Thursday, February 18, 2010

Bed Wetters and the Second Amendment



Remember how Barack Obama was going to take away all our dogs and ban all hunting?

Remember how Barack Obama was going to take away all the guns?

Back during the election season, I battled a never-ending tribe of know-nothings, right-wing wackos, wink-and-nod racists, paranoid conspiracy theorists, professional thumb suckers, and amateur bed wetters -- the people who have now coalesced into what is called the "Tea Bagger" arm of the Republican party.

They spewed this kind of stuff like an open sewer, hoping the toxin would catch fire like the Cuyahoga River did back in '69.

At the time I noted that anyone who really believed in the Second Amendment (and who actually knew their ass from their elbow) would "lock and load" in opposition to John McCain and Joe Lieberman, both of whom have long and well-documented histories as gun-controllers.

I noted that Barack Obama believed the Second Amendment was an individual right and that he had no intention of restricting it.

Now The Chicago Tribune has come out with an article noting that Obama is not anti-gun -- he is anti-gun control!

No surprise here, of course, but apparently this is quite a surprise to those on the far right and the far left who intentionally blinkered themselves in order to profit from massive direct mail campaigns designed to separate the American people from their money.

Notes The Chicago Tribune:

Among the many groups that opposed Barack Obama's presidential race, few were more certain or vehement than gun-rights organizations. "Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history," the National Rifle Association announced. "Obama is a committed anti-gunner," warned Gun Owners of America.

So it's no stunner that after a year in office, the president is getting hammered by people who have no use for his policy on firearms. The surprise is that the people attacking him are those who favor gun control, not those who oppose it.

Obama's record on this issue has been largely overlooked — except by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which recently issued a report card flunking Obama on all seven issues it deems important. Said President Paul Helmke, "If I had been told, in the days before Barack Obama's inauguration, that his record on gun violence prevention would be this poor, I would not have believed it."

Had he listened to the candidate in 2008, he would have believed. At a September campaign rally in rural Virginia, Obama declared unequivocally, "I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe in people's lawful right to bear arms. I will not take your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I won't take your handgun away. .. There are some common-sense gun safety laws that I believe in. But I am not going to take your guns away."

.... [Obama] has proposed nothing in the way of new federal restrictions on firearms. Even the "assault weapons" ban signed by President Bill Clinton — and allowed to expire in 2004 — has no visible place on Obama's agenda.

Not only that, he's approved changes that should gladden the hearts of gun-rights supporters, a group that includes me. He signed a law permitting guns to be taken into national parks. He signed another allowing guns as checked baggage on Amtrak. He acted to preserve an existing law limiting the use of government information on firearms it has traced.

Still, the NRA is not rushing to recant.


Well, of course the NRA is not rushing to recant.

The National Rifle Association knows its membership is mostly comprised of right-wing gullibles who have responded to "fright factory" direct mail written for only one purpose: to winkle another $20 out of the pockets of those who are easily frightened and who are emotionally volatile.

The good news is that gullible fools represent a small percentage of hunters and an even smaller perentage of total gun owners.

There are more than 12 million hunters in America, and more than 50 million gun owners, but the NRA counts its membership at 2 million, and of those only 1 million are hunters.

To put that another way, 91% of all hunters and 96% percent of all gun owners are not NRA members!

Of course, even a smaller percentage of those who voted for Obama in the last election were members of any type of "gun control" organization.

And, to put a point on it, groups like the Brady Center are also professional "liars for hire," the same as the NRA.

The only real difference is one group seeks to pluck dollars from gullibles on the fringe left, while the other trolls for gullibles on the fringe right.

The Obama Administration is saluting neither fringe. Instead, it is saluting the U.S. Constitution, and it is saluting all of it, not just one Amendment.

How refreshing is that?


From Toothpaste for Dinner

4 comments:

Rick said...

When I was buying ammo a few weeks ago, and paying triple what I paid before Obama's election, I heard about a home-made sign at another gun shop: A picture of Obama and the caption "Employee of the Year." Maybe he should get a cut. Maybe he already has. You never know about those left/right conspiracies.

And of course, the NRA, et al, won't back down from their earlier claims. Fear is a great motivator, and who would want to get in the way of peoples' motivation to pay way too much for ammo. Belligerence has often played a major role in politics, especially here in Texas, and it is rarely accompanied by thoughtful consideration of the facts.

I find it amusing that right wingnuts still describe Obama as a "socialist, etc." when he is anything but. The right wing should applaud the fact that he is disappointing his left wing base, but they're so worked up with their own agenda they haven't noticed. I was one who thought that George W was leading us down an opposite path, but it could have been worse: he could've listened to Cheney ALL of the time. As it turned out, he backed away from the edge toward the end of his 2nd term. Maybe he saw the light, and wanted a peaceful retirement. Maybe he got tired of Cheney's hate & fear mongering. Maybe he never noticed. Maybe he saw the economy crumbling and got distracted. We'll never really know that for ourselves.

Anyway, thanks for the blog, and all the other talk. One of these days I'll send photos of Shorty, my Jack-Weeny who made the front page of USA Today. But that doesn't have anything to do with guns, or this comment.

But I wouldn't bet that Obama will take our guns. Leave that BS to the guys raking in the $ from Seahorse's fear.

PBurns said...

Nothing like paranoids to drive the economy!

Michael Tenny, who runs an Internet sporting goods store based in Fort Worth, Texas told USA Today: "We've had people buy ammunition for calibers they don't even have the gun for: 'Oh, I want to get this gun eventually. And when I get it, ammunition may be hard to get,'"

Wonderful.

Put rationality on the shelf, and go into a full on PANIC because a black guy is the top man in the White House. And yes, that really is what all this paranois is all about. Oh! My! God! A NEGRO!

Bed wetters, thumb suckers, cry babies, and fantasists. The worst America has to offer.

Is it good for ammo and gun makers? Sure. Lots of bed wetters and thumb suckers out there!

Of course, Uncle Sam is no price when left to its own devices.

You want a good ammunition story? How about this one: Under the Bush Administration, the U.S. Army bought $300 million of ammunition, sight unseen, from a 21-year old kid in Miami who passed on 50-year old chinese bullets repackage in Albania. No, I am not making that up. See >> http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2009-02-05/news/indicted-miami-beach-weapons-dealer-efraim-diveroli-is-still-making-millions-of-dollars/

This is what our soldiers were using for ammunition in Afghanistan. Nice!

Patrick

Seahorse said...

Rick, I hope you realize I was being completely tongue-in-cheek in my post?

Fearfully (not) yours,

Seahorse ;)

Rick said...

You played the part well, brother. My first clue should have been that U DINT UZE AL CAPS!!!!!!!!!

May we dance around the issues again.

And Patrick, just because we're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get us!

:-)

Rick