How Michael Bloomberg's Gun Control Campaign Could Hurt Obama's Reelection

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino teamed up for a pro-gun control ad that aired during yesterday's Super Bowl. At The Daily Beast, liberal UCLA law professor Adam Winkler argues that not only is the ad likely to backfire, it might just hurt President Barack Obama's reelection campaign as well. He writes:

Gun-control proponents can only pray that Obama doesn't take Menino and Bloomberg's bait. Making gun control a more important issue in the election would be a terrible mistake for the president—and for the cause of gun control….

For many pro-gun independents, Obama is not seen as a real threat to gun rights. They are focused on more pressing issues, like the economy and jobs. If Obama starts talking about gun control, however, they may begin to believe the NRA's dire warnings. And the impact will be felt not just in the presidential race. It will hurt Democrats all the way down the ballot. Recall that when the Newt Gingrich–led Republicans seized control of the House in 1994, President Bill Clinton blamed the gun-control laws he himself had pushed through during his first two years in office. Obama's talking about guns would be a disaster for Democrats and—necessarily—for the prospects of new gun control.

Read the whole story here. Read Thaddeus Russell's review of Winkler's new book Gunfight from our January 2012 issue right here.

Comments

[fishfry]

Ahm clingin' to mah gun! And religion!! Clingin' to mah religion. You betcha.

[The Constitution]

Why do you hate me?

[lily]

looking for the bilover?---datebi*cO'm--- is a site for bisexual and bicurious singles and friends.Here you can find hundreds of thousands of open-minded singles & couples looking to explore their bisexuality.sign up for free.

[Projecting Your Ignorance]

Like smoldering celluloid.

[Episiarch]

Obama is pretty clearly stupid enough to follow Bloomberg's lead.

[Res Publica Americana]

I hope he does. I can't wait to see the Dreamboat-in-Chief butt-fucked by the millions of people that give a shit about gun rights.

[End Child Unemployment]

Not to be contrarian, but Romney signed the Massachussets "permanent assault weapon" ban. I don't know if RKBA folks really have an option if Barry goes public anti-gun.

[Res Publica Americana]

Ron Paul? *Sad smile*

[Paul]

Another reason to not vote for mittens.

[db]

The simple fact is that a President Romney would be likely to face a Democratic Congressional majority for at least a couple of years out of his term. If they were to submit new gun control legislation during his tenure, it would almost certainly be signed.

[Brandon]

Someone would tell him that 50.1% of the people support it, and they will be his best friend if he signs it. He'll be all over that shit.

[Bam!]

Hmm... I can't think of a single bill that come across a President Romney desk and not get signed.

[Tony]

Despite the paranoid fantasies of millions of talk radio sheep, Obama will not seriously touch gun policy. Not enough chance of winning anything to risk the political fight. The last thing he needs is the NRA and its army of inbred morons angrier than they already are just by looking at him.

[Mr. FIFY]

Well, there's always next term.

BTW, did you ask every single NRA member about their parents?

[Mr. FIFY]

Also, you left out *left-wing* talk radio sheep. But you always do.

Because you're a Team player.

[fish]

Also, you left out *left-wing* talk radio sheep.

Truth be told there aren't that many of them. Talk radio doesn't appeal to TEAM BLUE because Tonys peeps can't seem to focus any longer than the TV newsreaders average story length.....about 4 minutes.

[Mr. FIFY]

Well, hell, Ed Schultz has thousands of listeners! So does that powerhouse, Thom Hartmann!

But, seriously, my point is the Tony Brigade only bitches about the worst of the worst of right-of-center talk-radio listeners... and hosts. To them, they're all rabid Jeebus-huggers with guns and needle and thread ready to sew pink triangles on Teh Gayz, and itchin' to reimpose slavery of black people.

None of which would ever happen, but it still stirs up the left-wing rabble.

[Tony]

.......but it still stirs up the left-wing rabble.

C'mon we need to do fundraisers too!

[Federal Election Commission]

We do our best to look the other way when politics gets preached at the altar of certain churches...

