Double Exposure for John Kerry, OR

[Tigermike 3,037]

As Senator Kerry left the Senate floor after casting the decisive vote against S.1805 he posed for a photograph with senators Kennedy (D-MA), Feinstein (D-CA) and Schumer (D-NY). Smiling broadly he flashed the thumbs-up sign.

Double Exposure for John Kerry

While Kerry touts himself as a friend of the hunter and shooter, a closer look at his political record reveals otherwise

By Lawrence G. Keane ,Senior Vice President & General Counsel, NSSF

During a recent interview on PBS with Charlie Rose to promote his memoirs former President Bill Clinton acknowledged–again–that the gun vote cost Al Gore the White House. I say "again" because Democratic Party leaders have often conceded this point since November 2000. Indeed, as evidenced by John Kerry's now well-known "photo op pheasant hunt" before the Iowa caucuses, they seem determined not to repeat the mistake. Clearly, not all Democrats are hostile toward our hunting and shooting sports heritage and firearms freedoms and gun owners have many friends in the party. Has the national party leadership really changed its view on our issue, or is its rhetoric merely camouflage for its true beliefs?

Lets explore this issue a bit. Senator Kerry calls himself a "lifelong hunter," and his campaign has set up "Sportsmen for Kerry," claiming "he supports the Second Amendment and will defend hunting rights." Yet Sen. Kerry has a 100 percent anti-hunting voting record, according to anti-hunting organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and the Fund for Animals. They praise him for his "consistently excellent voting record on animal issues" and for having "emerged as [an] animal protection leader. . . [who] has cosponsored almost every piece of animal protection legislation . . . introduced on behalf of animals." During the Christmas holidays, President Bush hunted quail with his father--no cameras in sight. President Bush has consistently reached out to sportsmen and conservation organizations, inviting leaders of that community, including NSSF president Doug Painter, to the White House Oval Office and his Crawford, Texas, ranch to discuss conservation and hunting issues.

Last March Senator Kerry returned from the campaign trail to cast a series of votes for "poison bill" amendments to S.1805 (The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act), a common sense legal reform that would have stopped junk lawsuits -- like the Hamilton and NAACP cases and the plague of municipal suits by cities such as Senator Kerry's hometown of Boston -- that try to destroy law-abiding gun manufacturers and dealers by blaming them for the actions of criminals. Senator Kerry hadn't voted on any other piece of legislation in all of 2004 until then. His votes in favor of the poison bill amendments designed to kill the bill and his vote against final passage of S.1805 are perfect examples of why Senator Kerry has a 100 percent rating with both the Brady Campaign and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and an "F" from the NRA. This is as stark a contrast as you can find.

Before voting to allow reckless lawsuits to continue, Senator Kerry took to the floor of the Senate to announce he was a hunter and supporter of the Second Amendment "as interpreted in our country." "As interpreted" is code for saying he agrees with the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals that the Second Amendment doesn't provide you or me an individual right to own a firearm. Basically, he's saying you can have the firearms the government says you can until they say you can't anymore. Ask yourself whether you have ever heard Senator Kerry say unequivocally that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to keep and bear arms?

The non-partisan National Journal rates Senator Kerry as the most liberal member of Congress. Perhaps it's, in part, because he is a co-sponsor of S.1431, the "Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003." This bill would empower the United States Attorney General to ban your Mossberg pump action shotgun as "not particularly suitable for sporting purposes" because it is based on a design "procured for use by the United States military or any federal law enforcement agency." The bill says "a firearm shall not be determined to be particularly suitable for sporting purposes solely because the firearm is suitable for use in a sporting event." Senator Kerry is co-sponsoring a bill that would ban your duck gun because the Marines use Mossberg pumps too. As sportsmen and women you know there is no conservation without firearms.

As Senator Kerry left the Senate floor after casting the decisive vote against S.1805 he posed for a photograph with senators Kennedy (D-MA), Feinstein (D-CA) and Schumer (D-NY). Smiling broadly he flashed the thumbs-up sign. How can sportsmen and women square this photograph with the photo-op pheasant hunt picture?

You don't have to be either a political expert or a photographic genius to figure out that though a picture may be worth 1,000 words, actions speak much more loudly. John Kerry's anti-hunting, anti-gun voting record presents a whole different image. By registering to vote, visiting www.voteyoursport.com and focusing on this issue, informing and mobilizing hunters and shooters and then, most importantly, Voting Your Sport, you'll get to make the all-important statement on which candidate you want in the presidential picture for the next four years.

