Dead On Arrival

On: By: admin

Following on the heals of Schneiderman’s gun bust, Charles Schumer will be reintroducing Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to ban the private transfer of firearms in the Senate via his butt monkey Kirsten Gillibrand.  The Capital reports:

“… Schumer made guns a defining issue of his tenure in the House, but, as he’s ascended the Senate leadership, and gun control has disappeared from the agenda of the national party, the senior senator has mostly ceded the issue to Gillibrand …”

Yeah and there’s a reason for him doing that:  Schumer knows the issue is bad for Democrats.  He does not want to give the public the impression the Democrat party is pushing for gun control.  If he were serious about this bill, he would intro the bill himself.  All the major bills in Albany are sponsored by legislative leaders, not the rank and file.

“… The last time Gillibrand introduced the bill, it garnered only two co-sponsors—Schumer and New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg—before stalling in committee. …”

Which it will likely do again and Schumer knows it.  This dog and pony show is nothing more than an attempt to delay passage of H.R. 822 in the Senate.

Romney says Holder should resign

On: By: admin

Mitt Romney has joined the chorus of Congressmen calling for Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation over the “Fast and Furious” scandal:

“… Romney tells reporters after a rally in New Hampshire that Eric Holder has misled Congress and has “brought shame” on the Justice Department through his handling of Operation Fast and Furious …”

Romney is absolutely correct in calling out Holder.  Yes, I’m sure the gun politics aspects of the case weighed in on his decision, but  it was still the right thing to do.

One down, more to come

On: By: admin

Herman Cain has dropped out of the presidential race.

No surprise here.  It takes a big organization and vast amounts of cash to run for the top office and he had neither.  I would have preferred he quit under better circumstances, but it is what it is.  He was the first, but he will not be the last to bow out.

Guns and the courts

On: By: admin

The next President will likely get to nominate a couple of candidates to the Supreme Court.  Obama’s nominations were stinkers which is why he needs to be defeated in next year’s elections.  While I do not believe he has an antigun litmus test for nominations, this Reuters story underscores the undesirable sort of judicial candidates he chooses:

“Senate majority leader Harry Reid has scheduled a cloture vote next week on the nomination of Caitlin Halligan to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, setting up a likely showdown on the controversial nominee … Halligan, who is currently general counsel for the New York District Attorney’s office, was nominated by Obama in September 2010 … Halligan has been supported by liberal-leaning groups such as the National Women’s Law Center, which is advocating for more women on the bench, and opposed by conservative-leaning groups such as the National Rifle Association, which cited her representation of New York State in litigation against gun manufacturers … The Republican National Lawyers Association has also come out against her nomination, claiming that she made inconsistent statements about her judicial philosophy.  In Senate testimony, the association says, Halligan wasn’t candid about her views on the Constitution as a “living document.” …”

Clown Council weighs in on H.R. 822

On: By: admin

Three members of the Clown Council: Gale Brewer, Deborah Rose and Margaret Chin have introduced a non-binding resolution RES 1122-2011 opposing H.R. 822.  It doesn’t do anything except express their opposition.  I don’t see anyone in the Senate taking it seriously.

It has been added to the updated NYC Legislative Report #8.

Schneiderman’s gun bust

On: By: admin

To much media fanfare, Eric Schneiderman announced a series of gun show stings called “Operation Background Bust” resulted in the arrests of 10 people. Here is video of his press conference:

This whole thing smells of a setup.

First off, when was the last time a State Attorney General put on a full court press for a bunch of misdemeanor appearance tickets? Second is the timing. H.R. 822 will be going to the Senate soon for a vote. This has to be an attempt to derail that bill.

Tom was on The Daily News with Ginny Simone discussing the issue:

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The Tea Party Gun Lobby

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From Carolyn McCarthy’s latest fundraiser e-mail blast:

“… The redistricting process is already underway in New York.  Once it is finished, the Tea Party Gun Lobby is going to try every trick in the book to elect some far-right politician who they’ll have in their back pocket …”

WTFO?

Antis 2 votes short?

On: By: admin

There has been much PSH in the New Jersey media over the possibility of H.R. 822 becoming law.  After reading this piece, “Gun laws in the Garden State, ” which quotes noted gun bigot Brian Miller of Ceasefire New Jersey, it is easy to see why they are so upset:

“… Miller sees a real possibility that the Democratic-controlled Senate will approve the bill, possibly as an attachment to a piece of essential legislation, such as authorization for Defense Department appropriations. “My understanding is that our side is two votes short of enough votes to keep that from happening,” he said. “But there are a number of undeclared senators, including (Pennsylvania’s) Bob Casey, who advertises himself as a moderate-to-liberal Democrat but is pro-gun …”

They don’t have the votes.  It is going to happen.

Labate campaign kickoff

On: By: admin

Stephen Labate is having a campaign kickoff fundraiser this Wednesday in Lindenhurst.  He is running against antigun incumbent Steve Isreal in CD-2.  I met him several months back and do believe he will make a serious effort to unseat Isreal.

Talking and doing

On: By: admin

There is a big difference between a politician talking about something and actually doing something about it.  Case in point, this article from NorthJersey.com, “Christie opposes handgun leniency“:

“Governor Christie opposes a push in Congress that would effectively override New Jersey’s strict laws against concealed handguns, even though the state’s entire Republican delegation in the House voted for it this month … Christie has not spoken publicly about the issue, but his spokesman confirmed in an e-mail that the Republican governor has not changed his position since the 2009 campaign, when he opposed a bill that narrowly failed in the Senate …”

You can tell Christie is really concerned about this.  The sum total of the political capital he’s willing to spend on this issue is to have some anonymous, low-level staffer respond to an e-mail inquiry by quoting a two-year old position statement he made previously.  True, this is more than Gov. Cuomo has done.  I’m not aware of any statement he’s made about H.R. 822.

Nevertheless, if either Christie or Cuomo were really bent out of shape over the bill then why haven’t they been lobbying Obama and Congress over it?  Why haven’t there been any formal press releases from their offices?