[Mr. FIFY]

And you're a dick.

But why repeat what everyone already knows?

[Not Team Blue always]

equals racist gay-hating capitalist pigs.

Always.

[Hi]

Rectal!

[KW6]

No, he just figures that everyone is just like him.

[Tony]

I'd sure show my "pink pistol" to Mr. Obama.

[Despite the fact]

He doesn't really know anything, and his analysis is pure poppycock, Tony keeps on posting anyway.

[Res Publica Americana]

Is there sand in your vagina, Tony? Because it sounds like there's sand in your vagina.

[Tony]

That's MANgina, bitch.

[Secret Service]

Stand in line. The President only has so much time to speak to the commoners.

[RoboCain]

While Obama is clearly anti-gun, he has been smart enough to keep quiet about it. Because he knows it would hurt his chances at election.

[Karl Hungus]

While Obama is clearly anti-gun, he has been smart enough to keep quiet about it. Because he knows it would hurt his chances at election.

I shudder to think at what sort of shit he'd try to pass at the end of a second term. Freed from having to worry about reelection, I bet he'd try to cram something nasty through (though his party would certainly pay for it).

[Paul]

Everyone says that about presidents, and I'm sure it's true to some limited degree, but they're still team players. President Biden's on deck after Obama leaves in 2016, remember.

[Jumbie]

President Hillary you mean.

[Mr. FIFY]

Give those fucking Dems a solid majority, and Tony's little trust exercise upthread is shown for the bullshit it always is.

[Barack the Jaunty Future King]

Doin' my best, proles.

I'm gonna need at least *three* terms, if not more.

[mad libertarian guy]

Everyone says that about presidents, and I'm sure it's true to some limited degree . . .

Fuckin' TARP anyone?

[juris imprudent]

I have to wonder if Obama ditches Biden this election and tries to set up a successor.

[Bam!]

That's what I never understood about the term limits movement: Wouldn't removing the incentive to stay in office cause more extreme policies to be supported?

[Barry D]

So Winkler is admitting that the Democrats want to distract voters from their anti-gun goals, so that, once in office, they can enact gun control legislation.

And he is clearly admitting that this is NOT the will of the majority of Americans. Otherwise, it wouldn't "hurt Democrats" in the election, right?

[Barry D]

BTW while liberal law professors may have some rather interesting ideas about our rights, I thought they actually were majoritarians. As a libertarian, I am concerned about the tyranny of the majority, but they tend not to be.

But here, he is flat-out SAYING that the goal of Democrats should be to force something on the majority, that the majority doesn't want forced upon it.

So he neither cares about things like constitutional rights, NOR does he care about what "the people" want.

WTF are his ethics, then? Dumb question?

[RoboCain]

Liberals are not "majoritarians". It's what the elitists who know better want.

[Bee Tagger]

Like many upon many, they're majoritarians when the majority agrees with them.

[Mr. FIFY]

They're more authoritarian than majoritarian, not that both terms don't suck massive cock.

[Paul]

I thought they actually were majoritarians.

Don't be confused by Democracy Now! They're not that interested in the electorate.

[cynical]

"liberal law professors "

Liberal anything professors are mostly technocrats who see democracy not as a moral imperative for maximizing consent with regard to the coercive apparatus of society, but rather as a tool for ensuring the complacency of the masses, rather like religion.

Their ideal political arrangement is to retain the trappings and rituals of democracy while ensuring that most of the actual power is wielded by those who are unaccountable to the public; a secondary objective is to encourage the sacrifice of individual liberty for "democratic collective action", while ensuring that masses aren't actually in control of any such action.

[cw]

Team blue shill?

[db]

Obama will have to deal with a new class of gun owning voters, one that Clinton never had to consider: non-traditional new shooters who have been flocking to the shooting sports, defensive handgun use, and general gun collecting and shooting. The Fudds of the past who could be fooled into submissikn by a few well placed paeans to "hunting and sporting tradition" are being rapidly replaced with the new style of gun owner. The biggest growth in gun sales has been in the so-called black guns and handguns, which are the gun controllers' favorite targets, and which the new shooting community owns by a large ratio over more traditional types of firearms.

