NRA's Keene: "Obama Gone in 2012"

That's a bold prediction but it's what NRA President David Keene told US News' Washington Whispers according to this post yesterday.

"Our major goal is to defeat Obama because if he's re-elected, he's going to attempt to change the Supreme Court. All he needs is one vote and he will rewrite the Second Amendment," says Keene. "The threat," he says, "in many ways is more severe than in 2000." One reason: Obama, who slapped gun owners in his campaign, has gone quiet on gun issues as president, making it harder to rally NRA members. That was until gun foe Sarah Brady revealed in April that Obama told her he was working on the issue "under the radar."

Keene is correct that a second Obama term could spell disaster for our rights, much less the country.  What is less clear is whether the NRA effort that worked so well in 2000, will resonate in 2012.   In 2000, the economy was considered to be humming along.  In 2012, unemployment is likely to be well above 8% and could be the 9% it is today.  In that type of environment, the economy is likely to overshadow any other issues that folks may in other circumstances deem important.

The NRA plans to target 25 million gun owners that are currently not registered to vote, get them registered, and get them to the polls.

Keene reveals that the NRA plans to mobilize its troops with the hopes of taking away three to five states Obama won in 2008. Keene and Wayne LaPierre, the gun group's executive vice president, plan a massive education campaign that he says will warn members about an Obama second term. He also says the NRA is seeking to register the up to 25 million gun owners not signed up to vote. He figures getting 5 million to 10 million to the polls would change the election's outcome. "We know how they'll vote," he says.

VSSA has seen the numbers, at least as they pertain to Virginia.  During the 2011 Session of the General Assembly, the NRA-ILA Virginia State Liaison had a spreadsheet and pie charts showing how many licensed hunters that are not registered to vote broken down by regions.  This information was used to help pass legislation placing voter registration forms at all locations that sell hunting and fishing licenses.  The number of hunters and anglers who are not registered to vote are staggering.  I haven't seen a comparable study of the number of Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) holders that are not registered to vote but it's a safe bet the numbers are high.  So, the field is ripe for the harvest.  The question is, will the effort pay off?  Let's hope so.