Oh, Great
By Mitch Berg
David Kopel at Volokh rates the Presidential contenders on their Second Amendment records, and thereby depresses the bejeebers out of me:
Top tier. Nearly perfect pro-Second Amendment records: Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas). Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.). Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R-Vir.). Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.).
Great. A bunch I couldn’t possibly get behind for President (except Hunter, and I don’t think he’s national material yet).
Very good. Not a perfect record, but still a very positive one overall. Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.). Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.). Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R-Wisc.). Former Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.).
Richardson remains the only Democrat that wouldn’t render me nearly suicidal (but for the material that any other Dem would provide the blog and the show).
Mixed: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)(mostly positive record, except for lead sponsorship of two terrible bills: McCain-Lieberman, a terribly-written bill which would have given the BATFE the authority to administratively eliminate any or all gun shows, and McCain-Feingold, the campaign speech restriction law which significantly affects right-to-arms groups).
Good catch (which is why Kopel is the best in this business): McCain isn’t an unmitigated disaster on the Second Amendment (although he is in so many other areas).
Poor: Former Gov. George Pataki (R-N.Y.). Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.). As noted by, inter alia, the Boston Globe, Romney’s flip-flops on guns are part of a larger record of inconsistency.
Yes. Romney has some atoning to do – and I’m going to dig more into this on Saturday, when Ed and I interview Romney.
Almost perfect anti-Second Amendment record: Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.). Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Former Vice-President Al Gore (in Congress, a nearly perfect pro-gun record until 1989, when he switched sides). Al Sharpton (D-N.Y.).
No surprises there.
Record of anti-Second Amendment leadership: Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.)(very effective in pushing gun control during his tenure as Judiciary Committee chairman). Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio). Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-Iowa). Former Mayor Rudy Guliani (R-N.Y.)(even worse than his predecessor, Democrat David Dinkins; indeed, based on his record, arguably worse than Sen. Clinton).
Unfortunately, he’s right about Giuliani. Which stinks, since I think Rudy (with suitable conservative tempering for a Veep) would be the GOP’s best shot at winning otherwise.
More on that later.
January 23rd, 2007 at 8:17 am
The idea that the wingnuts will let Giuliani survive the Republican primaries is comical. Plus, he ain’t all that. Give him up – you’re sure to be disappointed.
A government employee we know in South Florida observed that out of Gingrich, Giuliani, McCain and Romney, the Mormon is the only one who hasn’t had more than one wife.
By the way, is there anyone on God’s green earth, other than George Pataki, who thinks he has a chance to be president?
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:11 am
The idea that the wingnuts will let Giuliani survive the Republican primaries is comical.
Perhaps. And a mistake, I think.
Plus, he ain’t all that. Give him up – you’re sure to be disappointed.
Compared to whom? McCain, who disappoints in advance?
A government employee we know in South Florida observed that out of Gingrich, Giuliani, McCain and Romney, the Mormon is the only one who hasn’t had more than one wife.
For about half of us, that’s not the handicap it used to be.0
By the way, is there anyone on God’s green earth, other than George Pataki, who thinks he has a chance to be president?
Hah!
Exactly.
January 23rd, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Keerimeney Mitch- Read up on Ron Paul. Before he votes, he passes everything through three filters: 1. Is it constitutional? 2. Will it violate my oath of office (protect, defend, uphold the Constitution of the United States-Article 1 section 8, the 9th and 10th Amendments aka Bill of Rights, that sort of thing, you know) 3. Does it comply with the promises to my constituents? Yup, a real radical in that he recognizes that his oath of office binds him to a republic form of government, not a democracy. Means he won’t vote to take your money to give to someone else, won’t pass regulations that aren’t in conformity to Article 1, section 8.
He won’t rob Peter to give to Sam to get Sam’s vote. And there are way more Sam’s than Peters. In other words, he could never be President.
A great article written by Congressman Paul http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2003/cr012903.htm