The Missouri CCW law and Democracy

[MrBenchley]

Says it all.....

"For the past decade, the NRA has been on a mission to arm America by allowing citizens to carry concealed, loaded handguns in public. In Missouri, their effort stalled because of Governor Mel Carnahan. He vowed to veto the NRA-backed bill if it did not allow a referendum. The NRA finally took the challenge in the 1998 legislative session. The NRA wrote the proposed law and picked a special election date that would work for them. They then spent more than $ 4 million in an effort to pass their initiative, known as Proposition B. One of the NRA’s best friends, then-Senator and current NRA Life Member John Ashcroft, did radio ads supporting Proposition B. By election day, April 6, 1999, the NRA had spent more than five times as much money as the opponents of Proposition B. But a funny thing happened on the way to the polls. The NRA lost. They couldn’t buy off and control the people of Missouri like they controlled their legislators in Jefferson City.
After this stunning loss -- which came despite the NRA’s almost total control over the process (except, of course, for the final outcome) -- the organization blamed Mel Carnahan. According to the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, "The NRA's James J. Baker blamed Carnahan for the outcome, accusing him of meddling in a race into which the NRA had poured more than $3.7 million. 'Governor Carnahan injected his own personal views into this democratic initiative process.'" NRA Spokesman Bill Powers told the, " did everything he could do to defeat this measure....This crosses the line to where it becomes a mistrust of the people of the state." Only an organization so adept at thwarting the public interest could interpret a defeat in a public referendum in such a way. "

http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/03/09/16_sudbay.html

[CO Liberal]

1. The NRA Has Lost Touch With Reality

Totally...........

[MrBenchley]

2. Just like the GOP has

the two of them are intertwined.....

[Ergotron]

3. ...intertwined, and in power.

interesting combination, eh?

[CO Liberal]

4. Doesn't Make Them Right

Remember, the Nazis were once in power in Germany.......

[MrBenchley]

6. And if only we donned white hoods

we could appeal to the racist imbecile vote too....

[MrBenchley]

7. Doonesbury, on the money....

[Lefty48197]

20. Freedom = guns

yep Doonsbury sure hit the NRA right on the head.

[MrBenchley]

5. Shows what blood money and corruption can do short term.

What an ugly anti-American spectacle they make.

[MrBenchley]

10. The story gets EVEN scummier

and who is surprised, honestly?

"Top Senate Republicans arranged and paid for the travel for state Sen. Jon Dolan, who flew from Cuba to Jefferson City last week to cast crucial votes to override Gov. Bob Holden's vetoes.

Dolan's travel expenses - which included chartering a private jet - came to almost $8,200 and were handled by aides to state Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau.
The total bill was paid by the Senate Majority Fund, a campaign committee set up to handle various expenses for the Legislature's Republican leaders.
Kinder's staff began working on travel arrangements for Dolan weeks ago, even before he left for Cuba for Army National Guard duty. "

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/Missouri+State+News/BBDF9516F306EBEB86256DA30051DBAB?OpenDocument&Headline=GOP+fund+paid+for+Dolan

[CO Liberal]

11. Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau.

Home town of Rush Limbaugh (aka Jeff Christie).

[MrBenchley]

12. Isn't his dad some high muckety muck

there?

[CO Liberal]

13. His Father and Grandfather Were Prominent Lawyers There

Since El Rushbo barely squeaked out of high school, he had to follow a different career path.

[MrBenchley]

14. Inbreeding causes simple-mindedness

Haven't seen the old Porkbutt on ESPN's NFL pre-game show, but the report I saw said that Michael Irvin ran rings around him...

[Terran]

15. Kinder is an arrogant bastard

I saw him many times at the hotel last term bragging about he presided over the first Repug takeover of the Missouri Senate in 50 years.

He's also in the closet, and the Repugs go to some lengths to preserve that little secret (this is widely known locally, so I'm not really outing the creep).

[MrBenchley]

16. Appalling, isn't it?

The RKBA crowd has such NICE playmates....

[Java]

8. Gun Control Issue

We wouldn't have lost the White House if Gore hadn't supported more Gun Control Legislation.