[RoboCain]

Also, there was no internet back when Clinton signed the AWB. Most people thought it was about machine guns.

The main reason why more people are pro-gun is simply due to the availability of information.

[Hugh Akston]

Also broadening cultural appeal.

[Tony]

I just came in my own mouth ..a little.

[Ted S.]

Clinton signed the Average White Band?

I guess that's why he had to pick up the pieces after the '94 election.

[Isaac Bartram]

Actually, from what I see in the catalogs etc that I still get from the days when I had an FFL an awful lot of new gun owners are women buying the equivalent of (and actual) pink AR15s.

The trend that started some years ago with dads getting the daughters to shoot by buying them pink Crickets grew into something bigger, perhaps.

[db]

I'm seeing a lot of women getting into casual and competitive shooting. Some of them (the younger ones) have grown up shooting with their dads and are interested in competing. Some are women who have never been into firearms but recently got interested from a self defense angle.

At the club where I run matches, we are trying to encourage guys to bring their daughters, girlfriends, and wives out to go shooting, and many are getting into it. One great example is a friend whose daughter, in her mid 20's, is a dyed-in-the-wool vegan and loves to come out shooting with us.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Friend of mine just bought this for his 9 year old daughter.

http://www.airgundepot.com/rr1938-pink.html

[Carmen Senz]

If you don't like guns, then don't own one.

[Suthenboy]

I am afraid that argument wont get much traction with the anti's. Their reply is;

" You are taking away my right to feel safe because I know you have a gun."

...makes me want to puke

[Karl Hungus]

If you don't like guns, then don't own one.

It's not that simple. People in government, particularly Democrats, tend to know what's best for us, even better than we do. So it becomes their job, then, to enact legislation to guide us in the right direction. Private gun ownership is a relic of a a violent bygone era, a time when we didn't have the police to protect us. There is no longer a need for you to own a gun, and since you'll probably only wind up hurting yourself with it one day, it's best that you be deprived of it now.

[Tony]

Well done Karl! Or should I start calling you Hot Karl?

[Ska]

Mr. Hungus, I may not be your talent agent, but if you get to shit on his chest it might almost be worth letting him call you hot Karl.

[Karl Hungus]

Mr. Hungus, I may not be your talent agent

That's the thing about shitting on someone's chest (a Cleveland Steamer): it doesn't require any talent or training, and is something that can be enjoyed by all.

A properly administered Cincinnati Bow Tie, on the other hand, is something that requires a much higher degree of skill. You've gotta build up to something like that.

[fish]

Should the Reason.com commentariat be concerned that the....umm...acts in question seem to be closely associated with the upper midwest?

Rust Belt indeed!

[Team Blue]

Ever have a Cleveland Steamer?

[Tony]

Why? Are you offering?

[Secret Service]

Sir, if you'll just be patient, The President will get to you.

Ironically enough, one of his old code names was "Cleveland Steamer".

[Pro Choice Bumper Sticker]

Hey, you stole my line!

[Suthenboy]

Almost everyone I know says that they would like to vote for Paul, but feel forced to vote for mittens to get the execrable ( maybe excretable would be more appropriate) captain zero out of the oval office. That includes the ones who voted for him the first time around. They simply dont see Paul winning against obama, and frankly I dont either.

A choice between two anti-gunners. My nightmare come true.

[End Child Unemployment]

If Paul got a chance to run on a major party ticket he would win, simply due to the fact that I would personally garotte every person who would vote against him. Not that I think ends justify the means, I'm just in a shitty mood today.

[Suthenboy]

Paul is scary because most people are sheep. They need a mittens or an obama to tell them what to do. They need experts to tell them what to think ( see Tony Baloney ). If you start preaching 'think for yourself', 'be self-reliant', 'live with the consequences of your choices', 'mind your own business', etc......you are going to appeal to 10% or less of the population.

