It’s That Big Bad NRA Again

AHSA is apparently blaming NRA for Cooper’s ouster.  First I heard anything from NRA on this one was Andrew’s comment in the USA Today article I linked to that mentioned me.  It continues to amaze me how much these groups think NRA is capable of.  Even if NRA were handing us marching orders, it would have to go through six different lawyers and layers of approval, to make sure no campaign finance laws were broken, and various other things, before it even got to us.  Those of us in the blogosphere saw this, and brought attention to it.  The rest was entirely grass roots:

Today, on behalf of the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), I condemned the actions by the NRA and its cronies forcing Dan Cooper out.

The gun lobby’s attempt to destroy a good man and small business owner, a loyal member of the gun fraternity, again reveals the desperate Joe McCarthy-like politics of fear that the NRA leadership and others put first.  They are trying to scare America’s hunters and shooters into voting against Barack Obama — but we have one thing to say: vote hope and not fear.

We’re not the “gun lobby.”  We’re people who care about the Second Amendment, and when it comes to Barack Obama’s record on that issue, we’re not spreading fear, we’re spreading the truth.  Who are you going to believe?  Those of us who actually hunt and shoot, or a guy who runs a supposed “Hunters and Shooters” group who has donated $5000 to Handgun Control Inc.

We Must Hang Together …

… you know the rest.  I wanted to comment on a few things:

Fuck the Fudds.

They have been selling our gun rights down the river for the last 50 years.

They are ones who have allowed the anti-gun politicans to get away with the lie that the 2nd Amendement is about hunting.

And this:

I am on record supporting the banning of all Hunting Firearms that don’t have a self-defense purpose. Kill Bambi with your teeth, Hunters, if you can. The 2nd Amendment enumerates your right to self-defense, not some diaphonous right to shoot pheasants tied up in little cages under bushes that the guide releases when you get close.

All this is doing is helping the gun control folks is pull on the pry bars that they’ve wedged into the fissures of this movement.  This is exactly the attitude that I jumped on Dan Cooper for, just coming from our side instaed of his.  Understand that we need hunters in the gun movement.  As many as we can get.  We do not have the numbers to stand individually on our own, so that means we need to support the “fudds” even if all of them don’t always support us.

We have the data, and the arguments, to show that hunting is in every bit as much danger, and perhaps more, as gun rights are.  Hunters may soon come to find they need us more than we need them.  When it comes to that, we need to stand by them.  The proper remedy is to convince hunters their interests lie with ours, and divisive language isn’t going to help achieve that.

Let the gun control people work the pry bars, we should be out there with cement trowels trying to smooth things over, not actively helping work the fissure.

Why We Lose

As many of you know, I’ve been trying to recruit volunteers for pro-gun campaigns.  I’ve had a fair amount of luck getting people on my mailing list, having roughly doubled it in size.  But I’m having a real problem getting people to even show up at a rally with the possibility of great seating.  I’m wondering whether I’m doing something wrong, or not making the right pitch.

One reason people court our vote is because when it does come for election time, sportsmen typically do turn out to the polls.  But it takes more than that.  Candidates have to see sportsmen, and they need to talk to them.  They have to understand us, and understand our concerns.  They don’t get that if we’re just a number buried in sheets of polling data.  Already, in my district, I’m down to two endorsed state representative candidates.  I have two other Republican candidates that didn’t even bother to turn in their NRA questionnaire this election, and so are big “?” in the voting guides.

Politicians aren’t going to notice us if they don’t see us at rallies, in the volunteer offices, on the streets, and in the election booths, and in their mailboxes.  The reason my county is slowly pivoting from pro-gun to anti-gun is because sportsmen, who are numerous in this area, are doing nothing to prevent it.  It takes more than voting and complaining.  Gun owners and sportsmen really need to get off their butts and make the politicians pay attention to them.  That means supporting the good guys, just as much as it means bashing the bad ones.

A Plea for Calm

By virtue of most news accounts, the board of Cooper Firearms asked for and received the resignation of Dan Cooper.  I do not believe the company, and in particular its several dozen employees, deserve to be punished for taking quick action to deal with anger from the community.  As far as I am concerned, the issue is over.  Our voices have been heard.

It might be true that Dan Cooper still owns stock in the company, and will still support Obama this election.  Think about how many business you patronize on a regular basis.  How many of those businesses have shareholders who donate money to anti-gun causes?  I’m sure there are quite a few.  I’m just not all that concerned if Cooper still holds a stake in the company.  The problem with this whole thing was not that Dan Copper, the citizen, donated money to Obama and intended to vote for him.  I might question his sanity, as a guy who makes his living making guns, for doing that, but that’s his right.  The problem is that Dan Cooper spoke as a leader within the firearms community, as CEO of a firearms company, and in USA Today, gave a glowing endorsement of a candidate for President who’s spent most of his political career trying to destroy the Second Amendment.  Cooper Firearms, the company, has done everything in their power to remedy this situation, and I’m going to come out and say they ought to be welcomed back into the community.

