, you do likewise.
Thanks for that.
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