Harry Tuttle
Member
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2003
- Messages
- 3,093
Oct. 14 Neal Knox Report -- George W. Bush last night blew the
only gun question of his three debates with John Kerry – in gun-owning,
gun-toting Arizona.
It may have cost him re-election.
It wasn’t what he said that hurt him so much – the gun laws John
Kerry supports go far beyond the “moderate†positions that the President
took – it was what he didn’t say.
In recent weeks I’ve tried, through various channels to get the word
to Mr. Bush’s key campaign people that he has allowed Kerry to become the
“more pro-gun candidate†– which is ludicrous. He needs to reclaim that
ground and mobilize America’s gun owners for him, but he didn’t.
Last night, even while supporting the same things he said during
his 2000 campaign, he could have and should have spelled out where he stands
as a for-real hunter and gun owner. But he didn’t.
Everything Pres. W. said last night was defensive. It was
designed to placate the “moderates†and neutralize the nasty editorials –
and advertisements from Handgun Control Inc., like the one they unveiled
yesterday.
That won’t work. He’ll be hammered on the gun issue by the Michael
Moores and Sarah Bradys of the world, no matter what he does or says.
Attempting to stake out a “moderate†position will likely cost more votes
than it gains.
And what he said will not energize gun owners to get to the polls
Nov. 2. He’s clearly counting on yesterday’s endorsement by NRA – and their
multi-million dollar political effort – to get gun guys to the polls. That
may not work. NRA needed some help from the White House.
Gun owners are restive – and W.’s comments last night will make them
more so.
He said, personally, for the first time since 2000 that he would
have signed the reenactment of the Clinton Gun Ban if it had reached his
desk – but that Republican leaders told him that it didn’t have the votes to
pass, so they wouldn’t bring it up. But the Bush White House sent clear
signals that a renewal bill was not wanted. As a parliamentary maneuver it
worked, but as a political move, that level of subtlety is lost on most gun
owners.
Kerry responded that he would have fought House Majority Leader Tom
DeLay – the one who said it – to make sure the re-enactment of the ban on
semi-autos and over 10-shot magazines did get to the the floor, and did
pass.
The very first vote Kerry cast this year was to extend that ban – on
March 2, as a killer amendment to S. 1805, the bill to protect the gun
industry from ruinous law suits. For the record – which Bush didn’t bring
up – President Bush’s White House formally opposed all those killer
amendments, and endorsed the gun licensee protection bill.
Other things he could have said to energize gun owners would have
been to point out the fact that he signed the Texas Concealed Carry
licensing law – not a perfect bill, but one that was a tremendous victory
for us. John Kerry opposes all such laws.
Mr. Bush let Kerry get away with saying he’s a hunter – though Kerry
thinks deer hunting is done with a “trusty double-barrel†while crawling on
his belly, which isn’t the way the rest of us do it.
Kerry may have gone hunting as a kid, but I’d like to compare the
number of years that the two have them have been licensed, and have them
cite the number of times and places they can recall hunting.
Kerry claims to be a gun owner, but his armory consists – his staff
says – of a double barrel shotgun and a bolt action “assault rifle.†Mr.
Bush owns seven or eight guns, about normal for a Texas rancher.
The President could have said that the Bush Justice Department,
under Attorney General John Ashcroft, didn’t merely mouth the words “I
support the Second Amendment,†as Kerry did again last night, but
specifically and formally declared that the Second Amendment protects an
individual right.
Kerry limits his support of the Second Amendment to “as it has been
interpreted†– as applying only state-approved militia, not individuals.
The fact that Kerry thinks the Second Amendment is meaningless is evidenced
by his support for over 50 anti-gun bills during his 20 years in the Senate.
As you know, I don’t rate George W. Bush as perfect, but not one
anti-gun law has passed on his watch – and he’s the first since Richard
Nixon to be able to say so. And unlike even Nixon, the Bush Administration
as never called for passage of even one anti-gun bill.