[Suthenboy]

This afternoon I was home alone. I live at the end of a dead end road in the middl of nowhere.

Suddenly there is a knock at the door and I go to see who it is. Some thirtyish guy and his 'woman' were selling meat out of the back of their truck. They came down the sidewalk and stopped about half-way ( that was when they noticed I had a pistol in my belt), stopped and gave a half-hearted very fast sales pitch. I could tell the guy was stoned as hell. The 'woman' was very nervous.

They stayed less than a minute and left. I never touched the gun. I did not threaten or act threatening in any way. I was very polite and thanked them for stopping by ( but I got their plate number as they left).

The mere presence of the means to defend myself changed the dynamic of that situation instantly.

[fish]

Yeah....meat out of the back of a truck. You should have shot them on general principles!

[Suthenboy]

My thoughts exactly...who the hell sells meat out of the back of a truck?

[Karl Hungus]

The mere presence of the means to defend myself changed the dynamic of that situation instantly.

Who knows how many rapes, robberies, and murders have been averted by the mere presence of a weapon. Good on you for handling it the way you did.

A couple years ago, NBC (might've been Dateline) did a story on a couple of teenage boys who'd murdered an elderly couple during a home invasion. They interviewed a guy whose door the pair had knocked on prior to the murder of the couple that night. The man, who was home alone with his son at the time, recounted how he had answered the door with a pistol in his hand, and how the two kids, upon seeing the gun, had beat a hasty retreat. I love hearing anecdotes like this; it's powerful stuff. Frankly, I'm surprised that NBC actually allowed that to air.

[Suthenboy]

About ten years ago, not 20 miles from where I live, a young couple murdered the girls parents, stole their car and drove it until it ran out of gas. Then they walked to a remote house near robeline and knocked on the door. A couple in their 80's lived there. when the old woman answered the door the boy shot her in the face. Then they ran in, chased the old man until he fell and shot him in the head. They found a can of gas in the garage. As they were leaving the old couples daughter arrived. They shot her in her car in the driveway, took the car and left.

[Tony]

NO! no no no no no no! It doesn't happen this way and you know it! The bad guys ALWAYS get caught with their prey saved in just the nick of time!

Why won't you argue honestly?

[Suthenboy]

Interestingly there was also a case not long after the one in texas ( where two white guys dragged the black guy behind their truck ) in oregon or washington, where two guys with a pitbull confronted and threatened a black guy on the street.

They told him they were going to drag him to death just like the guys in texas.

Black guy pulls out his CCW and shoots the dog. He holds the two pieces of shit until the cops arrive.

Remember the press coverage the case in texas got? Remember the equal coverage the case in the northeast got?

[cynical]

"Black guy pulls out his CCW and shoots the dog. He holds the two pieces of shit until the cops arrive."

And, impressed with his dog shooting skills, immediately offered him a job.

[Res Publica Americana]

Oh, yeah! That Suthenboy guy's such a dolt! Me and Tony TOTALLY saw that Steven Segal movie where the white Buddhist with the ponytail and a badge jumps in and fucks the criminals' shit up right before the crime.

It's all based on true stories, you know!

[Jumbie]

Out of curiosty: Are you usually carrying a gun inyor belt when you're home alone or did you put it in there to greet your 'guests'?

[Suthenboy]

I am usually wearing a gun. This afternoon i was reading on the internet so I had put it on the counter in the kitchen. I just picked it up on the way to the door.

It is a really nice Uberti .45 colt with a brass frame and color-case hardened receiver. The cylinder and barrel are deeply blued and polished. More fun to shoot than you can believe.

[Res Publica Americana]

I wear my gun a lot, too, but to pinko limpdicks, possessing individual sovereignty and being a nation unto yourself is unconscionable and disgusting. The Politburo will protect you, comrade!

[Mr. FIFY]

The amusing part is how liberals blather about the best reason to have an armed populace:

"Well, even if our government went awry and tried to impose martial law - WHICH WOULD ONLY HAPPEN IF TEAM RED WAS IN CHARGE!!!ONE!eleventy!!!, because OUR Team would NEVER enslave the American people, so why bother standing up to the American military?"

