Posted on 04/18/2005 12:46:10 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
NRA loved just about everything
Panel on last day takes parting shot at major media
The National Rifle Association may have fond feelings for Houston, but that affection apparently does not extend to the mainstream news media.
"We love Houston. It's a great facility. Great hotel. Great people in Texas. It was a very successful annual meeting," said NRA spokesman Jorge Amselle as the organization's three-day conference at the Brown Convention Center came to a close Sunday.
Official figures were not available Sunday, but NRA officials had estimated that at least 50,000 people would attend. The event was expected to have a $50 million impact on the local economy.
Members and visitors checked out nearly five acres of guns and optics, accessories and collectibles and had the opportunity to handle and compare shotguns, rifles, handguns and gear from most American manufacturers and many European brands.
"This is where the rubber meets the road for us," said Al Russo, with Remington Arms Company. "These people know our products."
However, as the convention attendees prepared to return to their homes around the country, members of a closing-day panel on news coverage encouraged them to find alternatives to mainstream media — which panelists variously described as elitist, biased and ignorant.
"We all know the media is biased," said Cam Edwards, an NRA online talk show host who also has worked as a radio reporter in Oklahoma City. "An anti-gun bias is prevalent in the media. But they won't admit it."
Edwards, who acknowledged he also has some biases, said there should be more stories about gun owners who successfully defend themselves, and less coverage of celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Britney Spears. The talk show host also suggested that news organizations should have full-time firearms writers, just as they do for topics such as education and politics.
"The media risks becoming irrelevant if it doesn't change," said Edwards. He also accused news organizations of lacking "intellectual diversity."
Political media consultant Tom Edmunds, another of the panelists, credited NRA-financed television advertising campaigns in 2004 with the reelection of President Bush and Republican victories in key Senate races. He pointed specifically to the defeat of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.
Edmunds also said that former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry "overplayed his hand" with media photo opportunities of himself in hunting gear in an attempt to win the vote of gun owners. The NRA responded, said Edmunds, with an ad campaign depicting a poodle wearing a Kerry sweater and featuring the phrase, "That dog won't hunt."
Perhaps the most dramatic moment of the conference was Saturday night's address to NRA members by embattled House Majority Leader Tom Delay. The Sugar Land Republican is under pressure by some members of Congress — including a few from his own party — because of alleged ethics violations.
Delay and the NRA attracted a small contingent of protesters to the area across the street from the convention center.
Pam Olson and a friend carried signs to protest, but they were not well received by those attending the conference.
"It was just the two of us," Olson, "and it was horrible."
A handful of conventioneers talked with the women, sharing opinions and challenging each other's statistics in calm debate, Olson said, but as many or more people loudly cursed the protestors and their beliefs.
"I'm not even saying there are too many guns," Olson said, "just that it's too easy to access them, especially for children."
Next year, the NRA's annual convention will be held in Milwaukee.
steve.mcvicker@chron.com
doug.pike@chron.com
Thanks for the article.
What a knucklehead! The phrase is: "That dog don't hunt"!
Perhaps that should tell you something.
Next stop, Boston......!
Notice that there were TWO protestors...and they got equal time. If a Freeper contingent of a hundred ever gets equal time, it's time to go to confession, `cause the Rapture's a-comin'.
A million moms must be sitting back on the couch eating ice cream and watching Oprah.
Melissa Taylor, center, Norm Farr, left, and Diane Durbin, right, in green, join a group of more than 100 protesters outside the site where House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was scheduled to address the National Rifle Association member banquet Saturday, April 16, 2005, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Unless you're a democrat, in which case Unethical is Equivocal.
HOUSTON (AP) - With an assault weapon in each hand, rocker and gun rights advocate Ted Nugent urged National Rifle Association members to be "hardcore, radical extremists demanding the right to self defense."
Speaking at the NRA's annual convention Saturday, Nugent said each NRA member should try to enroll 10 new members over the next year and associate only with other members.
"Let's next year sit here and say, 'Holy smokes, the NRA has 40 million members now,'" he said. "No one is allowed at our barbecues unless they are an NRA member. Do that in your life."
Nugent sang and played a guitar painted with red and white stripes for the crowd at Houston's downtown convention center.
He drew the most cheers when he told gun owners they should never give up their right to bear arms and should use their guns to protect themselves if needed.
"Remember the Alamo! Shoot 'em!" he screamed to applause. "To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want 'em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot 'em."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050418/D89HG71G0.html
TribeNuge BTTT - Go Ted!
:)
Just when I think the Left can't slither any lower, they do. How Clintonian.
This Ted tells like it should be:
"Remember the Alamo! Shoot 'em!...I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release...I want 'em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot 'em."
"Edwards, who acknowledged he also has some biases..." Great non sequitur guys! Nothing gets by you dead-tree scribblers of the Maimedstream Media!
Ya think "an NRA online talk show host" is going to have "some biases"? Actually, no.
I think he's one big pile of oozing bias sunup to sundown. And that's what his audience wants and expects. Please don't tell me they think their readers are too dumb to see the "has" in front of "worked as a radio reporter". How sad.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.