Politics – Page 36 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Texas is Not a Besieged State

Any tactic that beings with that assumption is the wrong one. It’s not illegal to make firearms in Texas, nor is it going to make that illegal anytime in the foreseeable future. Open Carry already seems like a done deal in Texas. Constitutional Carry might need some work, but it’s good to know what legislators are going to be open to persuasion. Don’t waste your time with the guys that aren’t.Â Pressure the legislators you might have some prayer to actually unseat, or at least make things very uncomfortable for. Rep. Poncho Naverez is not among those who fall into that category. That confrontation served absolutely no useful purpose.

You know why Rep. Navarez is happy to say he’s a “no” vote so readily? Or why he treats a threat to his seat with friendly and sportsmanlike indifference? Because in 2012, he won his overwhelmingly hispanic district with 60% of the vote. In 2014, a Republican wave year, he didn’t even draw a challenger. Rep. Navarez knows that his constituents either outright agree with his position on this issue, or at least don’t care enough to vote against him over it. You can threaten his seat all you want, but he what he knows, and what some of the activists in that video don’t, is that unless Navarez isÂ caught with a dead girl or live boy, he’s probably in that seat as long as he wants to be there.

You don’t need Navarez’s vote to pass open carry or constitutional carry, which is good, because you’re never going to get it.Â You’re not reminding him he works for “the people,” because you’re not the people he works for. His people are his constituents, who seem to beÂ largelyÂ happy with him. If you want his vote, that’s what you have to change. There will be no convincing him unless you convince his constituents that he’s failing them. This is how a Republic works, and no amount of calling anyone a tyrant is going to change that.

Not Great on Guns to Outright Confiscation

Our current Congresscritter, Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, jumped on board with the “must look squishy” stance after Newtown and decided to sponsor gun control in the House even when it became clear there would be no vote.

It’s not a shock at all. No one actually believes he has a spine on any issue, but that’s part of why some people vote for him. Even our biggest frustration with him isn’t so much that he puts his finger in the air to try and guess the wind direction before taking a position, but that he’s actually not very good at it from a political strategy standpoint. (Of course, he might argue that he wins elections, and that’s a valid argument.) However, in all of that, he didn’t get on board with a gun ban, even though local folks thought he would in the wake of anything controversial. So, that’s at least something positive in the less-than-ideal political reality.

Rep. Fitzpatrick also pledged to term limit himself. He’s not running in 2016, which means it’s an open seat that only very slightly leans Republican in voting habits. It’s up for grabs for either party. The first to start the process of running? A local lawmaker who pushed banning possession of semi-automatic firearms – confiscation. In his statement, State Rep. Steven Santarsiero complained the gun ban legislation proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein to be too moderate and pro-gun for his liking. Lovely.

This speculative field of alternative candidates who have grades doesn’t look good for gun rights, either. (Though some on that list haven’t run in an office to have an official grade or put out an official statement on the issue. And one, Jim Cawley, just announced a cushy non-profit CEO job today, so it’s safe to say he’s not interested.) Given the passion with which we oppose the policies of the officially declared candidate, this is a race we will be watching closely.

Sebastian and I have already spent dinner conversations on the subject, and we’d like to see one of the state senators from the area run. For Pennsylvanians who follow politics, we’re thinking Sens. Tommy Tomlinson or Chuck McIlhinney. One advantage to McIlhinney, beyond his previous A rating, is that it would help clear the path to liquor store privatization once Gov. Wolf is out of office. On the other hand, Tomlinson probably has the better demographic appeal. His name recognition is also spread across the most populous parts of the Congressional district. Tomlinson was last rated A-, and he did take a walk from us once on the issue of reciprocity a few years ago. As a consequence, he lost his endorsement and came back around on the major recent votes to earn back an endorsement. Tomlinson also won in 2014 after a big “war on women” attack in a Democratic area, so that’s a plus.

Does anyone else have any known open seat issues where there’s a not unreasonable chance that the seat will flip from (reasonably) pro-gun to an extreme anti-gun fringe candidate? Are you already looking around the political field for candidates to help early in the race?

