The Legend of the West

You might want to have this playing in the background before reading on...

We've got this guy.

And we've even got this guy.

So naturally, NRA puts their money on this guy.

You know, the guy who wanted to effectively end private sales...

I'm sure there's a perfectly pragmatic political reason why we "principles freaks" should just shut up with our silly, unrealistic SNBI naivete and trust the chessmasters know better how to play the game...

Assuming the game they're gambling on is chess...

SNBI

Yuri Orlov reminds us that some, who would presume to lead us in the "gun rights" struggle, use this term as a pejorative.

I'd contend that says more about them than it does us.

Point/Counterpoint

DOJ: (I guess it's not really about "background checks.")

and

House Republicans and Tea Party Patriots Action (better, but still falls short of SNBI for my tastes.)

Our Principle Thing

The Montana Shooting Sports Association says principled voters should vote for Ron Paul over John McCain or Barack Obama...

But the MSSA says "pragmatic" voters should choose McCain, because he is not as bad on gun issues as Obama.

Glad to see the term getting wider use.

The hatred against Dr. Paul from some of these pragmatic voters is still popping up--I just saw him contemptuously described as a "bizarre little man" the other day on one "gun blog." Others continue on the theme that he's a racist, or a "troofer," and one actually resorted to making fun of Paul backers by publishing the photo of a heavyset female supporter and ridiculing her weight.

I guess you can take your lead from that.

I won't write in Paul because he doesn't want it. My preference doesn't matter--it's his choice, not mine.

My advice continues to be: Vote your informed conscience. Because whether we compromise and go lesser of two evils, whether we sit on our hands, whether we go third party, it will affect the results--and we will share in moral responsibility for what follows if our decision helped enable it.

But then again, what do I know? I think it's been pretty well-established that I'm a rigid, "SNBI!"-shouting extremist.

Meanwhile, Over at the Vidkun Quisling Fan Club

NSSF continues to urge lawmakers and regulators alike to remember that there is a bipartisan solution advanced by the gun industry — strengthening our current background check system ... NSSF has committed itself to FixNICS.  And we’re not alone – even Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns actually agrees with us. [More]

How telling. With friends like these...

So much for:

WE WON’T STAND FOR SCAPEGOATING
NO NEW GUN LAWS
DENY SUCCESS TO MASS MURDERERS BY ABOLISHING PHONY ‘GUN-FREE’ VICTIM / KILLER ENABLING ZONES NOW
WORK WITH US OR WE WILL WORK TO RETIRE YOU

There has been a "leadership" contingent eager since Day One after Newtown to come up with a sacrificial goat to give to government. We also saw an under-the-bus candidate search by manufacturers who have traditionally been eager to protect their interests and the hell with everyone else's. These are the ones apologists would have us keep quiet about when they urge us that we need to stand together -- as if the divisiveness is coming from the SNBI crowd. I'm sure Fairfax would have caved by now if not for our rude, strident voices...

It's simple. You don't throw a scrap of flesh to circling jackals and think they'll go away. You don't give the enemy a beachhead from which they can launch their next assault deeper into the interior. And while Polyphemus may have promised to eat you last, eat you he most certainly will, particularly after you've served up the ones hardening a sharpened pole in the fire...

The Lesser of Two Evils

“But Kaufmann denied that he’s anything but a conservative Republican who has occasionally made some moderate votes.” [More]

Jeez, suck one little **** and everybody calls you a ****sucker.

See, he won't stab you in the back ALL the time, just when it's expedient for him.  Besides, if you want to look back, take one of his history classes. Prozis lean forward.

The Establishment Republicans are doing their best to make me not care who wins "elections" and to expend my energies preparing to deal with their aftermaths.  Funny, I just saw one of the prags using Dale Carnegie here in an attempt to delegitmize the concept of  "SNBI," so "principles freaks" had better remain used to being demonized by one side and marginalized and scorned by the majority of the other.

Interesting Workaround

Kind of like BIDS without the computers... [More]

Me, I still prefer SNBI without the computers, but not too many listen to me. After all, anyone who can't be trusted with a gun can't be trusted without a custodian, and should no more be free to roam among us than a wild animal would be.

Where stuff like this is especially useful is in proving the antis aren't really interested in "background checks"-- what they really want is a way to ID gun owners and register what they bought.

Random Political Thoughts

I'm not going to link to specific individuals here. That said, there are certain conclusions being promulgated that could use a counterbalance. Just because assertions are made doesn't mean they're true.

We're told what a great victory NRA holding up the DC vote bill based on the gun amendment is--what clout it shows they still have. First, it ain't a done deal. Second the DC representation bill is unconstitutional. It's defenders, though, are OK with that because that's how politics must be played.

I've never been big on you must destroy something to save it. And if we somehow do "win," the trade-off will be another socialist gain at the nationwide level (the Utah concession will not be a complete counterbalance, because they embrace plenty of leftist nonsense, too) while something already in the judicial pipeline will be implemented over a relatively small population--and most of them don't want it anyway.

We're also told that political capital is justified here, but not in the case of Eric Holder because he never had a chance. We'll never know, though, what would have happened had Senators been told they would not get a pass, and had a membership of millions been mobilized. Perhaps if the statement were revised to say the Holder confirmation never had a chance because of lack of leadership and excuse-making for it...

We're also told that Kirsten Gillibrand's turning is the fault of her critics--that instead, we should have sent her money or something. Good grief.

And finally, I would like to address NRA Board of Director nominations. We're told direct questions designed to evoke unequivocal answers about where they stand on RKBA/SNBI will not be asked because they are not politically effective.

I'll say this much--of the nominees I am seeing endorsed, one publicly dismissed hard liners to the LA Times as "those people" (as in "I would not consider those people mainstream America"), and the gun he was lobbying to defend ended up banned. Perhaps publicly referring to it as "toy" and talking about "our fine hobby" was perceived as more politically effective than speaking of unalienable rights? You sure can't tell by the results.

Another of the nominees has publicly stated he would arrest an otherwise peaceable person who he discovered was carrying concealed without a permit. One can only wonder if he would do this on an individual level what his professional response to a general confiscation order would be.

You'll get no NRA Director endorsement from me until my questions are answered--properly. Electing people who are not afraid to publicly and specifically declare their principles along these lines is the only thing that will bring real change to the board. Which means the apologists have "won" and the status quo will continue.

And we'll continue to enjoy the same political effectiveness that brought us Barack Obama and a democrat sweep of both houses.

You go ahead and listen to those fellows who disagree with me if you want--you'll hardly be alone. I don't expect more than a small percentage of gun owners to agree with me on any given day anyway. As an aside, of those who do, some of you are my best teachers. Thank you.