It looks like the GOP is really looking to hit Crist over perceived efforts to connect with the White House. One of those areas they are targeting now: guns. I would pay to be a fly on the wall in a certain lobbyist’s office.
Month: May 2010
Chris Cox Goes After Media
(This has turned into a live blog post – at least as long as I have power. I wasn’t fully charged this morning, unfortunately.)
Chris Cox is making great jokes about the media’s lack of understanding of the issue during the opening of the Leadership Forum. He’s talking about the “media” in general, but bloggers should know that Chris is not clueless about blogs, and he knows the value of new media. In the meetings where he has a bit more time to “explain” it to other folks, he recognizes the role the blogosphere plays in raising the profile of gun issues and building community within the movement.
I’ve got video of a special guest who sang the national anthem. You might know her father – Scott Brown. I’ll upload it when I have easier access to power. The press area is so big that I don’t think we can fit in many places in this arena. There are 10 cameras here, and I’m assuming that includes at least one pool camera that will serve multiple networks. There are also several print folks here, at least based on the notebooks.
Wayne is doing a very interesting introduction right now. He’s asking law enforcement, fire fighters, veterans, educators, health care workers, trade workers, and then stay at home moms to stand up to illustrate that NRA is made up of “real people.” The crowd goes nuts for the stay at home moms and veterans especially. “See us for who we really are, and see if you can finally tell it straight.” -Wayne LaPierre
This makes me very paranoid about using this tactic in my presentation on Saturday. Eek. Hope they are still ready to get on their feet tomorrow!
The Governor of North Carolina was scheduled, but she had to send a video message. She’s emphasizing hunting and sportsmen’s activities. She’s asking people to come back, but the local media is not so welcoming. I’m also hearing many folks boo her name – I guess Democrats here in North Carolina have a fight set out for them later this year.
Haley Barbour is up, and Chris mentioned that Mississippi didn’t go the way of New Orleans. Instead, “You loot, we shoot” signs went up. Barbour joked the message was, if you shoot looters, we don’t prosecute. Man, this guy is so seriously Southern. He’s talking about friends with full autos – now that’s not a conversation you can have with a politician often! Now Barbour has switched to a message about limited government and elections.
The arena staff are screaming “Popcorn” as they walk the aisles. I admit, I’m so hungry. But, they should be told that this is not the kind of event where you actually scream out what you have. The Time Warner arena does have some beautiful HD screens. We’re actually not that far away, but I prefer the screens.
John Thune is up. He mentioned that the crowd heard from Chuck Cunningham, but I think 99% of people are confused. Chuck heads up federal affairs, and he doesn’t speak at events like this. But unless you know quite a bit about their operations, you wouldn’t know who on earth he was talking about. Thune is now emphasizing his concealed carry amendment & the vote, but now it’s a switch to the Courts. He says that nominees must be specifically questioned about their Second Amendment positions.
Now we’re into hunting stories. Apparently, Thune is a grouse hunter. He shot his first grouse with a single shot .410. Just in case you were curious. He says he’s taken his daughters to the range & out hunting. That’s a nice message to hear.
We’re now on to Heath Shuler, one of those evil right wing Democrats the local paper was condemning. He’s telling stories about how he grew up. I actually feel sorry for sincerely pro-gun Democrats. They cannot defend their leadership who constantly put them in bad positions. Apparently, today is his son’s 9th birthday. They hunt together, apparently wild hogs. He bought his son his own AR-15. He believes he may be the member of Congress who buys the most ammunition. That would be an interesting debate to have. Great photo op for the cause, that’s for sure.
According to Schuler, he dropped legislation on Wednesday about Eddie Eagle. I’ll be honest, I’ve been cut off from news since Tuesday. He says there are more than 105 co-sponsors, and he expects more than 200 by the end of this week.
Larry Potterfield of Midway is speaking now. He’s modifying Paul Revere’s call to “the Liberals are coming!” The crowd goes nuts. He’s got on his gold jacket – recognition that he has donated or pledged more than $1 million over their lifetimes. The way that the Advancement Office has stepped up and engaged wealthier people who are pro-gun, but maybe didn’t do anything about it, is really commendable. It means that the outreach programs will be fully funded for years.
Wow. Midway’s Round Up program has now raise $5.2 million. And with that, I need to switch to video & Twitter.
Checking in from Charlotte
Wow. So Sebastian is in the Firearms Law Seminar with no power and no wifi, and I just sat down in the Leadership Forum with many of the other bloggers here at the Blog Bash.
This city has never seen an event so big. It’s a massive infusion of money into their economy. So how do they greet us? By asking us not to shoot them. Fan-freakin’-tastic. That makes me never want to even visit Charlotte again.
