President Bush's Boy Feels the Sting of His Boss' Mistake

KeepAndBearArms.com ^ | May 8, 2003 | Sam Cohen

[Atlas Sneezed]

The New Hampshire State Republican Committee is sponsoring a series of in-state visits from party bigwigs. Last night, Karl Rove, advisor to the President, and a friend of George W. Bush for 30 years, spoke at a lecture hall at Southern New Hampshire University, in Manchester. The hall was full, with several hundred people there, including a state senator, a recent Congressional candidate, and a number of other people I knew. (New Hampshire's a small state.) I sat in the front row, and after Rove's speech, was the last of a half-dozen people to be recognized for questions.

I introduced myself as a director of Gun Owners of New Hampshire, the NRA state affiliate, noting -- for the benefit of the audience -- that even Bill Clinton admitted that the country's 83 million gun owners, and the NRA, delivered the electoral votes of Arkansas, Tennessee, and West Virginia in the 2000 election. I then told of assistant White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's statement a couple of weeks ago that President Bush had joined Democrat senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer in calling for renewal of the so-called Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, due to sunset after ten years in 2004.

My question was whether President Bush was aware that many thousands of gun-rights activists around the country felt so strongly about this that we had drawn a line in the sand (my exact words), and would not support ANY politician -- even President Bush himself -- who supported this atrocious legislation.

Rove began his answer by referring to the tremendous amount of email that the White House had received on this subject, but then he shot back the question of whether we supported Bush in the 2000 elections.

I said "absolutely." His follow-up was that Bush had publicly campaigned on his position of "enforcing existing gun laws," and his position hasn't changed; he was just being consistent. Rove then closed the session and walked off the stage.

Just a few minutes later, I approached him to continue in private as he was leaving the building; I was the last to do so before he got into his car. This is where it got interesting: Rove took my arm and literally got in my face, using the old drill sergeant intimidation trick of speaking through clenched teeth with his nose an inch from mine. It didn't work, because I'm taller (and older, and uglier) than he is, and I took HIS arm in turn. He told me that Bush was sticking to his position, but that Congress would never pass the legislation. I told him that there were a lot of us, that we were dead serious, and that if Bush let the ban get renewed he'd lose the election, because freedom is more important than politics. He looked at me -- still with clenched teeth -- turned, and walked to his car, obviously angry.

GOOD! First, his anger told me that he knew that the hypocritical strategy was dangerous. More importantly, it tells me he'll remember the exchange.

Molon Labe!

Sam Cohen http://www.thespiritof76.com/rkba.html

* RKBA! (...the exclamation point means "shall not be infringed!")

[Bill S]

Anyone who thinks that there's no difference between the parties after the last 2 years of G W Bush's administration is smoking some very strange stuff. Anyone who would vote for a Dem based on this one bill which is not really an impediment to the 2nd amendment is really not thinking clearly. A politician certainly has to maneuver through many issues. To think that you can get 100% your way is totally unrealistic. On balance GWB is doing an outstanding job of moving the ball forward on conservative positions.

[cynicom]

Farm bill, biggest in history. Education, biggest one year hike ever, passed with help of Kennedy. National debt, soaring to near anothe billion. Patriot act, something clinton could only hope for. Criminal prosecutions from clinton years, zero. Borders wide open, Mexicans pouring in by hundreds every day. Millions of illegals in the country, no accounting, turn the blind eye. and on and on.

[Cyber Liberty]

Gotcha journalism is as tasteless on the right as it is on the left.

[Bill S]

tax cuts, will sign partial birth abortion bill, cancelled ABM treaty, disavowed Kyoto treaty, no government funding of new fetal stem cells, issued opinion 2nd amendment applies to individual citizens, no funding of planned parenthood abortion advice, didn't kow tow to UN re: Iraq, augmented defense spending, etc, etc.

[cynicom]

No judges confirmed. Continued erosion of gun rights. Fifteen billion to Africa when we have to borrow the money to give away. Continual diatribes about fiscal responsibility, see giveaway to Africa. No drilling Alaska, was a top priority. On and on.

[Travis McGee]

Great compare and contrast! Waxman is a man of his time, at least in the Gorezone.

[Poohbah]

If the AWB gets to his desk and he signs it you can kiss his re-eelection GOODBYE.

Key word: IF.

If the RKBA community feels free to not bother Congress in 2004, and Congress gets the impression that there isn't much opposition to the AWB renewal, it will get renewed.

If that's the case, then the RKBA community deserves whatever they get.

[Poohbah]

No judges confirmed.

Get 60 GOP Senators in place.

Continued erosion of gun rights.

Name a single "gun right" that has been "eroded" since January 20th, 2001.

[Joe Brower]

Waxman's f-ugly face scares me.

I'm going to sue for psychological harm and emotional distress.

$;-)

[UnBlinkingEye]

WOOHOO! Kerry for President!!!

