Jim Webb looks to be throwing his hat into the ring for 2016. For Democrats these days, Webb would be pretty good on the gun issue. A lot of people think Hillary is going to walk away with it, but I think Hillary is weaker than a lot of people think. Democrats don’t have much of a bench, since most of their political talent has been sucked down the drain with the Obama Administration. Webb’s candidacy makes sense in case Hillary melts down. But I don’t think the left-progressive wing of the Democratic Party, who are now thoroughly in control, would get too enthused over a moderate like Webb, even if he managed to eke out the nod because there was just no one else.
The big problem on guns we’d have with Jim Webb would be Supreme Court appointments. He’d likely be expected to pick solid liberals. Even if he went with moderates, I think we’d have an uphill climb on the gun issue with any Democratic pick. Remember, the next President will pick replacements for at least two of the Heller Five, and realistically probably three, possibly four. A weak 2A supporting Justice would probably amount to a loss for a broad Second Amendment right.
Not chance in hell of winning a primary in today’s Democrat Party.
Webb is my kind of Dem. Pro-gun, tough on immigration, and pretty much lefty on everything else. His decision not to run for the Senate again bothers me, tho. It seemed so quick that I assumed that someone had some dirt on him.
Keeping the US senate in play is how we guard against bad SC appointment. Thay and not electing squishes.
Voting for someone whose party has draconian gun control as part of their stated party platform is nuts.
Believe Dr. Carson when he tells you his full position on firearm ownership. He is not a politician.
He is a doctor, a neurosurgeon, and a damned good one. You can trust him to slice open your head, rattle and stir your brains around, glue your skull back together and leave everything working better than before he started.
His position on firearms is more Condi Rice than Al Sharpton, and he doesn’t say things just to make people think well of him. He is the opposite of a lying politician, a truly accomplished person with deeply held principles.
Ben Carson, thankfully, will never be president. People rooting for him might as well root for Ron Paul, or Santa Claus. FWIW, I also think we should set the bar higher than “gave a controversial breakfast speech”.
Also, his stance on guns sucks – as does his understanding of his rights work. He thinks that rights can be restricted based on whether you’re in the city or country, for instance. No need for city folks to be upset by scary guns. So the 2nd Amendment doesn’t apply to those guns in the city. Apparently.
But didn’t Webb put his reputation on the line by giving Obama cover on the gun issue during the 2008 election? I wonder if Webb has anything to say about that now? Now I trust Webb about as much as I trust G.H.W. Bush when it comes to guns.
From the 2008 radio ad, …
Our family tradition of hunting and shooting are a way of life to me, and no government will ever take that away. I am an NRA member and I know that my friend Barack Obama will protect our second amendment rights. So don’t be misled about Barack Obama…I trust him to protect our right to keep and bear arms.
Something to use against him if he runs, for sure. I should be clear I don’t want Webb to win. He’s actual war-on-women, but not that that has stopped Democrats before. But for gun rights he’d be better than Hillary or Fauxahontas.
I don’t think Hillary stands a chance.
Sadly I think the Democrat platform is still very much in the same place it was in 2008, so Elizabeth Warren with her blank resume, and hopey-changey rhetoric will probably the the force to recon with on the “Progressive” side.
The Republican party is in flux, on one side we have the mushy authoritarian old guard, on the other hand we have the libertarian-leanig/ Tea Party new guard popping up.
I don’t see such flux in the Democrat side, it’s all “Progressives” all the time, so Webb won’t stand a chance.
If Webb is the nominee, it spells disaster for the Republicans. If they nominate another moderate (a la Bush 41, Dole, McCain, Romney, …), Webb will win hands down.
In addition to the Supreme Court issue, I think there would also be the issue of near-term legislation from Congress. A Democrat POTUS win in 2016 will no doubt bring plenty of Dems to Congress as well. If the Dems win back the Senate and even come close to parity in the House, the only thing standing in the way of “common sense gun legislation” compromise would be a nitwit like Sen Reid deciding to never vote on anything. Of course, 2-3 Justices and dozens more appellate judges would be liberal and, no doubt, anti-gun/anti-Constitution.