ST. ALBANS, W.Va., May 16, 2008
McCain Courts Gun Owners At NRA
Presumptive GOP Nominee Suggests Obama, Clinton Would Undermine Gun Owners' Rights
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Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, autographs Sportsmen for McCain t-shirts as he visits St. Albans Gun and Archery store with his wife Cindy, right, Friday, May 16, 2008, in Charleston, W. Va. (AP)
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John McCain
Some call him a hero, some a maverick. Will Americans call him Mr. President?
"If either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is elected president, the rights of law-abiding gun owners will be at risk my friends - and have no doubt about it," the Republican nominee-in-waiting told a crowd of several thousand.
McCain acknowledged he has been no darling of gun-rights advocates, having pushed through signature campaign finance legislation gun supporters say has muzzled free speech. The Arizona senator has also favored tighter restrictions for buying guns at gun shows.
Nonetheless, McCain said he expected the votes of gun owners in his general election campaign against either Obama or Clinton, the remaining Democratic presidential contenders.
"I supported campaign finance reform because I strongly believed our system of financial campaigns was influencing elected officials to put the interests of `soft money' ahead of the public interest," the senator said to silence. Softmoney is unlimited contributions from wealthy individuals corporations or unions.
"It is neither my purpose nor the purpose of the legislation to prevent gun owners or any other group of citizens from making their voices heard in the legislative process," he said.
"Those disagreements do not detract from my long record of support for the Second Amendment and the work we have done together to protect the rights of gun owners ...," he added.
Earlier, after visiting a gun store in St. Albans, W.Va., when he bought only a rod, bobbers and other fishing equipment, McCain said the only gun controls he favors are limits to keep guns from people with criminal backgrounds or indications of mental problems.
He added that, as president, he would sign a law that prohibited individuals from buying guns at a gun show without going through the same checks as those buying guns at regular stores.
McCain's visit to West Virginia, a general election battleground state, and his appearance at an NRA convention in Kentucky, were aimed at assuring gun owners a McCain administration would not infringe upon their rights.
In isolation, the questions about McCain's gun record could be troubling to a candidate vying for the votes of conservatives, former members of the military and residents in the South, where guns and hunting are prominent elements of the culture.
Yet in comparison to his potential Democratic rivals, McCain could be viewed as the most supportive of gun rights.
He told the NRA that Democrats have learned since the 2000 election between Al Gore and George Bush not to talk about gun control. He jabbed repeatedly at Obama, the Illinois senator who leads the Democratic delegate count, including deriding him for a recent comment about Pennsylvanians "clinging to guns and religion" amid economic stress.
Clinton also criticized Obama for the remark, prompting Obama to accuse the former first lady "like she's on the duck blind every Sunday, packin' a six-shooter!"
As the NRA audience laughed, McCain said: "Someone should tell Senator Obama that ducks are usually hunted with shotguns."
Obama spoke to reporters Friday in Watertown, S.D., and was asked about gun rights and whether Republicans would make it an issue in the general election campaign.
"They'll try, of course. They've got the same playbook in every election and guns is going to be one of those issues," the Illinois senator said. Describing his position, Obama said, "People have the right to lawfully bear arms. There's nothing inconsistent with also saying we can institute some common-sense gun laws so that we don't have kids being shot on the streets of cities like Chicago. Those are laws that I think a majority of Americans believe in."
Clinton, a senator from New York, made stricter gun control one of the themes of her first Senate campaign in 2000.
Also addressing the crowd of thousands was former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Last year, Romney sought the support of gun owners by declaring himself a lifelong hunter, only to later step back and recast himself as a sporadic opponent of "small varmints." Romney assured the crowd that despite any differences they have with McCain, "I believe that he's right on issue after issue that counts."
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 82 CommentsWow, now this is truly a surprise.
"Anyone who likes guns, and shootin, and fishen, has got MY VOTE!"
Hitler liked these things too.
Don''t give me this, "It''s fishing season, hunting season is over" stuff, groundhogs are always in season and targets are, too.
