Cynics, Thieves, and Whores

The most recent vote on National Reciprocity for concealed carry, while failing, did expose an interesting phenomenon. Namely, that the thieves in the U.S. Senate believe gun owners are idiots, and that they will do anything to get a vote from us.

Judging by the rhetoric they used, they think we are all morons (and maybe they are right, they DO seem to get re-elected). Senator Thune has an interesting press release worth reading about this. You can find it HERE.

Being the cynical sort that I am, I decided to look into the NRA Report card (at the time of their previous election) for each Democrat Senator who voted FOR the Thune Amendment, and when they are up for re-election. I am of the opinion that while several of the Democrats who voted for the Thune Amendment were making votes based on principal, the rest were whores looking for a payoff in the form of votes from NRA members in their upcoming re-election.

I was not disappointed.

The current class of Democrat Senators whose terms expire in 2011, their NRA Rating, and their vote on National Reciprocity:

Bayh : D- : Yea
Bennet : NR : Yea
Boxer : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Burris : NR : Nay
Dodd : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Dorgan : D+ : Yea
Feingold : D : Yea
Inouye : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Leahy : D : Nay
Lincoln : D+ : Yea
Mikulski : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Murray : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Reid : B : Yea (Safe incumbent, usually for gun rights though)
Schumer : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Specter : A : Nay (Darlin' Arlen, the turncoat)
Wyden : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)

Of the Class of 2013, the only surprise vote among the Democrats was:

Conrad : D+ : Yea

Similarly, the surprise vote of the most recent class was:

Hagan : F : Yea

So, an optimist would look at these votes and think "Hey, these Democrats are finally getting on board with protecting our rights". I suppose you could look at it that way, given the recent Heller decision. The other way to look at it is this: These people are up for re-election soon...

As a member of the hated gun lobby (in that I am a gun owner, and I regularly contact my Congress-Critters about gun issues before Congress), I have a slightly different take. My take on this is that these people need and want our votes (because they are whores, remember?). They have been voting partisan politics for a long time, and the demographics are changing in their states and districts. Their political reality is that they are no longer safe enough to vote with Sarah Brady and George Soros. The HuffPo gadflies won't re-elect them all by themselves.

They need us.

They hope that an engineered vote that everybody KNEW was going to fail would provide them with some political cover to come back to us and say "Didn't I do great? I voted for your gun rights. Vote for me." I say that the vote was engineered because Lugar and Voinovich are both "F" rated Republicans and the Dems are in the majority in both houses. So if we fall for this, we will have proven that you really CAN fool most of the people most of the time, especially if your political ad can truthfully say you support gun rights and point to this vote for validation.

Let's not fall for another Hubert Humphrey and vote for these people just because they tossed a bone into our yard. Let's make true Humphrey's quote about us: "...gun owners never forget and very seldom forgive". Let's throw every bum out who dares to trample on our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Because, without the Second Amendment, what guarantee do you have for any other right recognized by our Constitution? If these thieves and whores in Congress think it is OK to trample your gun rights, what do you think they are doing to the rest of your civil liberties?

Think about that.

Pax,

Newbius

National Reciprocity Fails

Reciprocity has enough votes to pass, but fails a filibuster-proof majority.

The vote on the Thune amendment was today, and it went 58-39 for passage. Short of the number required to break a filibuster. Since the amendment failed to garner 60 votes, the amendment was withdrawn.

We now have a roll-call vote on who supported the amendment, and as soon as the roll-call is posted to either Thomas or the Senate website, I will cross-post here. The good news: proponents got more votes than expected. The bad news: some of those votes may have been political cover for the upcoming 2010 election. As in..."See, I voted for gun rights so support me!", even though the vote was meaningless due to the pre-conditions placed upon the Senate by the leadership for the vote to take place at all.

If your Senator voted in favor of this amendment, please take the time to call them and thank them for the vote. Let them know that you are watching and keeping score. If your Senator voted against this amendment, let them know that you were watching and were disappointed in their vote against your Second Amendment rights.

Additionally, if your Senator voted against, why in Hell aren't you doing everything in your power to defeat them? Bringing home the PORK shouldn't be a sufficient reason to keep some of these bastards in office...

Keep pressuring them. Keep their phones lit up 24/7 until they realize that you will no longer sit idly by while they continue to obstruct and erode your Constitutional Rights.

Because, the alternative is something that no sensible person wishes to contemplate...

Newbius
|||

*** UPDATE ***

The roll call has been posted. Thanks to David Codrea for putting it online. You can see the vote HERE.

I spoke to a representative in Senator Thune's office about the vote. According to Thune's office, all votes in the Senate require 60 to pass (she said Constitutional requirement, which is not true, it is just the reality of the current rules of engagement). Thune's office did not know if they would be able to garner the other 2 votes if the amendment is introduced again, and also did not know if he was going to re-introduce the measure as either a stand-alone measure (unlikely) or as part of another mandatory appropriations bill (possible, depending on circumstances).

Looking at the vote, however, 2 Republican Senators could have stood for the Citizen and voted for the amendment instead of against. The Senators in question are Voinovich (R-OH) and Lugar (R-IN). These two are all it would have taken to pass National Reciprocity through the Senate (arguably the tougher body to pass legislation through).

We can call their offices and thank them for their failure to support the Second Amendment, and remind them that we will score this vote at their next election. It is the least we can do...

Newbius

Movement on the State's Rights front

5 more were added to the list recently, according to Human Events.

South Carolina's measure has advanced through both houses of their legislature. More...

Even though there was support in New Hampshire, it looks like it has gone down in defeat, as has the measure in Arkansas.

I am beginning to believe that some of these lawmakers need a calcium injection in the lower spine! I guess if they are faced with the choice of enslaving their constituents so they can receive ill-gotten (Federal) dollars, or standing on the principles of freedom that made our country great, they choose slavery.

We need to clean house at the next election, and fire all of the (lifer) staffers while we are at it.

Pax,

Newbius

New Hampshire threatens...

Civil war?

The "Live Free or Die" state is pondering a resolution in their legislature which warns the United States Federal Government that further usurpations of powers reserved to the States and the People will nullify their Constitutional authority.

It is worth a read, and isn't even all that hard to follow as legislation goes.

Thanks to Defend Our Freedoms Foundation for the update.

Pax,

Newbius