Who's Leading The Democrats?

The effort to reposition the Democrats' position on hunting and the shooting sports has been strongly influenced by the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and Americans for Gun Safety (AGS). AGS is staffed largely by architects of the Clinton-Gore administration's firearms policies, including: Jon Cowan, former chief of staff for Clinton's HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo (Clinton's self-anointed "gun control" czar), who once said, "Gun control is dead, AGS is here to revive it"; Matt Bennett, a Clinton White House policy advisor on firearms; Jim Kessler, former congressional aide to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY); and Ed Hill, formerly a paralegal for Elisa Barnes, the anti-gun trial lawyer responsible for the failed Hamilton v. Accu-tek and NAACP cases against members of the firearms industry.

At the NAACP trial last year Andrew McKelvey, AGS's dot.com billionaire benefactor and former Handgun Control Inc. board member, warmly embraced Ms. Barnes. McKelvey provided financial support for the lawsuit. That puts McKelvey in the same company as George Soros, who helped bankroll both the Hamilton and NAACP cases and has pledged to spend $40 million out of his personal fortune to defeat President Bush.

AGS's goal is the national registration and licensing of firearms. Its internal documents caution to "be careful not to raise the fears that our goal is to restrict gun rights" and to use the phrase "gun safety" to cloud the intended meaning, "gun control."

AGS and the DLC use the same public relations firm, Penn Schoener & Berland, that came up with the AGS "rights and responsibility" tag line now in vogue among some Democrats. (Suing law-abiding manufacturers out of business doesn't seem right or responsible.) In July of 2001 Cowan, Kessler and former Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart wrote an article, entitled "Taking Back the Second Amendment," that appeared in a DLC's publication in which they argue, "the party will have a hard time recapturing the presidency. . .if it treats gun-owning Americans like sociopaths." An implicit confession? Last fall AGS presented Penn Schoener's polling data to the DLC at a meeting in North Carolina to support a new "formula for Democrats." In a nutshell, AGS and the DLC argued that the Democratic Party desperately needed to "change the rhetoric they employ" in order to reposition itself on firearms issues. Democrats appear justifiably convinced they must appeal to gun owners--the "NASCAR Dad," the demographic that has supplanted "soccer moms" as the political Holy Grail. The question for sportsmen and women is whether you believe a candidate like John Kerry was really hunting pheasants, or if he was--and is--just using rhetorical camouflage to stalk for votes?

LINK

[Tiger Al 0]

Tigermike, do you wonder why Lawrence G. Keane chose to single out these four Senators? Of course not. :roll: Here's the complete list of Senators who voted "Nay" on S. 1805. BTW, only 8 voted in the affirmative, 5 of which were Democrats. :roll:

NAYs ---90

Akaka (D-HI)

Alexander (R-TN)

Allard (R-CO)

Allen (R-VA)

Baucus (D-MT)

Bayh (D-IN)

Bennett (R-UT)

Biden (D-DE)

Bingaman (D-NM)

Bond (R-MO)

Boxer (D-CA)

Brownback (R-KS)

Bunning (R-KY)

Burns (R-MT)

Byrd (D-WV)

Campbell (R-CO)

Cantwell (D-WA)

Carper (D-DE)

Chafee (R-RI)

Chambliss (R-GA)

Clinton (D-NY)

Cochran (R-MS)

Coleman (R-MN)

Collins (R-ME)

Conrad (D-ND)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Corzine (D-NJ)

Craig (R-ID)

Crapo (R-ID)

Dayton (D-MN)

DeWine (R-OH)

Dodd (D-CT)

Dole (R-NC)

Domenici (R-NM)

Dorgan (D-ND)

Durbin (D-IL)

Ensign (R-NV)

Enzi (R-WY)

Feingold (D-WI)

Feinstein (D-CA)

Fitzgerald (R-IL)

Frist (R-TN) ---Isn't he the MAJORITY leader???