I think he''s a little bit jumpy around weapons since his residence at the Hanoi Hilton. Was he made to play Russian Roulette like in the movie? Maybe he should try this again, with an autoloader. It''s just one bullet, it holds 7, what are you worried about?
What''s he gonna do if one submits to his advances?
He is a Republican, after all.
He''s got white hair, combover, thinks everyone is one of his friends, likes to talk about war alot, sometimes a hundred years of it sometimes only five years.
Well if you see him, dont approach him, he looks cuddly but he''s got quite a temper. You should hear the things he says to his wife sometimes. But she''s so rich she doesnt care what he calls her, he''s her little pet on a leash.
Well please give us a call if you see Grampa John, we''re pretty sure he needs a diaper change by now.
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Well-put. Glad to hear someone else say it. I agree 100%. I was a member once (a gift I didn''t ask for) and they still phone me to rejoin. You can have a lot of fun with them when that happens.
He''''s got white hair, combover, thinks everyone is one of his friends, likes to talk about war alot, sometimes a hundred years of it sometimes only five years.
Well if you see him, dont approach him, he looks cuddly but he''''s got quite a temper. You should hear the things he says to his wife sometimes. But she''''s so rich she doesnt care what he calls her, he''''s her little pet on a leash.
Well please give us a call if you see Grampa John, we''''re pretty sure he needs a diaper change by now."
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Maybe I''ve seen him, maybe not. But just hypothetically, is he safe around fishhooks?
He''s got white hair, combover, thinks everyone is one of his friends, likes to talk about war alot, sometimes a hundred years of it sometimes only five years.
Well if you see him, dont approach him, he looks cuddly but he''s got quite a temper. You should hear the things he says to his wife sometimes. But she''s so rich she doesnt care what he calls her, he''s her little pet on a leash.
Well please give us a call if you see Grampa John, we''re pretty sure he needs a diaper change by now."
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Maybe I''''ve seen him, maybe not. But just hypothetically, is he safe around fishhooks?
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It would probably be best if he wasnt around any sharp objects.
He often puts things in his mouth, such as his foot, but hes adapted to this and learned to talk out his rear end. Like when he rambles about the environment or who Hamas wants to be president or when he tries to make people believe that a Senator from Illinois is a secret undercover muslim who will travel back through time to appease Hitler and surrender to whatever Boogeyman he can dream up.
A mind is a terrible thing to lose.
How low are the morals of a party that actively advocates violence against ANYONE they disagree with? Sounds like the Nazi reference Bush was referring to yesterday was really meant for his own party.
%u201CThat was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he''s getting ready to speak,%u201D said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. %u201CSomebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.%u201D
And youre a Minister? What a low life dirt bag you are. Perfect Running mate for McBush.
McBu$h seeking those oldfart Reagan supporters, just one more scared vote before they die off...
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It always is. It''s called projection of guilt.
Example: His spending is out of control, so he accuses Congress of being, "A teenager with a credit card" Now it''s out there. He feels better, no pent up guilt. And preemptively, anybody who says Bush himself is spending irresponsibly is ignored because, we''ve already heard it and they seem to be just throwing the same thing back.
Another - "I will not engage in nation-building" - Nobody accused him of that first, he was defending what he would do later. Where did that comment come from?
I''ve met other disturbed individuals who do this sort of thing. Sometimes you can learn to read them, and tell what they''ve done/are planning to do this way.
He often puts things in his mouth, such as his foot, but hes adapted to this and learned to talk out his rear end."
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Well then could we at least get him to drop his pants and grab his ankles, because I can''t understand a thing he''s saying.
House Republicans turned on themselves yesterday after a third straight loss of a GOP-held House seat in special elections this year left both parties contemplating widespread Democratic gains in November.
In huddles, closed-door meetings and hastily arranged conference calls, some Republicans demanded the head of their political chief, while others decried their leadership as out of touch with the political catastrophe they face.
