Posted on 02/20/2010 9:16:46 AM PST by AuntB
Arizona - John McCain has gone out of his way to earn the ire of conservatives and gun owners in his 20-plus years as a U.S. Senator from Arizona.
Perhaps his crowning legislative achievement was so-called campaign finance reform, or the McCain-Feingold law. This law put the muzzle on organizations such as GOA, prohibiting any broadcast advertisements within 30 days of a primary election and 60 days of a general election that even mention the name of a candidate for federal office.
Not surprisingly, there is frequently a flurry of activity in Congress in the months right before an election, as politicians try to ram bills through at the end of a session. Forbidding criticism of sitting legislators during these crucial times (although media corporations were exempt) made McCain’s bill the perfect “Incumbent Protection” act.
McCain’s bill prohibited the most important form of speech the Founding Fathers meant to protect with the First Amendment — political speech — so it was welcome news when the Supreme Court recently repudiated much of the McCain bill as an assault on liberty.
But it should not come as a surprise that McCain does not want voters hear about what he’s up to in Washington, because the same person who holds the First Amendment in contempt would also like to run the Second Amendment through a shredder.
John McCain may have begun as a pro-gun legislator, but when he decided to become a gun control “maverick,” he went all out.
Since his conversion to a gun control advocate over the last ten years, McCain has favored a ban on small and inexpensive handguns and considered a ban on certain semi-automatic firearms (so-called assault weapons).
In what was his boldest move against American gun owners, however, McCain authored a bill to that could only have been designed to close down gun shows. In addition to regulating all private sales at gun shows, his bill would have placed onerous licensing requirements on gun show promoters and would essentially have registered the millions of people who attend gun shows. Under the burdens of the McCain bill, no promoter in the country would put on a gun show and, if they did, gun owners would likely not attend.
Thanks to McCain, the inaccurate and misleading phrase “gun show loophole” became a part of the anti-Second Amendment crowd’s lexicon.
The truth is, there is no gun show loophole; firearms transactions are conducted the same inside a gun show as they are anyplace else.
In 2000, McCain became a spokesman for a gun control organization (now defunct) called Americans for Gun Safety, a group that advocated licensing and registering all gun owners. The group ran radio and TV ads with McCain supporting ballot initiatives in Colorado and Oregon that would impose McCain’s favorite restrictions on gun shows.
These ads were a way for McCain to “stick it” to gun owners, after a gun show bill stalled in the Congress.
“I think that if the Congress won’t act, the least I can do is support the initiative in states where it’s on the ballot,” McCain said in an interview.
In 2001, the group ran advertisements in movie theaters featuring McCain urging people to keep their guns locked up “for the sake of the children.” In the ads, he greatly exaggerated the risks of children gaining access to firearms in the home, and at the same time completely ignored the danger of having guns locked away if they are needed to thwart a criminal attack.
After the 2001 terror attacks, when Gun Owners of America and tens of thousands of commercial airline pilots were pushing legislation to arm pilots as a defense against terrorism, McCain prepared an amendment that would have replaced “firearms” with “stun guns.” GOA pointed out at the time how stun guns would not be effective against the type of attacks that could occur in a cockpit.
John McCain may pretend to be pro-gun (especially in election years) but he has plunged his dagger deep into the backs of gun rights supporters. He may fancy himself as a “maverick” in shining armor, riding to rescue the American people, but all the while he has trampled the Bill of Rights underfoot.
Thankfully, this year gun owners have a choice. Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who was “A” rated by Gun Owners of America in his twelve years in the House of Representatives, is challenging McCain in the 2010 Republican primary.
J.D. respects the Constitution and understands that the Second Amendment was put there by the Founding Fathers to always ensure that the people would have the means to preserve their liberty.
During his time in the Congress, J.D. Hayworth did not vote one way in election years and another way when in nonelection years. J.D. consistently supported the Second Amendment, and that is just the type of leadership gun owners in Arizona will vote for in November.
Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is proud to endorse J.D. Hayworth for U.S. Senate and urges gun owners and sportsmen from across America to help defeat anti-gunner McCain.
Please visit J.D. on the web at http://www.jdforsenate.com to make the most generous contribution possible. Working together, we can win this fight and gain a Second Amendment ally in the U.S. Senate.
Sincerely,
Tim Macy Vice Chairman Gun Owners of America 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org
McCain/Kerry F the POWS/MIAS
McCain/Feingold F free speech
McCain/Kennedy F American Sovereignty
McCain/Gang of 14
McCain/Keating 5
McCain/Terrorist Bill of Rights
McCain/Gun Grabber
McCain/Does not like tax cuts
More?
“This is a good endorsement for J.D. It’s hard to imagine, but we may really have a shot at getting rid of McCain this year.”
Now we need some good trending in the polls, or other good news to fuel the campaign forward!
“DOES SARAH PALIN KNOW ABOUT THIS?”
The more she finds out about what’s going on on the ground, perhaps she’ll reconsider her March events...
Or get very BUSY...
“It doesn’t help to have the new TV star Palin, with her bully pulpit deal at Fox pimping for McCaim.”
Has she been doing that already? I hadn’t heard.
>THE MORE SHE FINDS OUT WHAT;’S GOING ON ON THE GROUND, PERHAPS SHE;LL RECONSIDER HER MARCH EVENTS.<
IF NOT, PERHAPS I’LL HAVE TO RECONSIDER SARAH PALIN.
No. No more MeCain...
The current "official" take is that only registered Libertarians may vote in the Libertarian primary, but Republican and Democrat primaries are open to registered members as well as independents, EXCEPT that presidential primaries are not legally "primaries" but internal party business and only registered party voters may vote.
The difference between the Libertarians and the R/D's is because the Libertarians filed suit over the issue and won, and the Republicans and Democrats weren't party to the suit. Strangely, you'd think if that suit hung on an interpretation of law, the result would apply to all the other parties anyway, but evidently not.
Yes, they're in dire need of a right turn.
Well, don't forget that till last week or so, corporations were pretty much excluded from political contributions anyway, so those company names don't represent the donor but the donors' employers. So that's saying people listing their employer as the US Army contributed that much.
Agreed
Thanks for the update. I’ve been out of the loop since I let my PC position expire because of the Revenge of the McCainiacs purge back in ‘02.
“new TV star Palin, with her bully pulpit deal at Fox pimping for McCaim.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Sarah lost a lot of points with Conservatives when she started sniffing McCain’s butt. Many say she “owes him”. She paid any debt due when people who would not have voted for him did. Debt paid.
RINO McCain sucks and WILL lose to J.D.
I get local, state and federal NRA endorsements throught snail mail and email all the time.
Except the goa has never done a single thing in their entire history except lately when they had a CCW education program a couple of weeks ago. They turned their backs on the Katrina victims and haven’t filed a single lawsuit due to Heller like the SAF and the NRA have.
Ask any Freeper what the goa has ever done and you won’t get a reply.
...and foremost.
B U M P
OK thanks. I'm a life member and signed up for emails, never got anything, and forgot all about it. Will sign up again and see what happens.
“Ask any Freeper what the goa has ever done and you won’t get a reply.”
Oh, please. We’ve been watching GOA for years, and countless times they’ve stood up for conservatism when NRA has folded.
But you go ahead and stick with NRA, who puts people like Grover Norquist on their board...a muslim convert and author/promoter of every amnesty coming down the pike.
What has the NRA got to do with Immigration and terrorism?
http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/2005/12/what-has-nra-got-to-do-with.html
I ask what the goa does and no one gives a direct answer.
Count how many lawsuits the small SAF has filed in support of your gun rights and how many times the goa has failed in doing anything.
If you don’t like the NRA, don’t try to tell anyone the goa is better. The SAF has done more than the goa could ever dream of.
Norquist will be voted out when it’s time for his term to be expired. Not a second more and I can guarantee he won’t be voted out by non-member like you.
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