Romney’s Pro-Gun Credentials Mocked by DNC
You know you’re in trouble as a Republican candidate trying to get the endorsement of the NRA and the gun rights crowd when even Democrats are mocking your pro-gun claims:
Smooth talking Mitt Romney heads to South Carolina today, one day after skipping his first National Rifle Association Annual Meeting since purchasing a “lifetime” NRA membership in August. While Romney has told audiences that he is “after the NRA’s endorsement,” he dodged the NRA convention in St. Louis despite being in the same town at the same time for a fund raiser.
Romney’s decision to duck the NRA meeting raises important questions. Was Romney afraid to be ridiculed by real NRA members over his claim to have been a hunter “pretty much all my life,” despite having never been issued a hunting license and having been on just two hunting trips? Or was Romney simply trying to avoid explaining his real record on gun control issues?
The press release by the Democratic National Committee even quotes “activist” Dave Kopel and mentions a Glenn & Helen Podcast interview with him.
To quote myself last February:
Yes, folks, it’s the Second Amendment Shuffle!
Romney’s been a hunter all his life. Well, okay, when he was a boy he shot some rabbits.
There’s a gun in one of his homes but it isn’t his.
He supports the NRA except for their position on gun rights.
By-golly, though, he’s now taken out a lifetime NRA membership just in time for the republican primaries. Someone should have told him that there are term limits on the presidency. Too bad there aren’t any term limits on pandering.
Romney can raise all the money he wants but he will never be trusted by the gun rights wing of the Republican Party. For that matter, nor will any of us consider Giuliani or McCain for those same reasons.
Bring on Fred Thompson. My mother lived many healthy years after dealing with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma so I don’t see that as a stumbling block. Actually, as I’ve said before, my dream match-up right now would be Thompson vs Bill Richardson.
By the way, for continuing coverage of the NRA Convention, both Sebastion and Bitter Bitch are in attendance and blogging it up. Needless to say [Needlessly –ed.] Cam is all over it, too, at NRA News.
14 Responses to “Romney’s Pro-Gun Credentials Mocked by DNC”
on 14 Apr 2007 at 8:29 am # Flight-ER-Doc
Thompson and Paul, v. Richardson and … well, Richardson
on 14 Apr 2007 at 1:57 pm # straightarrow
The irony of it all gave me a good chuckle. He isn’t even pro-gun enough for the anti-gunners? Boy, that’s got to bite!
on 14 Apr 2007 at 2:44 pm # anon
Pretty obvious what’s going on: Romney is a/the Rep front runner, and the socialists see an opportunity to undermine him. The more people know his anti-gun views the less support he’s going to get. What better for the Dems to have the Rep front runner we weakened.
on 14 Apr 2007 at 3:12 pm # Jeff Soyer
All the more reason to nominate someone that can’t be weakened. Bring on Fred!
Or as we said several election cycles ago here in Vermont, “Spread Fred.”
on 14 Apr 2007 at 6:35 pm # riflemike
I was at the Convention yesterday(friday april 13th) and heard no mention of mitt. a mormon lair, god will get him for that gun stance and so will us voters. But as a member, he was as welcome as all members to attend. I saw thousands and thousands of good gun-rights voters. You would think he would have been there shaking hands. He despises us gun people in reality. The body parts on Mitt and Bill Clinton are interchangeable.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 4:17 pm # Ordinary Coloradan
Sorry “Anon”, the Dems/liberals aren’t ripping the “front runner”. Romney, in spite of spending over a million dollars a week over the last 10 weeks, is 4th. Single digits. Where he has been all long.
You know why? Because people just don’t trust him - he has an “authenticity” problem, and he cannot buy his way out of it. We don’t need another faker from Massachusetts trying to buy his way in.
I like Fred Thompson because what you see is what you get. How many presidential candidates out there now held a Celebrity Skeet Shoot to raise money for a charity? I know of one. I put it on my blog. Check it out (No I don’t get ad hits or anything - its info you should know)
http://coloradoansforthompson.blogspot.com/2007/04/blast-from-past-thompson-celeb-skeet.html
on 15 Apr 2007 at 10:25 pm # Lori Heine
Indeed, I agree that Romney has a credibility problem. When will politicians ever learn that flip-flopping doesn’t pay?
As an issue near and dear to my own heart, take gay rights. Mitt was for them before he was against them. He thinks he’s appealing to the conservative “base” by betraying a constituency that’s unpopular with many on the Right, but what he doesn’t realize is that HE’S STILL BETRAYING PEOPLE — and at least some on the Right correctly regard that as a revealer of character (or the lack thereof).
Romney has already shown that he knows better than to step on gays to win points with prejudiced voters. And now he’s willing to do that. When he tries to pose as a seasoned hunter, after actually having only done it a couple of times years before, he is displaying a character trait people have already seen before.
Decent people don’t like phonies. Someday, I believe, most conservatives will come around on the issue of gay rights precisely because they are basically decent people. And the Mitt Romneys of this world will get left in the dust — probably without ever understanding why.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 11:13 am # MnZ
Let me get this straight:
The DNC opposes the practice of candidates creating factually inaccurate personal narratives to misrepresent their record and/or ingratiate themselves with voters.
Apparently, many Democrats (past and present) never got the memo regarding this policy.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 11:22 am # Letalis
Flip-flopping on the gun issue is why Al Gore lost his home state of Tennessee and did not become President of the United States.
Note to politicians of all stripes: us gun freaks are serious about the Second Amendment and can spout a cheechako a mile away.
Question: Have you ever fired a U.S. L1-E rifle?
Kudos to the first one with the correct answer.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:02 pm # Ralph Cramer
Where does the DNC come off by presuming to spesk for gun owning and gun rights proponent voters?
on 16 Apr 2007 at 1:37 pm # Anony
Isn’t it funny that the Democratics are telling the republicans what they will like and vote against. Thats stupid. I wish people didn’t fall for crap like that.
on 17 Apr 2007 at 10:59 am # REN
Wow. There’s a whole lotta talk about Romney here with almost NO CONTENT. I guess the DNC did do a good job here. I am Libertarian, a member of the NRA and I would STILL vote for Romney over McCain and Giuliani. I KNOW that Romney would NOT infringe on my Gun Ownership rights! What do I care if he was an NRA member or not? Get real!!
on 17 Apr 2007 at 2:23 pm # Gyrd
Romney made all kinds of compromises to become gov. of Mass. He said he wouldn’t tinker with their liberal laws on either abortion or gun control. He’ll still be far better, from a conservative point of view, on both issues than Hillary, Obama or Edwards.
All the frontrunners are conservatives, and none of them perfect (F. Thompson wasn’t always pro-life, and supported McCain style campaign finance reform). If the frontrunners, including Romney, aren’t 100% on the issues, they’ll still appoint judges to the Sup. Court much friendlier to 2nd Amendment rights than any Democrat, inlcuding Bill Richardson.
Please, please don’t tear down our candidates. Please, enthusiastically support whomever we make the nominee!
on 18 Apr 2007 at 4:56 pm # REN
Letalis,
“Question: Have you ever fired a U.S. L1-E rifle?”
Aren’t “L” series rifles British? With the L1 not being that unlike the U.S. M14? This must be a trick question and I’ve probably just missed it, lol.