Translation: Even if Democrats are in control, and decide to go apeshit and rip the Bill of Rights to shreds... just bend over and do what you're told. Putting up a struggle is futile, and freedom is overrated anyway.

Right now, Tony is whackin' it furiously.

[Barack the Jaunty Future King]

Let me be clear.

IF I had to impose martial law... I have a list of people I would kill last.

Just keepin' you proles on your toles.

[Team Blue]

The *only* time Americans should ever defend themselves, is if/when Team Red tries to march the troops into our homes.

Us... you can trust.

[Karl Hungus]

It is a really nice Uberti .45 colt with a brass frame and color-case hardened receiver. The cylinder and barrel are deeply blued and polished. More fun to shoot than you can believe.

Is it an 1873 Cattleman?

[Suthenboy]

SAA Frontier Marshall

[Karl Hungus]

Nice! I bet that thing kicks like a mule, though!

[Suthenboy]

It isnt bad. I have a mold for 255 gr flat noses and one for 230gr round noses. The round noses are for the 45 acp, but if I load them in the .45 colt with about 8 grains of Unique they shoot really flat and fast.

[Res Publica Americana]

No home invasion heroics, but I've gotten forced respect/fear from cops by wearing a gun before, and I've pulled it on a group of what I think were crazed crackheads (caused them to run away). It was a 1911A1.

[Suthenboy]

Yummy. I have a Kimber Gold Match that I cant miss with.
The 1911 is impressive firepower. They were wise to run away.

[Res Publica Americana]

There's just nothing that can ever become dearer to my heart than the 1911. Ever. It's THE handgun, at least for me.

http://www.para-usa.com/new/pr......php?id=12

That's what I'm getting, although I'd prefer something more classic-looking and less tricked out. I leave the Gadget Handgun category for the modern polymer pistols.

[Suthenboy]

Browning made a 100th anniversary 1911 in .22 as a tribute to John Browning. I am trying desperately hard to find one. They sold out almost immediately.

You can change that pistol to a more classic look and feel by simply changing out the mainspring housing to a round one instead of straight.
I agree on the 1911. no matter how many of what kind I have, its my favorite.

[Res Publica Americana]

Yeah, I actually liked that change from the original model to the 1911A1. But the biggest appeal of that particular manufacturer is the high capacity; they have ones that take 18-round 9mm magazines, 16-round .40 S&W magazines, and 14-round .45 ACP magazines.

[Suthenboy]

Using a Para frame I built a hi-cap 38 super- long slide. I cant talk about it too much or I will shoot off in my pants.

[Res Publica Americana]

That's a good thing either way, or Janet Napolitano and the Department of Homeland Security Trololololol, or DHST, will track you down and send you to a military prison in Somalia.

[Episiarch]

This has to be the most amazing 1911 conceivable. I'm so tempted to buy it. It's even better than an Elvis one.

[Suthenboy]

Way back when I cooked a pot of sauce picante for Conway. Several years later he called me to say he was coming back through Louisiana and wanted another pot. I was happy to oblige.

[Karl Hungus]

This has to be the most amazing 1911 conceivable. I'm so tempted to buy it. It's even better than an Elvis one.

Conway Twitty, with that beautiful, sumptuous, perfectly coiffed afro, is worthy of commemoration. Nonetheless I'm holding out for the Randy Travis Special Edition.

(I'm looking at you, Franklin Mint!)

[db]

I like the Steve McQueen one.

[db]

I remember when you could still order those commemorative Thompson SMGs through the ads in The American Legion's magazine. Up until 1986 they still offered the real deal...albeit gold plated, and made by Thompson Auto-Ordnance. The TAO Thompsons are pretty sketchy as far as functioning goes. While they are registered MGs, some are lucky to run in semi auto, much less FA. The nice part is they're cheap (for Thompson SMGS), registered, and can be made to work with a bit of an investment in re-work.