GOP leaders sought yesterday to "re-brand" the party with a new slogan and renewed pledges of fiscal rectitude and limited government. But the slogan -- "The Change You Deserve" -- came under mocking fire, because it parallels Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama''s "Change We Can Believe In" motto and it mirrors the advertising slogan for the antidepressant Effexor.
McBushcain = Toast
******* straight! And the best place to for mass murders is the mass murder capital of the whole ***''n world! Them Muslims know how to kill their own kind better than anyone else. Where else to get the best lessons in mass murder than the vegetable markets in Baghdad. You go Iranian Shiits Muslims, you know how to dish out terror better than anyone else in the world.
Okay everyone, lets make a deal. Us "gun nuts" will give up the Second Amendment, if you give up the Fourth Amendment. Yeah, that''ll be perfect. The government will have the right to search your house AND you won''t have anyway to defend yourself.
"If we restrict liberty to attain security we will lose them both." - Ben Franklin didn''t really say it, but it is still true.
"Men with big guns, have small weapon."
Republicans trot this "old chestnut" because *gasp* it is important to a lot of people! And, the Second Amendment is in danger of being ignored everytime a liberal wants to use a killing for political gain.
Well then could we at least get him to drop his pants and grab his ankles, because I can''''t understand a thing he''''s saying.
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Well he is a republican, so he should be comfortable assuming a wide stance and bending over for you if you tell him you are a lobbyist.
Obama hasn''t said anything about taking your guns, or your swastikas, away.
Relax, Neocons. It will be over soon.
However, McCain is wasting his time because gun owners will almost certainly vote for him because of the horrible voting record of his opponent (either Clinton or Osama).
Unfortunately, they''re selling out America while they pander to peoples single-issues.
Unfortunately, they''''re selling out America while they pander to peoples single-issues.
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Posted by ubrew12 at 10:41 PM : May 16, 2008
SINGLE ISSUE!!! The dems are wrong on almost every single issue. Pick an issue, figure out which side would harm America... that is the democrats side of that issue. Unfortunately, the libs cannot see this... when McCain wins in November it will, of course, be because America is mean and racist and have nothing to do with Obama being on the wrong side of every important issue.
We began as a nation whose citizens protected themselves. We are rapidly losing that ability.
When we began, your weapon WAS our military. Now, our government can kill you remotely from 3000 feet in the air, and you''ll never meet the one who pulled the trigger. And, increasingly, the one ordering him to pull that trigger has NOTHING to do with American self-defense.
You can keep your pop gun if it makes you feel safer.
You aren''t.
It''s time for a different mentality than to appeal to a pioneer spirit 200 years old. We need controls that the same party prostituting itself for your vote on this ''lowest common denominator'' issue is working overtime to tear down.
If you keep voting Repub, in the future you''ll be able to protect yourself from the street gangs, but who''ll protect you from your own government (who, by the way, would prefer to keep the street gangs going, as long as it works at the ballot box).
And, if not, WHY wouldn''t they be soft on crime? How does it actually HELP them for crime to go away?
Gun voters need to recognize that the CONDITIONS that breed violent crime are not necessary conditions Republicans want to do away with. Of course, once you actually COMMIT A CRIME, Republicans will spend whatevers necessary to put you behind bars. But actually doing away with the poverty and community disconnect that leads people to resort to VIOLENT CRIME? THOSE conditions are a Republican candidates BEST FRIEND. The LAST thing he/she would like to do, is to do away with the conditions that lead to violent crime.
America has become a country of commuters. If you live in New york, or most other major cities, the business hubs are zoned non residential, meaning on the average you live 5 to 10 miles from where you might be employed, and much farther if you live in the suburbs, as most of the working population.
Walk? Bike? You''re dreaming.
I remember hearing the stories of previous generations, "when I was your age, I had to walk ten miles to work, etc." I used to think, "you must have had a job that didn''t mind if you smelled like you just walked ten miles."
The cure is re-planning and rebuilding cities. the jobs generated would end unemployment, and prepare America''s crumbling infrastructure for the future that we may still yet have.
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