The way things stand I doubt that I'll ever vote for another Republicrat.

[Travis McGee]

Man, is he ever ugly! But not as scary as Schumer the Smooth Schmoozer, who lies better than Clintigula.

[jeremiah]

Republicans control both houses, the presidency and have a once in a lifetime chance to change things that will not get better by increments. There is only today in politics. Waiting for the next election cycle, or for higher numbers of one party is a fools game. With the political capital available to GW, he could roll back the spending of the federal govt, and make many changes that could put truth to the years of Republican party promises of smaller govt, and a return to constitutional limits. Even Rush postulated that if the R's controlled all of the seats of govt, and did nothing to change the course of the ballooning govt, he would publicly switch parties. Of course that was before GW was elected, now it is wait for bigger majorities, and do what you can I guess. There is a debt bomb waiting for those that are poo-poohing the deficit spendings. Some say 20 trillion dollars in debt and future promises to pay. That is not small potatoes. Now I don't advocate cutting military, but in those programs that have no business in the federal purview. Unless this govt does something about the runaway spending, there makes little difference between the party in charge. A hawkish Democratic President, and a Republican majority in Congress may be a better way to go right now. At least then, the Republicans give lip service to the old ideas of conservatism.

[jeremiah]

Bush and his strategies, are the ones dividing the party. As voters we are charged with making the best decision for the country. That means finding the best person for the job, and supporting those that champion our causes, not just those that belong to our Republican lodge.

[jeremiah]

Go read post #70, to see how effective this strategy of trying to fool the gun grabbers has been. He has failed, as have all Republicans do when pandering to the left. They are like the Terminator, they positively will not stop with the attacks. If the right gives them all they want, they still will attack. The only way to get along, is to do what is best in your own mind, and let the libs attack as they will. Better to be called names for doing what is right, than to be duped into doing the things your opponents want you to, and still be called names.

[jeremiah]

Why is it that 51 Democrat Senators can push forward a libleral agenda, but we need a veto proof majority of Republicans to do the same?

[Poohbah]

Because this is the first time ANYONE, Republican or Democrat, Federalist or Whig, has filibustered judicial nominees.

[45Auto]

Protecting the 2nd will be the courts job.

Maybe that was once true, when there were men of honor, integrity and intellectual honesty on the bench. There are still some who fit that type, but more and more, the courts are being politicized. Protecting the Constitution is a job for every citizen, up to and including, dare I say it, armed resistance, should it become necessary.

[45Auto]

The Assault weapons ban cannot match up against the innumberable other freedoms which will be sacrificed if the Democrats gain power again.

The AW ban is part and parcel of the Clinton years, the Clinton philosophy (if there is one) and the RAT machine. They have two main points in their agenda from which all legislation flows: 1)to completely disarm the American citizenry and 2) to gain authority for unlimited taxation.

Everthing the bastards do is with a mind to gain absolute control over the wealth and property of the nation. The RATs are not going to go away and unfortunately, sooner or later the punks will again gain the presidency and a Congressional majority. It may take them the next 20 years,but they will be back, more virulent than ever. Stopping the ban from being made permanent is much more than a mere symbolic victory -it will send a message to the RATs (and the GOP) that we will take no more of their crap and that compromise with basic issues of liberty will not be tolerated.

[45Auto]

If the AWB gets to his desk and he signs it you can kiss his re-eelection GOODBYE

I have absolutely no doubt that if this bill is passed, especially since it will probably contain a vast expansion of the AW definition, and Bush signs it, his re-election chances will suffer. How much is uncertain, but unless he has changed the minds of a hell of a lot of voters since 2000, where he won be the narrowest margin I have seen since the Nixon-JFK era, any re-election will be by a slim margin.

Rove maybe a political genius, but even he must understand the importance of keeping the conservative voter base on his side. And the RKBA issue is important with that base, along with some other obvious matters. Bush's people should be shaking in their boots about the possibility of this renewed bill coming to his desk barely two months before the general election. The Senate version will be passed in the Senate. The House is where this must be stopped. Bush has put his butt on the line with the idea that the House Republicans will save him from having to deal with this bill. If I were he, I would be damn anxious to make sure that I didn't have to take this poison pill.

[jeremiah]

I too feel the frustration, as the number one hope I had for GW, was to restock the SC with those that are similar to Clarence Thomas, who I feel is THE single best adjucator of the constitution. The Republicans MUST work around this, they have no other choice. Make appts during recess of Congress, I didn't like that when BC did it, but if this is what they will do for Federal appts, how far will they go when the stakes are higher? There needs to be a line drawn, make the right choices, even if that means being blasted by the Dims. Of course then there is the illegal population, which must be controlled. If they give amnesty of any kind, there will be even more reasons for the hope of illegals. They will pour in, knowing that eventually they will be normalized citizens.