NRA Plans $40M Campaign Blitz

Politico: National Rifle Association Will Seek To Portray Obama As Threat To Second Amendment

(The Politico)  This story was written by Jonathan Martin.

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The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million on this year’s presidential campaign, with $15 million of that devoted to portraying Barack Obama as a threat to the Second Amendment rights upheld last week by the Supreme Court.

“Our members understand that if Barack Obama is elected president, and he has support in the Senate to confirm anti-gun Supreme Court nominees, [the District of Columbia v. Heller decision] could be taken away from us in the future,” Chris Cox, head of the NRA’s political arm, told Politico.

The politically powerful gun rights group will split its message efforts between communicating with its 4 million members and the tens of millions more firearms owners across the country.

This fall, NRA members will get automated phone calls, mail pieces and pre-election editions of the group’s three magazines making the case against Obama. More broadly, the group will use an independent expenditure effort to hammer the Democratic nominee via TV, radio and newspaper ads in some of about 15 battleground states in the Midwest and Mountain West.

“We look forward to showing him ‘bitter,’” Cox said, referring to Obama’s statement this spring that some in rural America “cling” to guns and religion out of bitterness.

Since 2000, Democrats have made a conscious decision to avoid alienating gun owners and Second Amendment enthusiasts, as many in the party believe a NRA-stoked backlash cost Al Gore his home state of Tennessee, as well as West Virginia and Arkansas, in the 2000 presidential election. In the days leading up to Election Day four years ago, Democratic nominee Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) even went so far as to symbolically court gun owners, donning camouflage and hoisting a 12-gauge in what turned out to be a goose hunt in more ways than one.

And Obama is now charting a similar course, never raising the gun issue on the stump except, when asked, to say that he respects Second Amendment rights. Indeed, the day Heller came down, he issued a carefully worded statement that indicated neither support nor opposition to the decision but clarity on a broader point meant to assure gun owners that he’s not a threat. McCain voiced enthusiastic support for the Heller decision. 

“Sen. Obama has always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms and will uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners, hunters and sportsmen as president,” said spokesman Tommy Vietor. “Sen. Obama also believes that we can work together to enact common-sense laws, like closing the gun show loophole and improving our background check system, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals.”

One pro-gun Democrat in the House said the decision would actually help Obama by clarifying that gun ownership is an individual right and further dissuading Democrats from pursuing what has proved to be a political loser at the national level.

“It’s a nonissue,” said Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who represents a blue-collar Youngstown, Ohio-area district and has won the backing of the NRA. “Democrats have learned a lesson to not campaign on it.” And, he said, “the reality is that there is not going to be any gun legislation to get through Congress.”

But Cox said the 5-4 decision had galvanized sportsmen and Second Amendment enthusiasts and would thrust the issue back into the political arena.“This is the first salvo in a step-by-step restoration of this right,” Cox said calling Heller “only the end of the beginning.”

And the next step in that cause could be a politically awkward one for Obama.

The NRA filed suit on Friday to overturn handgun laws in Chicago, Obama’s hometown, and three Windy City suburbs

“You put a microphone to hs face and ask: ‘Do you support the Chicago gun control laws?’” said Grover Norquist, an NRA board member, envisioning how to prolong the story and make the Illinois senator squirm.

It’s a quandary that the NRA and the McCain campaign hope will haunt Obama in battleground states with a deep attachment to the hunting culture that crosses party lines.

“We’ve probably still got 800,000 going afield opening day of deer season,” said Mike Bouchard, a former Michigan state Senate leader and gun rights advocate in a state where some schools on the Upper Peninsula still close on the first day of deer season. “And we’re very suspicious of people that pretend to be supportive of Second Amendment rights and hunting.”

“We can create a wedge in unions by highlighting his anti-gun background,” Paul Erhardt, a GOP strategist who works closely with members of the gun rights community, said of Obama.

While the gun culture is typically associated with the South, it’s actually the industrial Midwest where hunting is most popular.

Pennsylvania has the most NRA members per capita of any state, and, after Texas, the next four states that sell the most hunting-related goods are Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri, according to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

And while Bill Clinton, Gore and Kerry could all handle a gun and had been hunting many times over the years, Obama has never hunted in his life and is the furthest thing from an outdoorsman.

Yet, as with so many issues on which Obama is vulnerable, McCain isn’t exactly a perfect alternative.

Aside from not being a hunter, he earned the enmity of some in the gun rights movement for his advocacy of campaign finance reform and background checks at gun shows.

“I don’t think they help the Republican Party at all, but I don’t think they should in any way play a major role in the Republican Party’s policy making,” McCain told CNN in 2000.

