Obama Rolls Out "Sportsmen for Obama"

That's right - in Minnesota earlier this week Obama's campaign rolled out a sportsmen network, with a pledge to protect hunters' gun rights, expand and restore habitat for hunting and fishing, and enhance programs that teach youth about outdoors activities.

Obama's campaign is working to repel the NRA push to inform gun owners that Obama is an enemy of the Second Amendment that includes reminding gun owners of the candidate's inartful statement during the primaries about the tendency of small-town Americans to "cling to guns or religion."

Included in Obama's effort are radio ads that Obama is running in several key states, including Virginia, that feature Ray Schoenke, President of the astro-turf gun group American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA). As mentioned in a post yesterday, Schoenke tells listeners that "Barack Obama and John McCain will both make sure we can keep our guns."

Apparently not all gun owners and hunters know Obama's record when it comes to firearms and ammunition. According to an article on Townhall.com, during the roll out of the Obama sportsmen group, a Minnesota hunter said "Tell me where Senator Obama says `I want stricter controls on who can hunt and when' or 'I want to ban shotguns and rifles,'" said Jarve, a member of Obama's Minnesota sportsmen chapter. "Where has he said that? He hasn't."

Well, lets see, Obama voted to:

• allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry to continue;
• voted for an Illinois State Senate bill to ban and confiscate “assault weapons,” but the bill was so poorly crafted, it would have also banned most semi-auto and single and double barrel shotguns commonly used by sportsmen;
• voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting;
• endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition;
• supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America;

All of the above would affect the ability of hunters to participate in their sport either directly or indirectly. So, while he may not have come right out and said so, Obama has either proposed or voted for measures that would restrict the availability of firearms and/or ammunition for hunting and sport shooting.

Never mind the fact that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting.

AHSA's Schoenke Shilling for Obama

Well, I figured the astro-turf gun group American Hunters and Shooters Association would be supporting Obama in the general election since they went all out for him in the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary earlier this year. I was in Dallas earlier this week and when I spoke with my wife on the phone Tuesday night, she told me she heard "some football player" talking about guns on an Obama commercial on the local conservative talk radio station (WRVA) in Richmond. The "some football player" is none other than former Redskin player Ray Schoenke. Sure enough, Sebastian over at Snowflakes in Hell had posted on the subject earlier in the day via Ahab.

In the ad, Schoenke says:

"This is Ray Schoenke. I played football with the Washington Redskins. Now I’m president of the American Hunters and Shooters Association. It’s important to me that our next president protects our Second Amendment rights to own guns, and to defend ourselves. Barack Obama and John McCain will both make sure we keep our guns."

I guess Schoenke did not hear Obama say in Pennsylvania that he opposes our right to self defense because he opposes concealed carry. But, this ad is not as much about trying to persuade gun owners that Obama is no threat to gun owners as it is to try and get gun owners to vote for Obama based on other issues (i.e. put us at ease that Obama will not restrict our gun rights so it's okay to think about other issues likes the economy). Schoenke launches an attack on McCain reading straight from Obama's talking points.

The fact is Obama has no interest in protecting our gun rights anymore than Schoenke gives a rats rear end about the rights of hunters and shooters. His group is a front for the Democrats. It was organized and funded by people (including Schoenke) who have a long history of supporting anti-rights groups like the Brady Campaign. Schoenke recently wrote over on the Huffington Post that his is a "typical American family on guns." For those not familiar with it, the Huffington Post is where the loony left meets to spread disinformation on guns and other topics of interest to liberals.

Anyway, Schoenke writes:

"My wife doesn't hunt. She doesn't even like guns. But, she does appreciate my love for hunting and guns - and we share a deep commitment to preserving our
environment. And, I accept that she was a financial supporter of the Brady Campaign. And, I also support her and respect her opinions. On guns, we're like James Carville and Mary Matalin - happily married, on different sides, but still respectful of each others' views. "

What Schoenke does not tell you is that if you go to Opensecrets.org and do a search on Ray Schoenke, you will find that he has given to the Brady Campaign too. In fact, not only has he given to the Brady Campaign but to almost every big name anti-gun candidate and congress critter - including Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, Bob Torricelli, Teddy Kennedy, and Bill Clinton. Do a search on all of the people associated with AHSA and you will find they are a who's who when it comes to gun control.