Graham (D-FL)

Graham (R-SC)

Grassley (R-IA)

Gregg (R-NH)

Hagel (R-NE)

Harkin (D-IA)

Hatch (R-UT)

Hollings (D-SC)

Hutchison (R-TX)

Inhofe (R-OK)

Inouye (D-HI)

Jeffords (I-VT)

Kennedy (D-MA)

Kerry (D-MA)

Kohl (D-WI)

Kyl (R-AZ)

Landrieu (D-LA)

Lautenberg (D-NJ)

Leahy (D-VT)

Levin (D-MI)

Lott (R-MS)

McConnell (R-KY)

Mikulski (D-MD)

Miller (D-GA)

Murkowski (R-AK)

Murray (D-WA)

Nelson (D-FL)

Nelson (D-NE)

Nickles (R-OK)

Reed (D-RI)

Reid (D-NV)

Roberts (R-KS)

Rockefeller (D-WV)

Santorum (R-PA)

Sarbanes (D-MD)

Schumer (D-NY)

Sessions (R-AL)

Shelby (R-AL)

Smith (R-OR)

Snowe (R-ME)

Specter (R-PA)

Stabenow (D-MI)

Stevens (R-AK)

Sununu (R-NH)

Talent (R-MO)

Thomas (R-WY)

Warner (R-VA)

Wyden (D-OR)

As Senator Kerry left the Senate floor after casting the decisive vote against S.1805...

So, does this qualify as a lie, a BIG lie or a WHOPPER???

[Tigermike 3,037]

Is the picture doctored Al? We could assume that Kerry was giving the thumbs up to the legion of anti gun lobbyist at the photo session, who would soon be passing the checks out to Kerry and his cohorts.

So would it be your contention that Kerry is not in the hip pocket of the anti gun lobby? That he is not and has never voted the way it is presented in the article? One thing is clear beyond a doubt. That is that Mr. Kerry is and has always been a liberal and will be influenced by liberal anti gun lobbies. Along with the myriad other liberal lobbies.

Last March Senator Kerry returned from the campaign trail to cast a series of votes for "poison bill" amendments to S.1805 (The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act), a common sense legal reform that would have stopped junk lawsuits -- like the Hamilton and NAACP cases and the plague of municipal suits by cities such as Senator Kerry's hometown of Boston -- that try to destroy law-abiding gun manufacturers and dealers by blaming them for the actions of criminals. Senator Kerry hadn't voted on any other piece of legislation in all of 2004 until then. His votes in favor of the poison bill amendments designed to kill the bill and his vote against final passage of S.1805 are perfect examples of why Senator Kerry has a 100 percent rating with both the Brady Campaign and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and an "F" from the NRA. This is as stark a contrast as you can find.

Before voting to allow reckless lawsuits to continue, Senator Kerry took to the floor of the Senate to announce he was a hunter and supporter of the Second Amendment "as interpreted in our country." "As interpreted" is code for saying he agrees with the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals that the Second Amendment doesn't provide you or me an individual right to own a firearm. Basically, he's saying you can have the firearms the government says you can until they say you can't anymore. Ask yourself whether you have ever heard Senator Kerry say unequivocally that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to keep and bear arms?

You know as well as any other Democrat walking that the tactic of the anti gun lobby is to destroy in court the gun manufacturers. Has Kerry voted to help this along? Is Kerry's grandstanding as a "hunter and supporter of the Second Amendment", to be believed? Or should we realize he if truly full of donkey crap and will vote with the anti gun lobby more and more? Should we think he would not appoint anti gun judges to the Fed courts? Should be think he would ever be anything but what he is, liberal thru and thru and to the core?

[Tiger Al 0]

Is the picture doctored Al? We could assume that Kerry was giving the thumbs up to the legion of anti gun lobbyist at the photo session, who would soon be passing the checks out to Kerry and his cohorts.

I think you could assume that he's giving the thumbs-up for a myriad of reasons. Why could we assume that he receives income from lobbyists to cast a particular vote? Can we assume the other 86 Senators not pictured who voted as Kerry did got paid as well? Does the NRA lobby pay congressmen to vote a particular way?

So would it be your contention that Kerry is not in the hip pocket of the anti gun lobby?

Is it possible that he thinks that certain gun laws should be a matter for individual states to decide?

Should be think he would ever be anything but what he is, liberal thru and thru and to the core?

God, I hope not.

[Tigermike 3,037]

Should be think he would ever be anything but what he is, liberal thru and thru and to the core?

God, I hope not.

Then explain the absolute complete hypocrisy of Kerry, the Democrats and all his supporters by portraying him as a centrists? He has never been a centrists, will never be a centrists and is a liar to campaign that way.

[Tiger Al 0]

In what ways has he taken away your 2nd amendment right?

[Tigermike 3,037]

In what ways has he taken away your 2nd amendment right?

There is nothing in the article about him taking away anyone's 2nd amendment right, just their desire to do so.