Didn't you guys learn ANYTHING? The REASON why the Rupugs are in POWER is because WE supported GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION.

IF you want to keep the UNION voters you will have to drop this gun control agenda...
If we continue to lose elections then pretty soon we will lose everything that we have worked so hard over the past 60 years to acheive.

[MrBenchley]

9. Blah blah blah blah

What a pantload...

[Wcross]

17. JAVA-That ain't true!

Just ask Mr. Benchley! He told me it was a pantload as well when I suggested that. I think he claimed it was Shrubs visit to Bob Jones university that swung Gores home state, West Virginia and Arkansas. I didn't know THAT was the factor, but Mr. Benchley cleared that right up for us. I knew something had cost us the election, I just couldn't put my finger on it. Oh, but it was a pantload to be sure.

[MrBenchley]

18. That's right, cross....

you KNOW it's true because the NRA said so....

[Wcross]

19. Brain washed?

Who is in the white house now?
Gore lost his home state, why was that MrBenchley?
People tend to vote on issues that effect them, if Benchley doesn't agree, they must be under the influence of some mind control huh?

You don't seem to understand- Nationwide gun control is a loser of an issue. I suppose you would rather wait for proof, perhaps if we lose the 2004 elections because of our parties anti-gun extremists you will be satisfied.

[MrBenchley]

24. More like a light rinse in your case...

"Gore lost his home state, why was that MrBenchley?"
Sane people would say it was because Nader siphoned off 20,000 votes and because Republicans harassed black voters in Nashville...

http://www.state.tn.us/sos/election/results/2000-11/index.htm

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=9&screen=news&news_id=2689

Of course gun nuts believe it was because Al threatened their precious fetish objects...

"You don't seem to understand- Nationwide gun control is a loser of an issue."
Because the NRA said so? Rubbish. Voters across the board want gun control.

[Lefty48197]

21. Gore supported more gun control legislation?

Please cite the article from American Rifleman that "proves" this point.

[Java]

22. How about if I cite the 2000 Democratic Party Platform?

from: http://www.democrats.org/about/2000platform.html#intro

Strong and Sensible Gun Laws. A shocking level of gun violence on our streets and in our schools has shown America the need to keep guns away from those who shouldn't have them - in ways that respect the rights of hunters, sportsmen, and legitimate gun owners. The Columbine tragedy struck America's heart, but in its wake Republicans have done nothing to keep guns away from those who should not have them.

Democrats believe that we should fight gun crime on all fronts - with stronger laws and stronger enforcement. That's why Democrats fought and passed the Brady Law and the Assault Weapons Ban. We increased federal, state, and local gun crime prosecution by 22 percent since 1992. Now gun crime is down by 35 percent.

Now we must do even more. We need mandatory child safety locks, to protect our children. We should require a photo license I.D., a full background check, and a gun safety test to buy a new handgun in America. We support more federal gun prosecutors, ATF agents and inspectors, and giving states and communities another 10,000 prosecutors to fight gun crime

[Java]

23. An Additional Source

from: http://www.issues2000.org/2000/Gun_Control.htm#Headlines

Gore on Gun Control

Focus on gun safety, not hunters & sportsmen. (Oct 17)
Restrict guns from wrong hands, not sportsmen & homeowners. (Oct 11)
Gun licensing by states, but no registration. (Oct 11)
No special lawsuit protection for gun makers. (Sep 30)
Mandatory background checks & child safety locks. (Aug 18)
Agrees with Bush on banning weapons; but wants registration. (Apr 21)
Nationally mandated, state-run system of photo licensing. (Apr 20)
Take on the NRA with presidential leadership. (Mar 1)
Passed toughest gun control in 30 years; same for next 30. (Feb 21)
Maximize gun control within what’s politically possible. (Jan 5)
Counter gun lobby with ‘family lobby’ to shield kids. (Jun 1999)
Voted against some gun limitations while in Congress. (Jun 1999)
Supports background checks at gun shows, in tie-breaker. (May 1999)
Supports Brady Law and ban on assault weapons. (May 1999)