So, tell your pro-gun friends, if they hear Schoenke on their radio station talking about a "fake to hide the ball," that it's Schoenke and Obama doing the fake - faking support for your gun rights to hide Obama's real record on guns.

Listen to Ray Schoenke Shilling for Obama here.

Hat tip to Sebastian, Ahab, and Cam Edwards.

More Whining from AHSA

The astro-turf gun group American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) continues its attempts to be relevant. Last year, they paid people to stand out in front of the NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits to hand out flyers against NRA. This year in Louisville, they apparently decided it was cheaper to just run an ad in a local Louisville newspaper. In today's edition of the Lexington Hearld Leader, Hearld columnist Tom Eblen picks up the talking points fed to him by ASHA's Bob Ricker (you know - the lobbyist who will sell himself to what ever group will pay him).

Ricker told Eblen that AHSA believes the vast majority of sportsmen are not represented by NRA because of their support for Republican candidates. Seems that the fact that John McCain, who has a lengthy pro-gun voting record despite those instances where he parted company with gun owners and the NRA (background checks on private sales at gun shows and McCain/Feingold), was invited to speak to the members in Louisville, and that Obama (who has been endorsed by ASHA) was not, is proof that sportsmen (i.e. hunters) are not represented by NRA.

What Ricker did not tell Eblin and Eblin apparently failed to look up on his own, is that NRA has been endorsing Democrats. In September, Harold Ford, Bill Richardson, and John Dingell were invited to speak at the Celebration of American Values Forum. And in Louisville, Democrat Congressman and newly elected NRA Board Member Dan Boran spoke during the Friday forum as well as the Kentucky Democratic Lt. Governor (the Democratic Governor of Kentucky had been invited but apparently had a scheduling conflict at the last minute).

I talked to a lot of people at the Annual Meeting, including hunters, and I did not get the sense they felt under represented by the NRA. Ricker claims ASHA has 25,000 paying members. If any of those people are people that care about hunting, they might like to know that the candidate of choice for ASHA, Barrack Obama, voted for a bill (SB1195) that would have banned many popular hunting shotguns and muzzleloading rifles. That's how ASHA represents hunters and sportsmen.

Hat tip to Snowflakes in Hell

Astro-turf Gun Group Endorses Obama

On Wednesday, the astro-turf gun group known as American Hunters and Shooters Association endorsed Presidential Candidate Barrack Obama saying "he gets it" when it comes to gun rights. This is the same candidate who just last weekend told high dollar donors at a San Francisco fundraiser that middle America "clings" to its guns.

AHSA President Ray Schoenke said that claims about Obama's earlier comments proving he takes an elitist view of gun ownership are "patently ridiculous." He sited the fact that Obama supported the "Vitter Amendment" baring use of government funds to confiscate firearms during a natural disaster as proof that the candidate supports gun rights.

Hillary Clinton's campaign was ready with a list of Obama's past positions on gun control and asked whether AHSA had considered those positions when making their endorsement decision. She especially pointed out Obama's past support for a total ban on the manufacture and ownership of handguns. Obama claims the questionnaire from which that talking point is taken was not filled out by him but by a staffer that totally misrepresented his position. Never mind the fact that the Politico did an investigation of the survey in question and published a copy of an amended version of the questionnaire, which appears to contain Obama’s own handwritten notes added to one answer putting into question the claim that he never saw it.

ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson mentioned the questionnaire last night during the debate in Philadelphia , and once again, Obama said he wasn't the one who filled it out.

But, consider this, Illinois resident Hale DeMar was prosecuted by the town of Wilmette for using a handgun to defend his home in 2003. Wilmette had imposed a ban on the possession of handguns, in effect making the town a gun-free zone. To correct the situation, several Illinois state legislators introduced SB 2165 (known as the Wilmette bill) to protect the right of self-defense for residents like DeMar. Obama voted against the bill. That self-defense bill protecting the right to bear arms for law-abiding citizens such as DeMar passed the Illinois state Senate and was enacted into law over the governor's veto. Obama voted against the bill.

Given his stated position that he opposes concealed carry, it appears if he does not oppose the possession of handguns, he certainly opposes the use of them.

Hat tip to Jim Geraghty.