[Tiger Al 0]

In what ways has he taken away your 2nd amendment right?

There is nothing in the article about him taking away anyone's 2nd amendment right, just their desire to do so.

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

[Tigermike 3,037]

In what way has he worked to protect mine or anyone else's 2nd amendment rights?

[Tiger Al 0]

In what way has he worked to protect mine or anyone else's 2nd amendment rights?

They're protected by the Constitution.

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

[Tigermike 3,037]

And Kerry and his anti gun democrats cronies would never introduce legislation that would subvert the constitution would they? Have they been working tirelessly to broaden expand the "banned" guns and ammunition?

[Tiger Al 0]

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

[CCTAU 3,327]

In what way has he worked to protect mine or anyone else's 2nd amendment rights?

They're protected by the Constitution.

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

Ther's a nice long list on seperate thread where he has voted to erode the power of the second amendment. He is antigun through and through. And the more it gets out, the less votes he will get. But gun owners are usually part of some sort of information organization (NRA, HAHC, etc..) that gets the word out. Just because you got a 12 ga. in your hand does not make you a supporter of the 2nd amendment. And don't kid yourself, Sarah Brady has said that she will not stop till ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL guns are out of private citizens hands.

[Tiger Al 0]

In what way has he worked to protect mine or anyone else's 2nd amendment rights?

They're protected by the Constitution.

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

Ther's a nice long list on seperate thread where he has voted to erode the power of the second amendment. He is antigun through and through. And the more it gets out, the less votes he will get. But gun owners are usually part of some sort of information organization (NRA, HAHC, etc..) that gets the word out. Just because you got a 12 ga. in your hand does not make you a supporter of the 2nd amendment. And don't kid yourself, Sarah Brady has said that she will not stop till ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL guns are out of private citizens hands.

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

[Tigermike 3,037]

In what way has he worked to protect mine or anyone else's 2nd amendment rights?

They're protected by the Constitution.

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

Ther's a nice long list on seperate thread where he has voted to erode the power of the second amendment. He is antigun through and through. And the more it gets out, the less votes he will get. But gun owners are usually part of some sort of information organization (NRA, HAHC, etc..) that gets the word out. Just because you got a 12 ga. in your hand does not make you a supporter of the 2nd amendment. And don't kid yourself, Sarah Brady has said that she will not stop till ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL guns are out of private citizens hands.

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

In what way has he worked to protect mine or anyone else's 2nd amendment rights?

[CCTAU 3,327]

In what way has he worked to protect mine or anyone else's 2nd amendment rights?

They're protected by the Constitution.

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

Ther's a nice long list on seperate thread where he has voted to erode the power of the second amendment. He is antigun through and through. And the more it gets out, the less votes he will get. But gun owners are usually part of some sort of information organization (NRA, HAHC, etc..) that gets the word out. Just because you got a 12 ga. in your hand does not make you a supporter of the 2nd amendment. And don't kid yourself, Sarah Brady has said that she will not stop till ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL guns are out of private citizens hands.

In what way has he attempted to take away your 2nd amendment rights?

I'll answer your ignorant question because you seem to be too stoopid to add 2 + 2.

Whenever sKerry voted to infringe on gun ownwership, he voted to take away my second amendment rights. Was he successful, no. Does that mean he is with me or against me? Now we all know that he is against all gun ownership, except by the government, of course. Guess I could break out my spitball pipe!!!

[Tiger Al 0]

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Whenever sKerry voted to infringe on gun ownwership, he voted to take away my second amendment rights.

How did he do this? In what way has he tried to keep a gun out of your hand?

[CCTAU 3,327]

sKerry will lose.

And I'll keep my guns,

Doo dah. doo dah.

sKerry will lose.

And Al will cry.

Oh the doo dah daaaayyyyy!

[Tiger Al 0]

sKerry will lose.

And I'll keep my guns,

Doo dah. doo dah.

sKerry will lose.

And Al will cry.

Oh the doo dah daaaayyyyy!

Is that your final answer?

[LegalEagle 22]

But don't forget you Repubs. support Bush's unconstitutional ban on partial birth abortions! Don't forget that you blame the Supreme Court for upholding the Constitution. You can't wait to pack the Court with dimwits so you get to selectively choose which Constitutional Rights are protected and which are abrogated!

