A long time ago (called right now) in a state far far too close (that'd be my, the state)...
Senator Barackatine, who became chancellor amidst vows to rid the Republic of the corruption that threatened to topple it, became frustrated at the incapability of the Senate to act on his reasonable directives, to once and for all rid the Republic of that dread scourge - The Right to own and carry weapons. Not realizing Barackatine was really Dark Lord of the Moneypit Obama, he was cheered on in his efforts by press and billionaire alike. Wasting no time he activated his loyal clones to implement his will in individual systems. Disturbed by a perceived lack of faith, he sent his apprentice, Darth Biden, to redouble their efforts, with promise of aid to those who helped, and retribution to those who didn't (Bloomberg the Hutt's bounty is the primary threat, but never underestimate the power of the farce). Will no one stop this insidious plan to topple the Republic before construction of the ultimate weapon - The Debt Star - is complete?
Or to put it in plainer terms...
Obama wants gun owner control, but he doesn't want to spend direct political capital on it. At the national level even the Senate is worried - & rightly so - about repercussions. They simply do not want a repeat of '94, when their support of the Brady Bill and the "assault weapons" ban cost them control of congress. Even ol' slick willy his damn self has been warning them about spending more time with their families the next election cycle after voting against gun owners. And Obama is not stupid politically. He listened, and he's been trying to give the appearance that he's listening to gun owners. Most of us see through that, but he has some quislings as well as what he considers are local "authority" figures to help shore up his appearance to the uninitiated.
So he realizes that gun owner control will be a tough sell in the Senate, and more so in the House. He could exert a bunch of effort to try to force it through, but that's not his way. Instead he's getting all Sith on us.
What I think he's done, and is doing is a state by state approach. State level politics are different than the national level. A lot of folks pay more attention to the national elections than their own sate elections. Plus, as much as I distrust the NRA I've never said they weren't effective (my beef is that they're not effective at the right things). In a national campaign they can focus a lot of voter attention on someone whose reading comprehension approaches zero when the 2nd amendment is shoved under their nose. But even the NRA doesn't have the war chest to do that in multiple states. So a state level push has less chance of negative electoral consequences for the pushers than a national bid would. No a zero chance, just less of one, and that's what the Obaminator is counting on.
Colorado is an odd state. California refugees have done their part to make things blue around here, but that's not all of it. Right after Columbine voters - not the legislature but voters - passed a law to end private sales at gun shows. The Republican Governor at the time - Owens - insisted that schools be off limits for concealed carry permit holders or he wouldn't sign any "shall issue" law, and that law was passed despite better options being available. (Here's an account of an early attempt at carry reform in Colorado.) Owens also, through an illegal executive action, instituted the "baby brady" law here, which not only makes gun buyers endure a redundant background check by the CBI in addition to the NICS system, but presumes a person is guilty until proven innocent, as an arrest without a positive disposition is also grounds for denial. A few months later the legislature passed "baby brady" into law, all proper, except for that whole being unconstitutional thing.
Despite all of this, the weapons laws here were acceptable. Arguably better than in NC or SC and Texas. Well, when I say here I don't mean Denver proper., but that place isn't too hard to avoid if you value parking spaces. No restrictions on open carry (except in Denver proper), open or concealed in your car sans permit, no permits to buy a firearm, private sales not prohibited, plenty of public land to shoot on, NFA stuff okey dokey, etc.
Now, as I type this, the House is about to pass 4 anti gun bills. Why? I is soglad you askeded.
Colorado was a battleground/swing state int he last 2 elections. Obama put together a nice little campaign machine here, with financing from diverse places. I remember looking through the want ads in 08 & 12 & saw a bunch of halfway decently paying part time to full time jobs for progressive causes. Y'all know how things turned out though - Obama won Colorado both times. Plus the House, Senate and Governor's office got taken over by the dems.
So Obama, not wanting to strong arm things nationally, went tot he states, via his campaign machine. Only instead of directing it to elect him and his fellow dems, it was to pressure and/or support (whichever was needed) dems in office to push his agenda. Not that there weren't any dems who have the same goals regarding gun owners, but Obama's efforts unified them a bit, emboldened some, got others to fall in line, etc.
Biden was in town last week. He called 4 dems to make sure they were on the program. I figured it was probably just the bully pulpit; that Obama was using his influence as the head of the party to make sure the locals stayed in line. But there's another factor.
Bloomberg. The carper-bagging scum swilling control freak from up north has been threatening to primary any Colorado dems who don't vote for the gun owner control bills. It's also alleged that he financed witnesses for those bills in the committee hearings. The slimy tyrant-in-training has already started throwing cash against an Illinois dem because she's too moderate on the gun owner issue. (also see here.)
So that's what's happening; Bloomberg is pointing to Illinois and telling the local dems to vote for gun control or he'll finance a primary challenge like he's doing right damn now. Biden popped by to make sure everyone was remaining faithful, while Obama sits back spending little political capital. He's probably somewhere on the back nine cackling that all is proceeding as he has foreseen.
Oh, to no end am I pissed off that that carpet baggin sunuvabitch is screwing up my Rights and the Rights of those I care for far outside of gauntlet throwing distance. If this was a civilized society that asshat in a human suit would be on a field, sword in hand, preparing to defend what pitiable amount of honor he thought he had left. But alas, we're still barbaric.
I'm pretty sure the gun owner control will pass. I'm fairly sure it'll pass the senate once it gets there. I know damn skippy the governor will sign it. Then round 2 begins, with 4 more anti gun owner laws. Same dog, Same pony. Same show. Don't expect too much from the local bird cage liner; they were yelling "Gimma an O!" before the official pom-poms even arrived in the mail, so they'll take whomever's word for it that the cash that's falling out of the carpet colored bag couldn't have possibly come from NYC.
I wonder if Obama will be satisfied for now with passing gun control in Colorado. It's a Western state with a traditional libertarian lean so if he can get gun owner control passed here he'll argue he can get it passed anywhere. Or is this perhaps what he'll use to get the federal legislature back in lock step, pointing to how we got gun owner control handed to us here, and assuring everyone that no election blowback will damage his minions in the CO House or Senate?
Either way we've been outplayed. I've been outplayed. I have some thoughts on what to do, but it's doubtful the congresscritters (mainly repubs) or the NRA or any other allegedly pro gun groups would even consider it. I'll spell it out in another post if/when I have time.
Foreign money. That's what happened here. And Bloomberg is about as foreign from American as you can get without sporting a bad Franconian accent. I'd embark on a campaign of character assassination but in order to do that he'd have to have character. It'll be worth remembering who voted for this stuff, if for nothing else to follow the money trail during their next campaign. I sincerely hope they get betrayed just as they betrayed their constituents when heeding this foreign influence.
In the meantime, could you folks in comments all around the web show some tact; at least wait until the bills are passed before virtually making a pass at Magpul; it's kinda like talkin bout who gets the studded collar before Ol' Yellar has stopped quivering. Just sayin'.
And Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. For those of us who decide to stay and fight (and I'm not certain I'll be one of them) RMGO will be the ones to toss money at and get info from, and any aid from other states would be appreciated by those who remain behind the lines.
But look to your own states, especially if enough dems and a few repubs could pass something in house or senate. I don't see why this strategy won't get repeated, especially since it seems to be paying here. Remember, this isn't just politics - it's a culture war; one the other side waged on us before we realized it, and one they could mess around and win without having to fire a shot.
Posted by Publicola at February 18, 2013 10:30 AM | TrackBack