The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
Local pundits are suggesting that it’s this commercial:
Folks, if all a left-wing Democrat has to do to win is put his foo foo dog in a commercial blaming Bush for the country’s problems, we’re totally screwed. I’d like to encourage everyone to get out there and do something for Pat Toomey. We need to win this. If Dems get another state wide win with an openly anti-Second Amendment candidate, it’s not going to stop with Joe Sestak.
We’re very concerned about some recent polling that shows Joe Sestak either closing the lead on Toomey or ahead of him. Polling is obviously not the end all be all, but suffice it to say it has us concerned. Especially considering it was a last minute surge that put Sestak over the top.
If Joe Sestak is elected Senator, he will be the most anti-gun Senator this state has ever had. If we can’t beat Joe Sestak this year, Pennsylvania will not stay pro-gun for long. Every gun owner needs to get out and vote for Toomey. Sestak doesn’t even believe you have a right to have a gun in the home for self-defense. If that’s not too radical for Pennsylvania gun owners, we’re doomed.
NRA does not always get grades and endorsements correct. There are few state liaisons that don’t have more than one state, and the number of races to keep track of is in the hundreds. I’ve said before, there’s value in having a working relationship with the local people if it’s a topic you’re really concerned about — and the movement needs people who are concerned about it. That’s manifested itself this election more than others.
The late-in-the-season Castle Doctrine fight has complicated things. NRA has the problem of not only having a key vote that we’d like to consider heading into this November election, but the additional problem of magazines and endorsements needing to go out, and having all of its state legislative resources being focused on ensuring eventual victory on this issue.
That’s lead to me bringing into question some grades this particular election season. These are issues I am raising privately with them, and it’s probably best to do it that way, so I won’t go into details about particular races where I think they got it wrong. My greater point is, if you think they got it wrong, to raise the issue, and have some concrete things to point to as to why you might thing a grade is in error.
One race I can speak about, which illustrates the problem with late legislative fights, is that of endorsements. We just got our magazine, which has our local State Senator Robert “Tommy” Tomlinson listed as an A and endorsed. If you look on the web site, he’s listed as a B+, and carrying no NRA endorsement. The web site reflects the fact that Tomlinson voted to amend the Castle Doctrine bill with an amendment that would weaken LTC reciprocity by removing the ability of Pennsylvania residents to carry firearms on a permit recognized as valid by the commonwealth.
I’m glad NRA dinged Tomlinson for it. He’s been good on our issue in the past, but decided to drift on this matter. It’s a shame, however, that the magazine isn’t going to reflect that. I think that’s probably good, longer term, because it’ll give Senator Tomlinson a chance to talk to some of us about the issue, and hopefully make amends. It’s worth noting the Democrat running against Tomlinson is F rated, and no friend at all. I’m not willing write off Tomlinson yet, but in my role as volunteer coordinator, I’m going to be spending my resources on other races this election year.
UPDATE: I’m pleased to report that in regards to the local race in question, the error has acknowledged, and corrective action has been taken. Far too often people paint this stuff as some kind of conspiracy to sell out gun owners, when in reality sometimes it’s just an honest oversight. If you had hundreds of races to think about every two years, you’d probably misjudge a few of them too. That’s why NRA needs local people paying attention.
I’ll never forget the day I walked around the corner of a House office building and nearly had a man run into my chest. Now, I’ll grant you that the man really isn’t that short, but with my height and normal work heels, it would have made things a little awkward if we actually collided. That man was Dennis Kucinich.
So, imagine my surprise when the political folks on my Twitter feed start talking about how he’s polling surprisingly close to his GOP opponent. And now, according to FatWhiteMan, we find out the opponent is pro-gun.
Sorry to the little folks out there, but I’m going to back the man who will vote for gun rights instead. But, if it makes you feel any better, you still have Barbara Boxer who is so short that she has to stand on a box to be seen behind podiums. Although, Carly Fiorna may also take care of her this year – another candidate running on a pro-Second Amendment platform. Beyond those two, I’m not sure who the next shortest Representative/Senator is or will be next year. Carly still isn’t tall, based on what I’ve read she’s only 6 inches taller than Boxer, and that would put her at 5’5″.
This also begs the question: why are the smallest people in the House & Senate the most anti-gun? It would seem they should see value in having access to tools with which to defend themselves.
The anti-gunners have officially endorsed Dan Onorato for governor in Pennsylvania. But remember, he’s not really anti-gun!
Sebastian says they would be fools not to endorse him. However, I disagree and believe that they are fools to do so. The other side has only dabbled in the endorsement game before, and this will be a huge loss to them. They won’t be able to turn out votes on the issue, and if the current polls that run near or over a double digit lead for his opponent hold true in a couple of weeks, it will just be an embarrassment for everyone who got on board.
Onorato has decided to run to the extremes on the issues in these last few days. He has officially said he would veto Castle Doctrine if elected, and he does not support any expansion of the right to defend your own life or that of your family on your own property.