Mmmm. Go figure. *grin*

[CCTAU 3,327]

But don't forget you Repubs. support Bush's unconstitutional ban on partial birth abortions! Don't forget that you blame the Supreme Court for upholding the Constitution. You can't wait to pack the Court with dimwits so you get to selectively choose which Constitutional Rights are protected and which are abrogated!

Mmmm. Go figure. *grin*

Not true. Liberals have been changing the meaning of the constitution by saying that the interpretation has changed. Nothing has changed. The founding fathers meant exactly what they wrote and what has been upheld until liberals figured out they could change the constitution without amending it by getting some idiot judge to proclaim that he knows better than Jefferson did!

We don't want judges to re-inpterpret the constitution. We want judges who will uphold it! That, my weasley little litigator, is the difference.

[DKW 86 7,428]

LE, What is a "para-numbra" anyway?

Where exactly is the "right" to a contraceptive abortion given in the Constittion?

[channonc 466]

LE, What is a "para-numbra" anyway?

Where exactly is the "right" to a contraceptive abortion given in the Constittion?

Using your logic, where in the Constitution does it say that citizens do not have that right.

[CCTAU 3,327]

LE, What is a "para-numbra" anyway?

Where exactly is the "right" to a contraceptive abortion given in the Constittion?

Using your logic, where in the Constitution does it say that citizens do not have that right.

And therein lies the Clinton legacy. Everybody knows its wrong, but nobody told ME I couldn't do it. Or, I'm gonna do it and see if they will really say something. The constitution doesn't say not to torture and chop up little kittens either, but everybody knows that's wrong.

Therefore we have to erase Clinton's legacy from our society and do what's right.

[DKW 86 7,428]

Kerry positiion is part of Dem BS machine to fool a moderate nation

While keeping a distance from his 19-year Senate voting record, Kerry is serving as a "poster boy" in a scheme hatched by Americans for Gun Safety (AGS), a group that has encouraged Democrats to tone down their anti-gun rhetoric, LaPierre said.

Recognizing that Gore lost three battleground states in the 2000 race - Arkansas, his home state of Tennessee and West Virginia, each by six or fewer percentage points - in part because he was unable to shed the anti-gun image, AGS and centrist Democrats vowed to reverse course.

Last October, before the first votes were cast, Democrat strategists outlined a softer message for candidates to use. Pollster Mark Penn advised Democrats to support the Second Amendment, while also advocating "closing some gun law loopholes and enforcing the laws on the books."

Americans for Gun Safety adviser Matt Bennett, a former aide to retired Gen. Wesley Clark's campaign, said he's not surprised the NRA has attacked Kerry. Although the NRA hasn't formally endorsed President Bush, it plans to continue running ads this fall highlighting Kerry's anti-gun votes.

"The interesting thing about this race is that John Kerry is no Al Gore on the gun issue," Bennett said. "John Kerry is a gun owner, he's a hunter, he's a good shot, and he's nobody's pushover on gun rights. It's going to be much harder for the NRA to pin that gun-grabber label on John Kerry."

That won't stop the NRA from trying. Spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs said all it takes is a look at Kerry's record to understand his view of the Second Amendment. And as far as the Kerry vs. Gore comparison, Hobbs said this year's Democrat nominee differs greatly.

"He's far worse," Hobbs said of Kerry. "At least Al Gore was up front with gun owners about his support for strict gun control. ."John Kerry, despite voting against gun owners over 50 times in the Senate, is attempting to conceal his dismal Second Amendment record with a desperate election year ploy

The NRA is quick to note that despite frequently missing Senate votes from last September to March of this year, Kerry made sure he returned to vote to ban semi-automatic rifles, outlaw gun shows and oppose immunity for the firearms industry from so-called junk lawsuits.

Throughout his career, Kerry has consistently voted 100 percent of the time with the anti-gun Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. When he ran for re-election in 2002, the NRA gave him an "F" grade.

But when photos of Kerry and his shotgun show up in newspapers and television commercials, some gun enthusiasts might not recognize the camouflaged Kerry.

"Those kinds of events, while clearly symbolic, are important," Bennett said in defense of Kerry. "They send a signal to gun owners that says, 'Look, I share your values because I am a gun owner. I'm not going to do anything that's going to infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens to own guns.' "

The tactic is working, according to the Washington Post, which reported Monday that 42 percent of gun owners in the so-called red states believe Kerry would be a less aggressive advocate for gun control. Wins in places like Arkansas, Tennessee and West Virginia might be all Kerry needs to capture the White House.

This is all political Kerry is worse than Gore on anti-gun legislation.