McCain's NRA Moment

John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are close friends, but their bond may have to be reevaluated after the Arizona senator's repeated digs at the former New York City mayor at the National Rifle Association convention this morning.

This is a sophisticated crowd. You know politics, and you know politicians. You are pretty used to hearing aspirants for public office come before you and pledge fealty to the cause of the Second Amendment. You know you need to dig into a politician's record to find out where they really stand. You know some will change their position or have little record for you to judge. That is not the case with me.

When I first ran for Congress in 1982, I was proud to have the support of gun owners and the National Rifle Association. For more than two decades, I've opposed the efforts of the anti-gun crowd to ban guns, ban ammunition, ban magazines, and paint gun owners as some kind of fringe group, dangerous in "modern" America. Some even call you "extremists."

I also opposed efforts to cripple our firearms manufacturers by making them liable for the acts of violent criminals. This was a particularly devious effort to use lawsuits to bankrupt our great gun manufacturers. A number of big-city mayors decided it was more important to blame the manufacturers of a legal product than it was to control crime in their own cities. Fortunately, we are able to protect manufacturers from these frivolous lawsuits.

Actually, those don't seem all that inflammatory.

Incidentally, McCain's best moment this morning had nothing to do with guns, per the Chicago Tribune.

As the protesters left the room, McCain leaned into the microphone for the most emphatic thing he said all morning.

"Well, my friends, we beat you yesterday," he said. "We'll beat you today . . . And we'll beat you tomorrow!"

The crowd rose in an enthusiastic standing ovation, setting aside for the moment any past differences they may be holding against McCain. Some of them dislike his support for campaign finance reform and to standardize the sale of weapons at gun shows, but they largely agree with him on Iraq.

Comments

"Well, my friends, we beat you yesterday," he said. "We'll beat you today . . . And we'll beat you tomorrow!"

And unfortunately for our enemies and fortunately for us, you will never be President of the United States, you pig.

Posted by goethean | September 21, 2007 11:45 AM

Giuliani had NYC sue the gun industry. Here is the video from the press conference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs5DxwzEXHQ

Giuliani defends the lawsuit against the gun industry on his radio program. Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhe38wJ86Do

Posted by jmegill | September 21, 2007 12:42 PM

too bad mccain, someone who can't win the nomiation or the general, insists on staying in and simply bagging on his fellow republicans.

I feel like he thinks the media is going to resurrect him again as their hero, but I don't think he realizes that most don' t like his position despite the fact they admire is stick to itness.

Posted by tim | September 21, 2007 1:15 PM

Sorry, John, there _ARE_ those who own firearms who remember vividly how you sold out on the 1st and 2nd Amendments over the past decade . . . .

So as a NRA Life member, IMHO you ain't no friend of mine . . . your RINO record is simply somewhat less undesirable than those of the further left vermin running as jackasses, which is not near enough to earn my vote.

Posted by TC | September 21, 2007 6:03 PM

When you hear a candidate making such intense statements to a very well defined audience and you haven't heard him making a similar intense statement in regards to issues like social security, education or health care you understand that you are facing a demagogue.

Posted by Jose Fernandez | September 22, 2007 9:23 AM

Jose, McCain was talking to an NRA audience. While the issues you brought up are important, in order to stay on the subject at hand. he talked about GUNs and the right to have them.

Posted by Vince | September 22, 2007 11:03 AM

As a lifetime Republican and previous worker on the McCain 2000 Presidential Campaign as well as an Arizona Citizen, I can say quite easily that McCain has disappointed me greatly on previous gun rights issues. To hear him make claim to his love of the second amendment now seems disingenuous. Hmmm...He must be having a Senior moment regarding his previous middle left stance on gun control.

Posted by WarriorPoet | September 22, 2007 10:38 PM

As a lifetime Republican and previous worker on the McCain 2000 Presidential Campaign as well as an Arizona Citizen, I can say quite easily that McCain has disappointed me greatly on previous gun rights issues. To hear him make claim to his love of the second amendment now seems disingenuous. Hmmm...He must be having a Senior moment regarding his previous middle left stance on gun control.

Posted by WarriorPoet | September 22, 2007 10:38 PM

The NRA DO NOT represent responsible gun ownsership, they are a maniac fringe that has power only because they are useful to the Republicans. What does a country look like when every citizen has an assault rifle? Iraq.

Posted by Jose | September 22, 2007 11:16 PM

So Jose, what planet do you live on?

Oh, you're right, folks like Charlton Heston and former Congressman J.C. Watts (and myself) are the real "lunatic fringe".

Do they PAY you idiots to post comments like this?

Get a frigging clue!

Posted by Robert | September 22, 2007 11:32 PM

The Elephant in the room that caused John McCain's presidential hopes to disappear: Amnesty for illegal aliens. The egregious and horrible Senate bill that the liberal Democrats desired and John McCain and his RINO pals got behind would have destroyed legal immigration once and for all, swamped the INS with 20 million amnesty Z visas and incited further massive illegal immigration.

On that issue alone, John McCain is not fit to be President or Vice President. But there are plenty more like it where he was wrong, wrong, wrong: CFR, medicare prescription drug bill, etc.

Posted by Patrick | September 23, 2007 12:27 AM

"What does a country look like when every citizen has an assault rifle?"

.... Switzerland.

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Posted by buy online purchase viagra | November 12, 2007 8:03 PM

If every citizen in the U.S. took a personal responsibility for the defense of this nation and owned a firearm and was willing to use it in this nations defense terrorism against this nation would become a thing of the past. Quit relying on the Federal Government for everything and take responsibility. That is the notion this nation was formed with and is being destroyed by the liberal left who want to turn is until a socialistic nation and destroy our personal liberities. God help us.

Posted by Jim | January 9, 2008 9:28 AM

Very well said Jim, everyone should start taking responsibility for themselves, instead of depending on the Goverment to wipe their nose, every time they sneeze! Raise your children, earn your own living, pay your own bills, find uour own health care. My idea of seperation of church and state is that the church helps the poor, not the goverment.

Posted by Joe | January 20, 2008 6:09 PM

McCain is just George W. with a real war record. It'll be the same thing we've had for six years of war: more war, less clarity. We cannot win this thing because there isn't a side to win against. We are being set up as the enemy by the Shia and the Sunnis.

Let them duke it out. John McCain is a good, honorable man, who has let his idealogy blind him. A vote for him is a vote for another 4000 of our kids dying.

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