Criminal Charges Recommended for Bloomberg’s Best

The best Attorney General that Mike Bloomberg’s money could buy is facing possible criminal charges at the recommendation of a grand jury. According to sources, they are recommending perjury and contempt of court for her role in leaking confidential grand jury materials to the press in order to embarrass opponents.

I’ll stick by the argument that the frequently GOP-leaning voters in the middle of the state who valued their football program over their gun rights and the rule of law are the ones responsible for sending her in on a wave election.

This is No Way to Win the Nomination

Chris Christie’s state police has promulgated new regulations, including tinkering with the definition of “assault firearm” in New Jersey’s law to make it more strict. This means people who own guns that were previously legal in New Jersey are now felons. It’s also worth remembering that Christie signed the law which prohibited anyone on the “terror watch list” from purchasing a gun. They put it in the regulation, but I’m honestly not sure the FBI will even run that check for them.

The new regulations also add a bunch of new requirements for dealers, including requiring them to open up their records for the NJSP. Â I should note that I’m not all that much of an expert on New Jersey’s current laws regarding dealers, so I don’t fully understand how much this changes, and you can be sure that journalists know even less, and won’t bother to consult with actual experts (Evan Nappen is probably the foremost, and probably one of the only, experts on NJ gun law).

This is no way for Chris Christie to convince a skeptical base that his candidacy for the GOP nomination for President is a good one. As New Jersey governors go, Christie hasn’t been bad for gun owners. But as New Jersey governors go is a far cry from convincing primary voters in America that he’s good enough on the issue for them. If Christie does decide to run, this issue is going to dog him, and it should.

Speaker Vote Kabuki Theater

As much as I’d like to see someone other than John Boehner elected as speaker, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think this is engineered so the Tea Party guys can look like they’re getting tough on the leadership, without actually changing anything. If this ends any other way I’ll be surprised. Jim Geraghty notes in today’s Morning Jolt:

The problem in budget negotiations for Republicans is that a) the public isnâ€™t as outraged about wasteful and excessive spending as Republicans and conservatives are; b) the president is a shameless demagogue who commands the bully pulpit; c) most of the media will happily assist the president by blaming Republicans for every school bus full of kids that doesnâ€™t get to visit the Smithsonian during a government shutdown […]

Those factors bedeviled Republicans before John Boehner was Speaker, they have bedeviled them throughout his Speakership, and they are likely to bedevil them for the near future.

And it will bedevil them even if Boehner isn’t speaker. We visited with one of Bitter’s friends who works on the Hill over the holiday, and were discussing the real concern about the base’s expectations for what the GOP can accomplish for the next two years, and whether by 2016 the base is going to be dejected and demoralized for lack of accomplishments, and therefore decide to stay home. Of course, the other choice is to fight, fight, fight, get creamed the press and steamrollered by Obama, and lose the election because LIVs think we’re mean spirited, and Independents get turned off by the whole spectacle. It’s kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.

Ideologically, I have some sympathies for the Tea Party position (to whatever degree you can divine exactly what it stands for), but they’ve shown little understanding for how the system works. Maybe it shouldn’t work this way, but it does, and changing it isn’t going to be easy. Sure, I agree Boehner isn’t a guy who’s going to change anything, except maybe the shade of his fake tan, but I’d also be wary of a hard core Tea Party type who’s going to pick all the wrong fights.

UPDATE: Looks like he won the vote count, with 24 voting against. 29 would have been needed to send this to a second ballot.

Teach your children well

From the Washington Post (of all places), comes this piece on the normalization of the surveillance state via a childrens’ book.

(My wife and I are both in agreement on this;Â we won’t have the little informer in our house).

Incidentally, I find it interesting that you apparently have to break an ingrained more against “tattling” or “telling.” There is something very low-level in our makeup (either social, culturalm or genetic) that works against providing negative information to an authority (be it parental or outside the family unit).