Reminded of the NRA’s past clashes with McCain, Cox acknowledged the “disagreements” but quickly cited the other option.

“Our members understand how bad Barack Obama is on the Second Amendment,” Cox said, noting that McCain had signed the amicus brief in support of Heller while Obama had not.

Still, the NRA hasn’t yet endorsed McCain and hasn’t even decided if it will make an endorsement in the race.

In the nation’s heartland, Democrats argue that the decision will not be a transcendent issue in the race.

Ryan said his Reagan Democrat constituents, most of whom backed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) in the primary, were open to Obama and that the key was to reassure them on cultural issues before shifting to safe terrain.

“It’s guys like [Gov.] Ted Strickland and Tim Ryan saying, ‘He’s cool; he’s all right; he’s not going to do anything on guns or abortion that you don’t like,’” said Ryan, who is also against abortion rights. “And he is with us rock-solid on economic issues, education and health care.” 

But if Cox and the NRA have anything to do with it, some of those traditional moderates will be stuck on “bitter” and Obama’s past support for strict gun-control measures.

“Apparently, he thinks gun owners are either fools or have short memories,” Cox said. “I can assure him he’s wrong on both.”

[jasonmcj]

I love the veiled racism and fascism in the "gun rights" community. you peoel LIVE in blakc and white and would vote for a sandwich if it had an (R) next to it.....unless it was a Black sandwich.

[jasonmcj]

The NRA is proving Obama was right all along. They ARE bitter. He never mentioned a single word about taking away anyones guns. The NRA is irrelvant in this nations and pathetic with their support of the most dangerous guns for home ownership. AK-47, yeah sure no probelm...OUT OF TOUCH...and will be more so now that their celebrity spokesman is dead.

[lucasnico]

The 32-year ban on handguns in our Nation%u2019s Capital was one of the strictest, yet the District has been widely labeled "the murder capital of the country". Why didn''''t the media analyze that?

Posted by LibH8er at 04:26 PM : Jul 02, 2008
+ report abuse

wrong....the murder capital of the country is Detroit.... year after year Detroit ranks # 1 in crime, # 1 in violent crime, and # 1 in crimes involving guns....not the Motor City, the Murder City

[cfin5]

"Barakbarski" is a threat to all of the Amendments. Where is there any history of a liberal who has done otherwise? They talk it in election cycles, but don''t walk it afterwards. Been that way ALL of my life with these dudes.

[zerato-2009]

Like I SAID...he hasn''''t done one thing except get ELECTED!
Posted by RowdyWicca

You said run for office, you said nothing about being elected. lol

[rowdywicca]

Oh this is priceless...Obama hasn''''''''t accomplished ONE *** thing EXCEPT run for office!!!
Posted by RowdyWicca

He won the nomination for presidency


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Posted by Zerato at 03:54 PM : Jul 02, 2008

Like I SAID...he hasn''t done one thing except get ELECTED!

[von_marko]

This question is harder to get answered than the question of what existed 1 hour before the big bang!

I''''ll try again:


What is the OBAMA plan to lower gas prices?

McCain Says Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less

What is the OBAMA plan to lower gas prices?

[libh8er]

The 32-year ban on handguns in our Nation%u2019s Capital was one of the strictest, yet the District has been widely labeled "the murder capital of the country". Why didn''t the media analyze that?

[zerato-2009]

Oh this is priceless...Obama hasn''''t accomplished ONE *** thing EXCEPT run for office!!!
Posted by RowdyWicca

He won the nomination for presidency

[zerato-2009]

Now, we see that Michelle Obama is just as patriotic as John McCain. Anyone who denies this after seeing it with their own eyes is denying reality.
Posted by caliguy55

^.^ and says thank you caliguy, rarely do I find any information here worth much, until now.

[himorons]

how many gun laws did the nra''s precious republicans repeal when they controlled the house, senate and the presidency? **** the nra.

[caliguy55]

These are John McCain''s own words spoken on msnbc.com:

%u201CI didn%u2019t really love America until I was deprived of her company.%u201D

See the video for yourself at:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/06/22/mccains-unpatriotic-words-caught-on-tape/

Now, we see that Michelle Obama is just as patriotic as John McCain. Anyone who denies this after seeing it with their own eyes is denying reality.

[mercyme884]

To Omaar-101.....Where were you born Omaar? Maybe from the same area and raised with the same ideas that motivate Obama? The biggest mistake the US ever made was to allow people who worship the Koran to invade this country. The beginning of the end of the American Way.A man that will not Pledge Allegiance to the USA should not even be allowed to run for any office and surely not the jighest office....