In looking at each of these men, remember the adage: “Pay no
attention to what a politician says, watch what he does.†Keep in mind
that it cuts both ways.
only gun question of his three debates with John Kerry – in gun-owning,
gun-toting Arizona.
It may have cost him re-election.
It wasn’t what he said that hurt him so much – the gun laws John
Kerry supports go far beyond the “moderate†positions that the President
took – it was what he didn’t say.
In recent weeks I’ve tried, through various channels to get the word
to Mr. Bush’s key campaign people that he has allowed Kerry to become the
“more pro-gun candidate†– which is ludicrous. He needs to reclaim that
ground and mobilize America’s gun owners for him, but he didn’t.
Last night, even while supporting the same things he said during
his 2000 campaign, he could have and should have spelled out where he stands
as a for-real hunter and gun owner. But he didn’t.
Everything Pres. W. said last night was defensive. It was
designed to placate the “moderates†and neutralize the nasty editorials –
and advertisements from Handgun Control Inc., like the one they unveiled
yesterday.
That won’t work. He’ll be hammered on the gun issue by the Michael
Moores and Sarah Bradys of the world, no matter what he does or says.
Attempting to stake out a “moderate†position will likely cost more votes
than it gains.
And what he said will not energize gun owners to get to the polls
Nov. 2. He’s clearly counting on yesterday’s endorsement by NRA – and their
multi-million dollar political effort – to get gun guys to the polls. That
may not work. NRA needed some help from the White House.
Gun owners are restive – and W.’s comments last night will make them
more so.
He said, personally, for the first time since 2000 that he would
have signed the reenactment of the Clinton Gun Ban if it had reached his
desk – but that Republican leaders told him that it didn’t have the votes to
pass, so they wouldn’t bring it up. But the Bush White House sent clear
signals that a renewal bill was not wanted. As a parliamentary maneuver it
worked, but as a political move, that level of subtlety is lost on most gun
owners.
Kerry responded that he would have fought House Majority Leader Tom
DeLay – the one who said it – to make sure the re-enactment of the ban on
semi-autos and over 10-shot magazines did get to the the floor, and did
pass.
The very first vote Kerry cast this year was to extend that ban – on
March 2, as a killer amendment to S. 1805, the bill to protect the gun
industry from ruinous law suits. For the record – which Bush didn’t bring
up – President Bush’s White House formally opposed all those killer
amendments, and endorsed the gun licensee protection bill.
Other things he could have said to energize gun owners would have
been to point out the fact that he signed the Texas Concealed Carry
licensing law – not a perfect bill, but one that was a tremendous victory
for us. John Kerry opposes all such laws.
Mr. Bush let Kerry get away with saying he’s a hunter – though Kerry
thinks deer hunting is done with a “trusty double-barrel†while crawling on
his belly, which isn’t the way the rest of us do it.
Kerry may have gone hunting as a kid, but I’d like to compare the
number of years that the two have them have been licensed, and have them
cite the number of times and places they can recall hunting.
Kerry claims to be a gun owner, but his armory consists – his staff
says – of a double barrel shotgun and a bolt action “assault rifle.†Mr.
Bush owns seven or eight guns, about normal for a Texas rancher.
The President could have said that the Bush Justice Department,
under Attorney General John Ashcroft, didn’t merely mouth the words “I
support the Second Amendment,†as Kerry did again last night, but
specifically and formally declared that the Second Amendment protects an
individual right.
Kerry limits his support of the Second Amendment to “as it has been
interpreted†– as applying only state-approved militia, not individuals.
The fact that Kerry thinks the Second Amendment is meaningless is evidenced
by his support for over 50 anti-gun bills during his 20 years in the Senate.
As you know, I don’t rate George W. Bush as perfect, but not one
anti-gun law has passed on his watch – and he’s the first since Richard
Nixon to be able to say so. And unlike even Nixon, the Bush Administration
as never called for passage of even one anti-gun bill.
In looking at each of these men, remember the adage: “Pay no
attention to what a politician says, watch what he does.†Keep in mind
that it cuts both ways.