Orrin Hatch response to the AWB

[Correia]

I just got a letter back from Orrin Hatch, it was a form letter but it was specifically about the AWB. I take that as a good sign that we are making enough noise that they have a letter specifically set up for that topic.

Basically it was very good. He said that he was against it the first time, and that he would do everything in his power to kill it this time. He even included some quotes he made the first time around.

I take this as a good sign.

Lets keep up the pressure.

 

[FPrice]

Larry...

Congrats on the good luck with Senator Hatch. However my senators are Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. Guess how far I will get in trying to convince them to support our position?

:banghead:

 

[AmericanFreeBird]

Yeah, well my Senators are Joe "Sore Loserman" Lieberman and Chris "gun banner" Dodd. I wrote them anyway, no reason not to let them off the hook just because they will totally ignore me.

 

[CZ-75]

However my senators are Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. Guess how far I will get in trying to convince them to support our position?

You could always send them a petition asking that Sirhan Sirhan be pardoned.

 

[Sactown]

I'm stuck with the likes of Feinstein and Boxer.

 

[Shaggy]

Kennedy, Boxer and all the rest need to get the mail to. Keep the heat on guys. I know if those morons are your rpes it's tough, but you still have to shout loudly and shout often.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

The letter from Senator Hatch is good news for all of his since Senator Hatch, or as I like to call him - the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, wields quite a bit of influence over this bill.

 

[Wildalaska]

Ill be meeting with my Senators shortly and will tell them what I think...

WildinalaskayoucandothatAlaska

 

[Outrigger]

you could have leahy and turncoat jeffords. a letter will do no good here.

 

[TarpleyG]

Here are links to Florida's senators. I do not really know where Bill Nelson stands. I think maybe he misunderstood what the issue is.

Looks like Bob Graham is on the fence. Maybe someone else with more knowledge/interest in politics can tell me.

Bob Graham on Gun Control
Bill Nelson on Gun Control

 

[MeekandMild]

Hatch for president in 2004!

 

[HBK]

My rep is Baird and my senator is Cantwell. I'll be joining you in the :banghead: .

 

[Waitone]

Hatch for president in 2004!

Surely you jest! I coined the term "spinelessrepublican" in honor of Trent Lott, a man who would do nothing to stand for principal and would cave at the slightest pressure from the opposition.

Orin Hatch is a Xerox copy of Trent Lott. He is a man who talks big on Sunday and goes to whimpering on Monday.

Republicans got smart and did in Lott. Now they have to get smart and do in Hatch. Watch Hatch carefully. I think there is a deal afoot for the Democrats to accept and pass the gun manufacturers liability control bill in exchange for the republicans passing the AWB extension. Watch Hatch. He's key to any deals.

 

[WilderBill]

Even if you are represented by Satin him/herself, don't let them be feeling too comfortable with their idiocy.
Keep the pressure on!

 

[antsi]

Write 'em all, ESPECIALLY if they're Anti-Gun

You folks are right in the sense that no constituent letter is likely to change your legislator's mind. By the time we hear about the bill, most of them have already made up their minds.

But that doesn't mean it isn't worth it to write the letters.

A polite, well-reasoned letter from someone who appears to be a solid citizen does send a message to the legislator, even if the arguments themselves don't sway them. The message is either,

a) "Gosh, my position on this bill is really costing me votes back home."

or

b) "Gosh, my position on this bill is solidifying the support from my voter base."

Even if you don't change their minds, it's worthwhile letting them know whether they are gaining or losing votes based on what they are doing.

A corollary of this is, it really doesn't pay to come off as a dyed-in-the-wool nut-case single-issue fanatic when writing letters to your congressfolk, especially the anti's. They will just ignore you, figuring they'll never get your vote anyway. And anything you say that sounds crazy to them will only solidify their opinion that only crazy people could object to their position. It makes you so much easier to dismiss.

Far better to portray yourself as one of the middle-road "swing voters" that they're all so desperate to seduce. Make your own position seem reasonable and mainstream, while politely suggesting the anti's views are the extreme ones.

 

[TheOtherOne]

Surely you jest! I coined the term "spinelessrepublican" in honor of Trent Lott, a man who would do nothing to stand for principal and would cave at the slightest pressure from the opposition.

Orin Hatch is a Xerox copy of Trent Lott. He is a man who talks big on Sunday and goes to whimpering on Monday.

Republicans got smart and did in Lott. Now they have to get smart and do in Hatch. Watch Hatch carefully. I think there is a deal afoot for the Democrats to accept and pass the gun manufacturers liability control bill in exchange for the republicans passing the AWB extension. Watch Hatch. He's key to any deals

I like the guy because of all the politicians I've wrote in the last 6 months he's the ONLY one to respond to me. (other than the automated one you immediately get back from the whitehouse when you e-mail the President). In response to an e-mail I sent to Hatch, he actually sent a hand-signed letter in the mail. It was mostly a form letter, but did address my message and it was actually signed.

But, I can see where you are coming from after looking through the site posted above and finding things like this:

Hatch was the author of the juvenile crime bill passed by the US Senate in May. Among other things, it would require trigger locks on all new handguns and impose tougher restrictions on sales at gun shows. The measure also would ban import of high-capacity ammunition clips and any juvenile convicted of a felony would be denied the right to purchase a gun for life.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Hatch was the author of the juvenile crime bill passed by the US Senate in May. Among other things, it would require trigger locks on all new handguns and impose tougher restrictions on sales at gun shows. The measure also would ban import of high-capacity ammunition clips and any juvenile convicted of a felony would be denied the right to purchase a gun for life.

To be fair to Hatch, he proposed that bill when it looked like a far worse bill from the Dems was going to pass during the post-Columbine battle in Congress. The split over the two bills ended up doing both of them in and I notice Hatch hasn't proposed any legislation of that sort since the storm passed.

 

[Bainx]

You got him pegged, Waitone.
He is also elbow-rubbin' buddies with Teddy Kennedy.

 

[Kharn]

Hey, I've got Mikulski and Sarbanes, they just send me the same "Thanks for supporting protecting the chillllrrunnnn" form letter they send the antis...

Kharn

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Waitone:

Just curious, but why do you think the deal would be to trade gun manufacturer liability control for an extension of the AWB, and not the other way around?

 

[Waitone]

Perhaps I'm not clear. Dubya has already dismissed AWB as an important issue. However, he is interested in liability limitation. Democrats taking aim at liability limitation via filibuster is a threat to what Dubya and republicans think as important.

I figure it is easy to trade something of marginal value for something of intense value.

 

[Telperion]

Huh? Why trade the AWB, which they've acknowledged has generated loads of angry individual feedback, for the liability bill that is desirable but has only indirect effects on voters? I'll concede that it's not an impossible scenario, but it doesn't seem like a good way to win votes.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

I agree with pipsqueek...

The AWB cost the Democrats the House after it was passed.

The same thing will happen to the Republicans if they renew it.

Maybe I am missing part of the puzzle, but I didnt realize that Bush was particularly interested in liability reform for manufacturers.