Astroturf Gun Group Unmasked

Most gun rights activists have probably heard of the American Hunter's and Shooters Association (AHSA). I mentioned them in my post yesterday about Obama's double speak. Well, AHSA's President, Ray Schoenke, is pretty good at it himself. See, he seems to have a personal grudge against the NRA and it's leadership. You would think that a group that claims to be pro Second Amendment would spend more time attacking the antis than other gun rights organizations. But, I guess that is kind of hard to do when you have well known turncoat Bob Ricker on your staff. Ricker you may recall used to be a gun lobbyist. Like many lobbyists, he doesn't care about the issue as long as he gets paid. The gun banners now pay him.

Anyway, Shoenke has posted a new video on the organization's web site and sent out an email recently to subscribers (I get it so I can keep up with what the other side is doing) and he spends most of his time in both trashing the NRA. Problem is, as with most other anti-gun types, he can't seem to get his facts straight. I was going to post my response to each of the errors but the good folks over at the Bitch Girls blog have beat me to it and they have done a fine job as well. You can read it here.

Beware of the Astroturf gun rights groups. They will sell us out the first chance they get. Hat tip to NRA-ILA's Grassroots Alert for the Bitch Girls post.


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Obama's 2nd Amendment Double Speak

The Wall Street Journal had an article this week titled "Obama and the Power of Words." While the Second Amendment was not the main topic of this article, Obama's power of oratory was the subject, Obama's position on the issue was used as an example. In the example we see why gun owners must look deep into what the candidate says to get the real meaning of his words.

In the article, Stephen Hayes, a writer for the Weekly Standard, wrote about Obama's rhetorical skills, making a comparison to former President Ronald Reagan, and explains how conservatives will be making a mistake if they try to portray him being an empty suit full of fluffy oratory much the way the press did with Reagan in 1980.

Hayes noted how Obama has "the unique ability to offer doctrinaire liberal positions in a way that avoids the stridency of many recent Democratic candidates." As Hayes explains it, Obama's trick is that when he talks about a contentious issue, he almost always, according to Hayes, begins the answer with a respectful nod in the direction of the view he is rejecting.

Hayes details how during a townhall meeting at Cornell College, Obama was asked how his administration would view the Second Amendment right to bear arms. He replied: "There's a Supreme Court case that's going to be decided fairly soon about what the Second Amendment means. I taught Constitutional Law for 10 years, so I've got my opinion. And my opinion is that the Second Amendment is probably -- it is an individual right and not just a right of the militia. That's what I expect the Supreme Court to rule. I think that's a fair reading of the text of the Constitution. And so I respect the right of lawful gun owners to hunt, fish, protect their families."

That's the "respectful nod" (though I don't know what fishing has to do with the subject). The Senator continues, and note he avoids the usual "but" as he gets to his view: "Like all rights, though, they are constrained and bound by the needs of the community...So when I look at Chicago and 34 Chicago public school students gunned down in a single school year, then I don't think the Second Amendment prohibits us from taking action and making sure that, for example, [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] can share tracing information about illegal handguns that are used on the streets and track them to the gun dealers to find out -- what are you doing?"

Obama concludes the answer with: "There is a tradition of gun ownership in this country that can be respected that is not mutually exclusive with making sure that we are shutting down gun traffic that is killing kids on our streets. The argument I have with the [National Rifle Association] is not whether people have the right to bear arms. The problem is they believe any constraint or regulation whatsoever is something that they have to beat back. And I don't think that's how most lawful firearms owners think."

Never mind the fact the NRA makes it perfectly clear criminals and those who are a danger to themselves and others should not have the ability to own firearms, even to the point that some other gun groups don't think the NRA is sufficiently pure on the issue. Noting that however would not have suited Obama's desire to take a swipe at the NRA though.

The press will take the first part of the answer, "it is an individual right and not just a right of a militia" and portray Obama as not being a threat to gun owners. In fact, they will portray him as supporting the Second Amendment. I can just hear the American Hunters and Shooters Association, the gun ban group masquerading as a pro-gun organization, using it when they endorse him for president.

As gun rights activist, it will be our job to make all gun owners aware of Obama's record (there will be more on that later) and what his true views are should he win the Democratic nomination.

Hat tip to Cam Edwards for pointing out this article on NRANews' Cam and Company this week.

You and hear more about Obama and the Second Amendment here.