Harry Reid has decided he doesn’t want Hilly and Obama to have to vote on it (i.e. they will vote against it, which could become an issue in the election):
Republicans counter that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to protect the two leading Democratic candidates for president by shielding them from a politically difficult vote on an issue that many rural voters consider crucial.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, the leading Republican contender for president, is a co-sponsor of the amendment, which would allow gun owners to carry loaded, accessible firearms into national parks and wildlife refuges. Current regulations ban gun owners from carrying easy-to-reach firearms onto lands managed by the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service.
Is it political pandering on McCain’s part to co-sponsor this bill? Or are there real differences between McCain and Obillery on the gun issue?
Hat tip to Of Arms and the Law
Uh, yeah. Besides McCain Feingold and the recent stupidity with the supposed gun show loophole, McCain has been really solid on the gun issue.
What I see as especially noteworthy is that he opposed the original AWB. Remember what things were like in 1993-1994? Gun control was anything but a risky thing to support, but McCain still voted against it. And he opposed it again in 2005/2006. That is more than Bush can claim.
I don’t think it is fair to give him an F if you give Bush a C+. If anything, McCain deserves a B+ downgraded to maybe a B- for being stupid on some ancillary issues. McCain Feingold is a big issue, but it isn’t a big gun issue- it pissed everyone off.
McCain’s problem with the self-described base is that he is not, and has never been, a panderer.
“Is it political pandering on McCain’s part to co-sponsor this bill?”
If its pandering, it’s at least pandering with substance. Unlike Hillary and Obama, who simply mouth platitudes in order to try and fool the pro-gun crowed, and then vote for any anti-gun bill that comes before them (hence the reason Reid is trying to keep the vote from coming up).
At least McCain’s putting his vote where is mouth is.
There’s a lot of National Park land in Arizona where you really want to have a gun hand – or at minimum not be bothered for having one as you pass through – good for McCain.