[Suthenboy]

I had a chance to buy one of those super cheap and passed it up. still kicking myself

[fish]

I'm too lazy for 1911s. The Glock 21sf is just fine thank you very much!

[Res Publica Americana]

Glocks are nice (though I stick with American), but if we're going for that area of the globe, I prefer http://www.sigsauer.com/Catalo...../p229.aspx

[db]

The bore axis of SIGs is too high and the grip angle is all wrong for my arm. I'm sure they fit some people's shooting style well, but not mine. I like the bore as close to the axis of my forearm as possible, and the sights close to the bore axis.

[Karl Hungus]

The bore axis of SIGs is too high and the grip angle is all wrong for my arm.

Funny how handgun ergonomics are so subjective; the grip on my P226 is as perfect as any I've ever owned. I hear ya on the bore axis, though. My P226 is chambered in 9mm, so muzzle flip isn't a big deal, but I wonder if that holds true for the larger calibers. Of course, if you think a SIG's bore axis is bad, have you ever handled an H&K USP? I bought a USP .45 last year, and you can fire from the hip and still get a good sight picture.

[db]

Yeah, ive seen that in the USP too. My favorite handguns are the Brownings (P35 and 1911 variants), CZs, and Glocks. All have nice ergonomics for my body.

[Karl Hungus]

I love the 1911 ergonomically, but of the two I've owned - a Springfield Armory 1911A1 and a colt Officer's ACP - neither one was at all reliable: constant failures to feed and eject. This, despite quality ammo (230gr ball, always) and a perfect grip on the weapon.

If I could find a reliable Commander-size (full-length grip, slightly shorter barrel) 1911, that would be all the reason I need to finally go get my CCW.

[db]

Get a Kimber ultra carry. It's smaller than the commander and as a Kimber, reliable. I have a Para P12.45 that works well, too.

[db]

I think Kimber makes a commander variant too.

[db]

FTEs are often extractor or ejector related. The stock extractors are usually poor--replace with and Aftec extractor for good times. Ejectors should be beveled slightly is a certain way. It boggles my mind that 1911 manufacturers haven't incorporated these improvements from the factory. These are longstanding complaints with the 1911 and are pretty easy to fix but outfits like Springfield and Colt still haven't learned.

[Karl Hungus]

FTEs are often extractor or ejector related

I've heard of these fixes before, and I sometimes wish I'd held on to my SA 1911A1. I'd put a wide-spur hammer on it, along with a pair of vintage surplus Keyes grips (the plastic ones that came on USGI .45s), so it was a nice looking gun. It just wouldn't shoot right, and I found someone who wanted to dump some time and money into it, so I sold it. I'm sure I'll have another one someday.

[Lord Flashheart]

Karl, My Dan Wesson Commander Bobtail is the best of the 3 1911's I own. 4.25" barrel.

Only have about 500 rounds thru it, mostly 230gr Ball, never a failure.

[calm mentor]

db|2.6.12 @ 9:32PM|#

My favorite handguns are the Brownings (P35 and 1911 variants)...

Yeah, thumbs up on the Browning http://www.notpurfect.com/main/p35.html, which, along with this http://www.ruger.com/products/lcr/index.html are my current faves. I am bi when when it comes to handguns. Pistol/revolver, either one can ride my hip.

[Lenny Domo]

Dude, this makes a whole lot of sense. I never thought about that before.

http://www.Be-Anon.tk

[cynical]

If he's not a complete fool, he'll stay far enough away from gun control that F&F conspiracy theorists will keep their attention focused on Eric Holder and possibly the bad Napolitano.

[takin it in stride]

All those Ron Paul cheerleaders who had their hopes dashed by NV should take note of the political fear that openly supporting gun control puts in the minds and hearts of liberal politicians. That's the difference between a political cause (support of the 2nd Amendment) which has real public support and a political cause like the support of Ron Paul which is illusory.

[Mr. FIFY]

Beats the hell out of supporting yet another Shit Sandwich vs. Giant Douche Presidential Figurehead Sweepstakes...