The Hate Mail Rolls In

Here’s a sample of my Inbox from Obama supporters:

I read about what you did to Dan Cooper, you neo-nazi right wing bitch. You’re going to find out soon that you are in the minority, and we are not going to stand for people like you. Trying to ruin a good man’s life! You are scum.

John McCain will never win another election as long as he lives. Way to back the losing horse, and then get your name plastered all over USAToday for it.

From one american to another– FUCK YOU.

Stay Classy

You are a sick and a scary nutcase.  Thank God we have options in the U.S. and have the right to bear arms without you as our spokesman.  Please shoot you toe off instead of your mouth!!!

Who’s silencing who now?

I am an avid hunter from Michigan and our state will probably carry Obama.  My gun rights will not change because of this.  You Sir, are an ignorant PA. asshole.  Regards.

Have you looked at Obama’s record on guns?  I’m not the one that’s ignorant here.  Finally:

You can be traced, and someone can do this to you. Maybe I will show up outside your job, and picket them over you. Maybe I will write your local newspaper. Maybe I will just start my own blog, and rail against you until everything in your life is stripped away.

Like you did to Mr. Cooper.

I hope he does start his own blog.  The entertainment value would be high.  “What you did was wrong and despicable, so I’m going to do the same thing to you!”  Apparently he’s not heard about what happens if you add two wrongs together, even assuming that asking my fellow gun owners to tell a company you were unhappy about what their CEO was doing to them by supporting a man who’s tried to destroy the second amendment his entire political career.

Stay classy, Obama supporters.  Stay classy!

Obama on Concealed Carry

Bucks Right has the audio of Obama saying he supports banning concealed carry of a firearm federally, despite 40 states allowing concealed carry with a license, and two that do not require any license.  I’d love to see Obama tell Alaskans they can’t carry guns.  It’s grizzly bear food you can believe in!

McCain Rally in Southeastern Pennsylvania

John McCain is coming back to Southeastern Pennsylvania for the last time before Tuesday.  This should indicate that their data shows the election is much closer than the media is reporting.  Ed Rendell’s numbers must be showing that too, or he wouldn’t be telling Obama to get his butt back here.  I’m inviting anyone who wants to go to contact me, because if we can turn out 100 sportsmen, we’ll get special (i.e. good) seating.

Road to Victory Rally with John McCain and Tom Manion

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2008
Doors Open 12 noon, Program Begins 2pm
Pennridge Regional Airport
1100 North Ridge Road
Perkasie, PA

I know I have a fair number of Pennsylvania readers, so if you’re in the area, or don’t mind a drive, let me know.  It’s important for gun people to turn out.  Wear your NRA and sportsman’s gear.  Make sure the politicians know where their bread gets buttered.  It’s important that politicians see the pro-gun vote.  So come out if you can.  Even if you don’t care about McCain, Tom Manion definitely deserves support.

More from USA Today on Dan Cooper

Here’s another article – not a blog post this time – about the effort to draw attention to Dan Cooper’s efforts working against gun owners by supporting Barack Obama. It not only mentions Peter again, but also quotes me.

Some gun websites had posted the company’s e-mail address and telephone number, encouraging gun owners to boycott the company and contact its top executives.”This needs to get around,” wrote a blogger who calls himself “Sebastian, a thirty something, self professed ‘gun nut’ living somewhere in Pennsylvania.” He added: “Gun owners need to know which companies sell their interests down the river. Here’s contact info for Cooper Firearms. I would talk to them, and be sure they know Obama’s record, why you’re not voting for him, and why you’ll never buy one of their products.”

I love that Bob Ricker calls me a whacko!

Chris Cox vs. Paul Helmke on Fox News

Well, at least the gun issue is getting some traction in this election.  I know we kind of sneer as groups like the Brady Campaign grasp for relevance, but the silence on the gun issue has actually hurt us too.  The media is burying it, largely because it hurts Obama more than it helps him.

You might think that any gun owner worth his salt knows Obama’s record, but trust me, they don’t.  A lot of them are concerned about other issues this election, and hearing Obama say he supports the Second Amendment is enough for them to vote on other issues that are concerning them.  This is a big problem in Pennsylvania, where the unions have been active conspirators in convincing their membership that Barack Obama is an OK guy on guns.  In a state where a lot of gun voters overlap with union voters, that can hurt when combined with media silence.

UPDATE: Chris Cox has an editorial in the Washington Times as well.