When then-Attorney General John Ashcroft opined the Second Amendment protects an individual right, it evoked worldwide headlines, trumpeting from the "gun lobby" and nothing less than raving hysteria from the antis.
New AG Michael B. Mukasey claims the same position and...anybody hear that pin drop? Not a word in any "authorized journalist" news outlet and no triumphant or frothing in rage press releases from the interest groups.
Arguing that you don't believe he's sincere when it comes to "shall not be infringed" misses the point. Ashcroft had all kinds of escape hatches installed, too, but it nonetheless was news.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
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8 comments:
Maybe they saw how "serious" Ashcroft was and no longer worry about what their guys say.
David, do you think the Senate will seek the new AG's opinion on the Sullivan confirmation (and give that opinion any weight)?
If so, might it be a good idea to organize an email campaign to Mukasey? Even if the Sullivan issue is settled before we can get it off the ground, I like the idea of Mukasey getting a good, old fashioned gun owner greeting a
Kurt, I thought the committee had done its work and now it was up to a vote without further interviews and testimony, although there may be some speechifyin'--I confess near-ignorance on their procedures and rules so my opinion has little more weight on this than a Jay Leno man-on-the-street interviewee's, but my suspicion is it's a done deal and it's all just a matter of following the forms.
I believe the best way to influence this outcome is to write your senators, assuming you think Durbin and Obama give a damn what gun owners think. As far as writing to Mukasey, he'd be a guy to write to about reining in his lieutenant, but I doubt he can--or has any desire--to influence the confirmation process. After all, those will be the same people he is beholden to, so what's in it for him to rock the boat?
I'd welcome somebody who actually knows what he's talking about to chime in and educate us all.
All of that makes a great deal of sense, David.
I do like the idea of a campaign to hit Mukasey's office with a ton of emails (assuming gun owners can spare three minutes) about keeping Sullivan (or whomever else) on a short leash.
Me too, Kurt. Just don't suggest it to the chatroom warriors or you'll get an earful.
And by the way--thanks for being one of the handful of gun rights bloggers who reported the Mukasey story. Volokh and Instapundit also mentioned it, so hopefully that will help break it into the wider world.
Like you, I'm a bit puzzled about the muted reaction (to put it mildly) among gun politics activists (on either side).
This could end up being fairly significant, but there doesn't seem to be much interest.
I think that on the gun rights side, folks thought about Ashcroft, said "Fat lot of good that did us," and are in the process of shrugging about Mukasey. I reckon it could have been worse, though.
I kind of agree with Oldsmoblogger, and especially given the fact that Mukasey will only be AG for about a year if he lasts that long, in a lame duck presidency.
Now the sensationalizing is about torture. I guess it sells better than guns.
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