[rowdywicca]

John McCain is a Career Politician and thats it !!!

Presidents should be ages 45-59 (Only)




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Posted by Omaar-101 at 11:09 AM : Jul 02, 2008

Oh this is priceless...Obama hasn''t accomplished ONE *** thing EXCEPT run for office!!!

[mercyme884]

Haven''t you Obama loving idiots seen the light yet. As soon as they have silenced all the Freedom-loving Americans and taken away their right to effectively defend themselves, they are going to start on you liberal jerks and it will be so much easier to silence you idiots. By buying into this liberal democratic *** you are opening the door to the destruction of the whole conception of the American way and when you finally wake up it will be too late to do a thing about it, Sayonara and farewell to the USA. And we have you all to thank for it.

[jon2012-2009]

Does the second amendment really have any value in 2008? Did the founding fathers ever envision high-powered rifles with scopes, semiautomatic weapons, or the flood of gun-toting drug dealers and drive by shootings that cities must cope with? Did they ever imagine that one day the average American would not need to hunt to obtain food, but simply hop into the minivan and stop at their closest grocery store?
Posted by raflin1 at 11:46 AM : Jul 02, 2008

I think the 2nd Amendment is now an anachronism. Be that as it may, the premise of the right to bear arms in the Constitution is in the context of a possible resistance against tyranny--not as an individual''s right to defend his home and family or to hunt game for food or sport. A right that is granted the status of absolute freedom from infringement, such as the 2nd Amendment in the Court''s decision, would expand to fill every possible purpose. With guns and weapons, we can only imagine what it might be.

[blondbiotch]

Omar---Didn''t like my post and had it kicked off? Man, you LIBS are sure cry babies today!! WAH, WAH,WAH, LOL Losers!!

[omaar-101]

Tough Talking Ride Em High & Low, Cowboy, George Bush Jr....

1. The Biggest of the Big Spending & Government Dolling Dollars.. Presidents.

2. The Biggest War Monger, Under False Pretenses and the High War Cost to the American Public...at the Sound of 20 Billion per month.

3. 1 Million Plus Iraqi Children, Women & Men & over 4,090 Honr. US Soldiers Killed...

All under False Pretenses.

4. McCain, Oh Yeah, he won`t `RAISE YOUR TAXES` He`ll RAISE THEM ALRIGHT, Worse than when George W. Bush Sr. who Promised `No New Taxes` knowing Full Well, there has Never been a Time in Congress or a Presidency, when there was Never a New or Established Increase in the Taxing of US Citizens..

Note: Inflation & Population Dictate Taxation and Taxes are Never Ending, Live with it.

PS: Republian, Democrat, Conservative & Liberal are No Match for us Independent & Moderate Politicians or Voters, Because we are the Majority.

There are More Moderate Republicans & Democrats, than Extreme So Called `Conservatives` Or Extreme `Liberal` Democrats and thsese Moderates on Both sides of the isles, often Vote IDENTICAL....

You Suckers !!

[omaar-101]

George Bush Jr....

1. The Biggest of the Big Spending & Government Dolling Dollars.. Presidents.

2. The Biggest War Monger, Under False Pretenses and the War Cost to he American Public...at the Sound of 20 Billion per month.

3. 1 Million Plus Iraqi Children, Women & Men & over 4,090 Honr. US Soldiers Killed...

All under False Pretenses.

4. McCain, Oh Yeah, he won`t `RAISE YOUR YAXES` He`ll RAISE THEM ALRIGHT, Worse than when George W. Bush Sr. who Promised `No New Taxes` knowing Full Well, there has Never been a Time in Congress or a Presidency, when there was Never a New or Established Increase in the Taxing of US Citizens..

Note: Inflation & Population Dictate Taxation and Taxes are Never Ending, Live with it.

PS: Republian, Democrat, Conservative & Liberal are No Match for us Independent & Moderate Politicians or Voters, Because we are the Majority.

There are More Moderate Republicans & Democrats, than Extreme So Called `Conservatives` Or Extreme `Liberal` Democrats and thsese Moderates on Both sides of the isles, often Vote IDENTICAL....

You Suckers !!

[samthetvcat]

Oh okay I think I figured out the general election platform of Barack''s - I think it''s that wimpy is good and strong and tough is bad, and that the difference between 2004 and now is that more people buy into the idea. Because by the time the incumbent is perceived as being virtually impeachable due to their aggression, don''t people tend to go for the wimp? Isn''t that how Carter won?

Just may work I guess . . .