As Jim Geraghty (who is sitting in front of me), points out today, they also call it a massive right-wing convention while we have speakers like the Democratic governor, Congressman Heath Shuler, and my favorite Oklahoma Congressman Dan Boren.
As a matter of space, I’m not sure Charlotte could host the event again. They had to cancel the banquet this year because there is no space large enough. It’s now another speaking event. The arena is already packed, with a full floor and up the sides. There are huge lines outside. It’s a great day to be an NRA member, even if Charlotte is a little small for our needs.
13th Annual Firearms Law Seminar
I’m attending the NRA Law Seminar today. If I were an attorney this would qualify for Continuing Legal Education credits. Among the speakers is Dave Hardy, Stephen Halbrook, Don Kates, and Nelson Lund. I’ll try to update a bit during the day, but I’m running on battery here and they have no WiFi. Like the dorky kid in class, I’m sitting at the front row.
As you can see, there’s a lot of material to cover today. This should be very interesting.
Arrived at Charlotte
A view of the show floor being set up.
This is the view from the media office. Really, I meant to post this last night, but didn’t have a chance.
Polling Shows People Wary of Open Carry
I wouldn’t read much into polls, because the one thing polls don’t tell you is where the passion for an issue is. But Rasmussen is at least a reputable poller, and polls show the public is wary of open carry.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 41% of Adults are at least somewhat concerned about their safety in the presence of those who have “concealed carry†gun permits. Fifty-eight percent (58%) don’t share that concern.
But 47% oppose so-called “open carry†laws that would allow citizens to openly wear their guns in public. Forty-one percent (41%) favor laws. Several states are currently wrestling with this issue.
In households with a gun owner, support for “open carry†laws rises to 57%. In households where no gun is present, 62% oppose them.
Truth be told, I don’t think these poll numbers are devastating to the cause of Open Carry, and we already know that the Brady folks haven’t had a lot of luck doing fundraising on twitter using the issue. Concealed carry once had poll numbers that were this low. That’s not to say I’m about to endorse open carry in all places and all circumstances, but 57% support among gun owners is better than I thought it would be. The big question is where the passion is, because that’s more indicative of how the struggle will play out politically. The polling doesn’t really matter, but it’s useful to at least get an approximate gauge of what people think.
Spoke too Soon?
I did a post yesterday about how gun control bills in New York were having a hard time moving. Well, Microstamping just passed the New York Assembly, and is on its way to the Senate. The Senate has for a while been what’s stopped gun control bills from passing in New York State, as it remained under Republican control for a while. But now it’s hard to say whether that’s going to hold with the Democrats in charge.
On Mental Illness and Gun Rights
Eugene Volokh notes some aspects of the revised United State Code, Section 922, which is a large part of our federal gun laws. This was revised by the NICS Improvement Act several years ago. As Eugene notes, it would seem that rights to people with mental health issues are automatically restored in the case of federal commitments, which are largely veterans under the care of the Veterans Administration. I point this out because this directly contradicts GOA’s ridiculous claims about this law, calling it the “Veterans Disarmament Act.” Maybe if they had actually read the bill, they would have understood what it did and did not do. But why bother with facts when you can get some good NRA hatin’ going? That’s good for GOA’s fundraising efforts, after all.
More on Michael Bellesiles’ “NRA Conspiracy”
From Jim Lindgren, who was one of the scholars who helped take Armed America down. He takes down the notion that NRA had anything to do with Bellesiles “swiftboating” with some cold hard facts.
After the Bellesiles affair was over, I asked a law professor who had in the past received funding from the NRA why the NRA was so savvy to stay out of it and let the academics handle it in the normal way. The answer I got is that the NRA wasn’t savvy so much as it is suspicious of academics, whom they neither understand nor trust. If the NRA pays for something, they want to control the message — and most academics won’t take money on that basis.
There is certainly truth to this, but I think it should be clarified that NRA does fund and has funded quite a bit of academic work by researchers. NRA is more wary of outsiders, I think, than academics. Trusting outsiders in politics is risky, and NRA is no exception when it comes to keeping it in the family.
But they probably take this a bit too far. Clayton Cramer has always struck me as the kind of guy who would be a valuable addition to the NRA family, yet I don’t really think NRA has made any attempt to reach out to him or try to work with him. It tends to work the other way, mostly, and I think that can be short sighted at times.
Crosman Enters the PCP Air Pistol Market
The one thing I can’t stand about Crosman air pistols is the trigger. The other thing I can’t stand is how poorly the CO2 is regulated. This product seems to fix at least one of those things. I’ll probably get one, just because they are so cheap. Unfortunately they are not so cheap that they can be used for IHMSA Production Class, but I’m of the opinion that the IHMSA governing body needs to consider upping the price for production class.