McCain and Guns

Needs some work, according to Chris Cox.

“John McCain still has some work to do to give them a comfort level,” Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA, said during an interview with The Hill. “Truth be told, he’s not there yet.”

Specifically, McCain played a leading role in crafting the campaign finance reform law that bears his name and that also enraged many lobbying groups. The NRA was one of the most outspoken.

Cox said that members have expressed “a lot of borderline resentment in some circles” over McCain. But because of the outright disdain for both of the Democratic candidates’ past positions on gun control, the NRA is actively seeking a way for McCain to directly address its members and smooth over past troubles.

That last section is the one I want to focus on with regards to McCain, and its something that I touched on the podcast interview I did yesterday as well; despite my issues with McCain on gun shows and other stuff, he is a lot better than any of the alternatives that are currently out there.

McCain was on the amicus brief that the 55 Senators signed in support of Dick Heller in DC vs Heller, and has taken some steps to reach out to gun owners, but there is work to be done. However, it is my hope that he does make a concerted effort to reach out to gun owners to address those issues. He is better than Hillary or Obama, but I agree with Chris Cox in that he needs to make an effort to reach out to gun owners and establish is bona fides as it were.

2 Comments

  1. Sigh.

    This is the one point that separates me from much of the rest of my blogging posse. I agree that McCain is better than Hilbama on most issues, in much the same way that I believe that being locked in a freezer is better than being locked in an oven.

    This does not mean that I am going to hug the camp commandant’s ankles and yell “Freeze me!” I’m going to struggle no matter into which appliance they try and toss me.

    Call me Dame Quixote; it won’t hurt my feelings.

  2. I agree that McCain is better than having our fingernails pulled out and then shot at dawn.

    But I don’t really care what he says during the campaign to “smooth over past troubles.” He’s a politician. He’ll say what he needs to say to get elected and, as soon as safety ensconced in office, he’ll forget all about it and revert to form.

    That’s what they do.

    To be honest, I’m not sure whether I’m going to vote for him or not. It might do the R’s some good to be sent a message…namely that it is NOT safe to ignore the base because “we’ll vote for our candidate anyway, we don’t need to worry about pleasing them.”

    I already know where he stands on my issues and no number of platitudes at this stage of the game are going to placate me. Believe what he says now or what he’s done in the past? Not even a question worthy of consideration. McCain is no friend to gun owners, people who want to protect the borders or people who believe in the bill of rights.

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