The "NRA Shill"

Sketching a likely general election theme, Gov. Blagojevich came out swinging Tuesday against GOP gubernatorial front-runner Judy Baar Topinka, accusing the state treasurer of being a shill for the National Rifle Association and the right wing.

"The NRA just gave her an A rating -- an A rating -- and if you get an A rating from the NRA, you're basically taking their talking points and doing their bidding," Blagojevich said. "And I would urge her to forget about the NRA, stop pandering to the right wing and join us and help us pass a ban on assault weapons."

Actually, I can't find a current NRA rating for Topinka, just one from 2002, where, indeed, she got an "A."

As correspondent HZ observes, "I would love to know the NRA's response to their A rated candidate's responses to this questionnaire."

I have supported efforts to strengthen our FOID card program with a system to rapidly check backgrounds of people before they can obtain a FOID card. We must keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a threat to society. My position on assault weapons legislation will depend on the specific definitions in the final bill.

The governor has spoken out against Uzies and AK 47s, weapons that are already prohibited. While they are illegal, I certainly agree with keeping Uzies and AK 47s off the street. If the final language of a bill that passes the legislature includes language to ban weapons similar to Uzies and AK 47s, I would have no problem. If the language is broader and includes weapons currently in use by law-abiding citizens, then I would have concerns. The key will be in the definitions.

I see this as a huge and continued credibility problem for NRA management. An "A" should be measured against a "shall not be infringed" benchmark.

NRA members and other gun owners are sophisticated enough to handle the truth and to make their decisons accordingly. Certainly, when compared to the wretched Blagojevich, Topinka is far less oppressive on rkba issues. But don't blow smoke at us and tell us someone who supports prior restraints, licenses, fees and functional gun bans based on "definitions" deserves an "A".

That is, unless the criteria is something other than "shall not be infringed," and if support for an agenda takes precedence over the Second Amendment...