{"id":10447,"date":"2014-07-07T09:05:59","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T13:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gunpoliticsny.com\/?p=10447"},"modified":"2014-07-07T16:51:03","modified_gmt":"2014-07-07T20:51:03","slug":"bloomberg-grading-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gunpoliticsny.com\/?p=10447","title":{"rendered":"Bloomberg grading candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayor Bloomberg is surveying candidates<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“… The gun-control group founded by former New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg<\/a> (I) will begin surveying all federal candidates in the 2014 midterm elections on gun issues Monday as it tries to become a political counterweight to the National Rifle Association<\/a> …”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bring it on.<\/p>\n

“… Bloomberg\u2019s group, Everytown for Gun Safety<\/a>, is asking all Senate<\/a> and House<\/a> incumbents and candidates to complete a 10-part questionnaire<\/a> stating publicly where they stand on issues such as expanding background checks for gun buyers, limiting the capacity of ammunition magazines and toughening gun-trafficking statutes …”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They really just need one question:\u00a0 Will you suck Bloomberg’s dick for money?<\/p>\n

“… The survey intends to make candidates state their positions on the record for the first time.\u00a0 Everytown plans to use their answers \u2014 as well as an analysis of any past legislative votes and public statements \u2014 to rally voters for or against them in key Senate and House races this fall, similar to how the NRA uses its ratings system to motivate pro-gun-rights voters …”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s where they fail:\u00a0 The NRA has an actual constituency, Bloomberg has nothing but astroturf.\u00a0 We have been through this many times before<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“… \u201cWe\u2019re going to be very, very data-driven, metrics-driven, making sure that we identify the people who care about this issue,\u201d said Mitch Stewart, formerly the Obama campaign\u2019s battleground-states director<\/a> and now a political consultant advising Everytown …”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s going to be a very small number.<\/p>\n

“… \u201cThe NRA, they have this aura of being invincible,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to show these candidates and these members of Congress that there is a sizable group of people in their districts and states who care about these issues and they\u2019re going to demand some answers.” …”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is a huge difference between “caring” about an issue and going out and voting based upon that. There is a reason groups like Brady<\/a>, NYAGV<\/a>, etc. largely gave up on trying to influence elections.<\/p>\n