I was thoroughly confused when sometime around 7:35pm on a Sunday night, Congressional candidate Bryan Lentz posted the following Facebook update:
This morning I will be at the Crum Lynne @SEPTA station. Come shake my hand and let me know what you’re thinking.
This morning? At 7:35pm on a Sunday?
It made Sebastian think of this:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA_UfZnqBco[/youtube]
It’s also amusing because it’s the train station he used to go to college every day, and it’s a short walk from his sister’s house & the house that he grew up in.
I’ve been paying attention to the number of signs going up around our area during this campaign, and it’s not news that those going up are overwhelmingly GOP signs. What I find startling are the people who are putting up signs.
One property owner on a major road just a mile or so away has never put a single political sign up in all the years I’ve been visiting or living with Sebastian. He now has a massive plywood sign taking up his entire corner for the Republican congressional candidate – Mike Fitzpatrick.
Several homes in our neighborhood have never had political signs up before, and they are now sporting signs for Fitzpatrick, and for the Senate candidate, Pat Toomey.
Almost every house with McCain signs out in 2008 has at least two more GOP signs out this year. Unlike 2008, I have yet to see a single Democrat in our area put up a sign. The only signs we’ve seen for Democrats have been posted by the campaign on public property instead of private lawns. I really didn’t see much in the way of bumper stickers when for Republican candidates in 2008, but now I see them on a few cars parked around the neighborhood.
To say there’s an enthusiasm gap in the signage is an understatement. I know the ultimate sign will be the results on election night, but so far, things are looking pretty good here in Lower Bucks County. In the meantime, I’ll take some time to also enjoy this snippet from the NYT on the Democratic incumbent’s attempt to campaign in the darkest blue portions of the district and getting yelled at by nearly everyone in the neighborhood.
The Democratic Party in Illinois would like you not to vote for Bill Brady because he’s a sick puppy killer. I kid you not:
The bill they are referring to is here, and as you can see, it has nothing to do with puppy holocausts, and has more to do with approving a method of euthanasia, a practice widely accepted for suffering animals. The method that is being approved here is accepted practice by the American Veterinary Medical Association, an organization well known to advocate puppy genocide.
So I reported a few days ago on the Joe Manchin ad, where he’s shown shooting the cap and trade bill. Well, the GOP has apparently become worried that the Democrats, the wild, crazy gunslingers we all know them to be, are promoting a bad message when it comes to children being able to safely handle guns:
At the same time, Mike Stuart, chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, chastised Manchin for not wearing safety gear when he fired the rifle.
“My children were watching,” Stuart said in a news release. “Where was his blaze orange clothing, his ear protection, his eye protection? … It is too bad the governor sent some very bad messages to the youth of West Virginia.”
Stuart believes Manchin should’ve been wearing orange clothing when taking aim at the cap-and-trade bill.
I’m not sure about the blaze orange. Who wears that shooting paper? Plus, as far as I know, there’s no season or bag limit for rent seeking, federal power grabbing bills. At least there shouldn’t be, since I’m pretty sure we can all agree that congressional bills have been responsible for significant depredation of the country.
This is a strange world we’re living in, folks. When the Democrats have become the wild gunslingers, and the GOP are the stodgy, “You better do that safely, lest my little Johnny start handling my guns with reckless abandon,” it’s hard to argue we haven’t completely won the culture war on the gun issue, at least in some parts of the country. I can only imagine the abject horror the Bradys must be feeling as they are watching all this go down.
Nobody can say that politics is boring this year. We’ve got angry independents, tea parties, bumbling Republicans, Democrats who can’t even get people to remember they are on the ballot, and outside groups pouring money into Pennsylvania to try and shake things up (or keep them the same – depending on their interests).
The Teamsters just withdrew their endorsement of Bryan Lentz in PA-7 yesterday. This can’t be good for him.
The district was represented by a Republican until 2006 when the FBI announced an investigation surrounding the GOP incumbent right before election day. The race had not been on anyone’s radar until that point. Suddenly, the Republican was booted out and the investigation lead to absolutely squat. Since then, it seems to have highlighted just how far left the primary counties in the district have gone. Even in a landmark year like this, polling hasn’t put the Republican former US Attorney terribly far ahead. Charlie Cook has it as a Lean R and Larry Sabato has it as a Toss-Up.
But, that said, Lentz can’t afford to lose any votes. And having a major Democratic interest group tell its members that they shouldn’t bother voting for you? Well, that’s not good. In fact, I would argue that a withdrawn endorsement is probably worse than having never had an endorsement at all, though I admit to not having much to back that up rather than gut feeling and a general knowledge of how NRA members would likely handle it if it happened on our issue.
With this news just adding to the excitement, I guess I should go buy some popcorn. Think they have the Christmas tubs on sale yet? This is going to be one very amusing election night.