Senator Bob Casey Pushing Gun Control

Senator Bob Casey is pushing for more gun control, including gun bans, I might add, in this Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed. There aren’t many comments right now, so I would encourage everyone to go comment. Please let the Senator know what a flip-flopping liar he really is, and make sure the public knows. This guy ran in 2006 as a moderate, with an NRA A rating. He turned out to be a far-left liberal who supports gun bans. BobÂ Casey completely lied about being pro-gun. People don’t like politicians who are liars, so I think it’s important that everyone know what he is.

Interesting Development in PA Spree Killer Case

I noticed last night the media reported the spree killer attempted a carjacking in Doylestown, which is the seat of my county. What the media didn’t report is that he may have made the error of bringing a knife to a gunfight, and gotten himself shot at by the guy he tried to carjack. They don’t report whether he was hit, but I would bet not. Not the wisest thing to do, to try to carjack people in a state where about one in every 6 adults has an LTC.

UPDATE: I’m told local news sources are reporting the incident may not have happened. I’m still going on the last police statement on the matter, bad spelling and all.

UPDATE: The spree killer has been found dead near his home. He shot himself. So the guy who did the Doylestown carjacking wasn’t him. Now, if it turns out that the guy who claims to have fought off a carjacker was making a false report, trying to be the hero, you can bet your first born the media will be sure to spread that far and wide.

Enhanced Preemption “State Sanctioned Terrorism”

According to Doylestown Borough Council President Det Ansinn, the new enhanced preemption bill recently signed into law by Governor Corbett is “state sanction terrorism.”Â There’s something to be said for upsetting the right people. CeaseFirePA is similarly incensed, given how hard they worked to convince municipalities to pass these illegal ordinances in the first place. Mr. Ansinn notes in his own comments:

It’s no secret that I own firearms. I also have a concealed carry permit. I grew up with guns.

With that understanding, a law that removes local control and empowers outsiders to litigate, at the cost of the local taxpayers, is batshit crazy.

HB80/Act 192 is offensive pandering to a single industry. It’s going to make lawyers rich and strips your communities of the right to make their own decisions.

The old, “I’m a gun owner, but” line. We accept plenty of context where local governments have no control, especially where Constitutional Rights are concerned. For instance, local governments can’t close down abortion clinics. They can’t limit freedom of speech only to residents. They have to issue permits for public demonstrations in a manner that’s compatible with federal court rulings. They can’t prohibit licensed drivers in Pennsylvania from driving on their own roads, or impose requirements that are incompatible with state law on the matter.

It’s exceedingly difficult to have discussions where your opponents lack an understanding of Â how the law already works, and are unable to draw on other contexts to support their arguments. The fact is that Doylestown never had any ability to ban guns in parks. Those ordinances are already illegal, and have been from the moment Pennsylvania passed preemption (some time ago, if I recall). If Doylestown chose to try to enforce their ordinances, if the person charged fought the charge in court, they would win. But they would be on the hook to pay their attorneys fees to have the charges dismissed. HB80 changes that, and gives standing to challenge the law without having to first be charged under it. It is a fundamentally just law.

If it hadn’t been for local communities flouting the existing law, HB80 would have been entirely unnecessary.

PA Attorney General Won’t Defend Gun Law

Simply because she doesn’t like it, Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced she’s refusing to defend the preemption law that passed the Pennsylvania General Assembly earlier this year. The law is being challenged with a lawsuit by a senator who didn’t support it.

While Kane’s office pretends that it’s no big deal to kick it over the Governor’s office to defend, she does so knowing that the legal team will change next year. Governor-elect Tom Wolf isn’t willing to say he’ll defend it, merely that his team will review it only after they take office. In other words, don’t expect anything from him.

In regards to both offices, these elections were largely lost because many voters value Penn State football over their gun rights. I guess those voters didn’t learn the first time that elections have consequences, and now we’re all going to suffer for it.

The only possible good news is that it may take a while for this to get any kind of court date. Until it is actually thrown out, it’s still the law. Because of that, as the article notes, attorneys representing municipalities with gun control ordinances on the books are still encouraging them to repeal quickly. Since Pennsylvania doesn’t seem to be much of a priority for the big bucks of gun control these days, maybe the cities won’t bring them back.