I don't normally read the National Rifle Association magazine. I'm not a member, and while the technical writing is pretty good, the political stuff makes my stomach turn. And I'm a gun owner, for the record.
But a guy at work left the February 2007 issue of "American Rifleman" in the lunchroom, and I snagged it. Hey, it's free, right?
And oh, it was glorious reading. While I'm generally not particularly happy with the stance of the Democratic party on firearms, the FEAR the NRA had of the newfound power of the new Democratic Majority was thrilling!
Finally, kick-ass Democrats ready to grab the fascist Republicans by their lies and conspiracies and illegal activities and
twist and
squeeze until the public was
screaming for action against the high crimes and misdemeanors committed by the entire RNC!
And they were scared. A few selected excerpts...
UNLEASHEDBy Marshall Lewin
With many key committee chairs and positions of power held by anti-gun members, there`s a very real danger that they could hijack Congress and turn it into their own gun-ban juggernaut.
For proof of that, just look to the U.S. Senate, which confirms or kills federal judicial nominations and ratifies or rejects international treaties.
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts--the first stop for every one of the president`s nominations to the federal bench--may now be chaired by one of the most anti-gun politicians on Capitol Hill, Brooklyn gun-ban extremist New York Sen. Charles Schumer.
Like Schumer, Biden is rated "F" by the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) for his countless votes against firearm freedom. Like Schumer, Biden voted to expose the lawful firearm industry to crippling lawsuits; to extend and expand the Clinton gun bans; to allow a ban on most hunting-rifle ammunition; and to deny the free-speech rights of groups like the NRA during elections.
Now, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden can use his power to sabotage pro-freedom nominees for U.N. ambassador--as he did with Second Amendment defender John Bolton--and bully fellow senators into accepting whatever gun-ban treaty the U.N. concocts in the name of fighting international terrorism.
Biden is sure to have a committed ally in California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who may chair the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security.
In fact, if you total up all the congressional votes on which the NRA has ever taken a position, you`ll see that, throughout her career, Pelosi has voted against your firearm freedoms more than 98 percent of the time!
In other words, she voted with the NRA a grand total of once.
Just for a moment, consider the frightening fact that as speaker of the House, Pelosi is first in line of succession behind Vice President Dick Cheney to become president of the United States.
But she doesn`t have to be president --even as House speaker, Pelosi has the power to do enormous harm to your Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Conyers has repeatedly called for a total ban on all handguns, and over his congressional career has cast at least 61 votes against gun owners` and hunters` rights. What that means is that he has voted against you and your beliefs 94 percent of the time.
Imagine the damage that could result from a House Judiciary Committee chaired by Conyers--a man who says that the Second Amendment confers no individual rights at all.
The House Ways and Means Committee is now chaired by New York anti-gun Congressman Charles Rangel. What that means is that the committee in charge of raising your taxes is now run by a man who once praised Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro as "brilliant."
Like fellow gun-banner Bill Clinton, Rangel has a long and legendary anti-gun record. Accord-ing to The New York Times, shortly after Election Day, Rangel "sketched out an expansive federal agenda" that included "teaming up with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on gun control."
With Rangel at the controls of Congress` tax machine, look for new "sin taxes" on firearms and ammunition; new, punitive tariffs on firearm and ammunition imports--the possibilities are limitless.
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?id=229 The NRA, of course, expected the Democrats to use their new-found power to attack the Second Amendment full-throttle. They have, as a lobbyist organization should have, tunnel vision. And they were wrong.
I, and I believe most DUers, thought that the newfound Democratic majority, with the active, angry support of the voters, would instead charge after the corrupt, warmongering Republicans like "a starved chihuahua on a pork chop", to quote Scott Adams.
The entire right-wing establishment felt the same way! They were shitting their pants! Investigations. Hearings. Grand juries. Testimony. Subpoenas. Reigning in the Imperial President. Overriding vetos. De-funding the occupation of Iraq. Finding out what
really happened in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. Breaking up monopolies, especially the media ones. Jamming our progressive legislative agendas down their reich-wing throats. Sideways, just to make it a little more painful.
Impeachment!!! Gonzales, Rove, Addington, Cheney, BUSH!!!
Orange jumpsuits. Manacles. Leg irons. Supermax prisons. Mug shots.
And then.... impeachment is off the table. Democrats signal that, no matter what criminal evidence comes to light, BushCo is free to finish his term with honor. Subpeonas are ignored, with no consequences. Testimony consists of "I don't recall", and nobody pays for it. Bush vetoes go un-over-ridden. Republicans filibuster, and nobody makes them stick to their guns. Democrats are
forced to accept Republican minority legislation! Democrats don't perform their own filibusters to stop the lemming Republicans.
The NRA article was right in one respect.
With the U.S. Senate divided 51 to 49, and with red and blue voters matched almost 1 to 1, you might expect that the Democrats who squeaked out a takeover of both houses of Congress would seek moderation, prudence, caution and common ground.
The current crop of Democrats obviously don't want to do what is needed. And they don't watnt o hear about what they're suppose to be doing. The recent post about Speaker Pelosi's rejected postcard made note of the fact that she had not held any town hall-style meetings in well over a year. "Battered Democrat syndrome", perhaps. Or the dragging of the political dividing line to the right means that many Dems are just moderate Republicans that had the boundry dragged over them. Or maybe they're being blackmailed. Patriot Act lets the administration do that.
But it's obvious the only solution to this problem is more Democrats. New, fresh, un-battered Democrats need to be voted in to replace Republicans and DINOs. Enough so that they can drag the "we gotta be bipartisan", established, 'get-along' Democrats kicking and screaming down the path of light and right.
Okay, rant over. Time to get in the shower and get ready for work.
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