Once again, with gusto
I was away from this blog for a while. I was busy with the run-up to the November election, then with the aftermath. I think it is safe to say gun owners bettered their congressional representation, in many cases.
Here is a story I didn't get to when I was busy with other things. Earlier this month, Obama nominated a new head of the BATFE, one Andrew Traver, formerly head of the Chicago office. Pro-gun sources promptly decried this as appointing a notorious anti-gunner to oversee the gun trade. For example, there is this from the NRA/ILA:
Well, all right, but what do you expect? Obama is being Obama. He doesn't actually care what you think. It gives an appearance, at least, of a conflict of interest, to appoint an anti-gun pol to oversee the manufacture and sales of guns, or else an appearance of hostility toward the whole enterprise. It is symbolically a false note; in practical terms we will have to see just what it means.
There is very little compromise in this president, very little willingness to consider that the people and now the courts are, increasingly, rejecting strident anti-gun views. The states are continuing to examine gun laws and, in many cases, bring them more into line with common sense. But Obama, true to his ideology, continues an adherent of the leftist-progressive gun banning, gun blaming mantra.
I am reminded of a dictum of Napoleon: Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. Obama is on the wrong side of history on this one. He does not know it, of course, or he would approach this appointment differently; I wonder if the possibility he is wrong ever crossed his mind. He rules in the splendid isolation of an ideologue, as the rest of us watch, and wonder.
Here is a story I didn't get to when I was busy with other things. Earlier this month, Obama nominated a new head of the BATFE, one Andrew Traver, formerly head of the Chicago office. Pro-gun sources promptly decried this as appointing a notorious anti-gunner to oversee the gun trade. For example, there is this from the NRA/ILA:
The National Rifle Association Strongly Opposes the Nomination of Andrew Traver to Head BATFE, Calls on President Obama to withdraw the nominationWednesday, November 17, 2010Statement from Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action
The National Rifle Association of America strongly opposes President Obama's nomination of Andrew Traver as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers. Further, an important nomination such as BATFE director should not be made as a "recess appointment," in order to circumvent consent by the American people through their duly-elected U.S. Senators.
Traver served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police's (IACP) "Gun Violence Reduction Project," a "partnership" with the Joyce Foundation. Both IACP and the Joyce Foundation are names synonymous with promoting a variety of gun control schemes at the federal and state levels. Most of the individuals involved in this project were prominent gun control activists and lobbyists. READ MORE...
Well, all right, but what do you expect? Obama is being Obama. He doesn't actually care what you think. It gives an appearance, at least, of a conflict of interest, to appoint an anti-gun pol to oversee the manufacture and sales of guns, or else an appearance of hostility toward the whole enterprise. It is symbolically a false note; in practical terms we will have to see just what it means.
There is very little compromise in this president, very little willingness to consider that the people and now the courts are, increasingly, rejecting strident anti-gun views. The states are continuing to examine gun laws and, in many cases, bring them more into line with common sense. But Obama, true to his ideology, continues an adherent of the leftist-progressive gun banning, gun blaming mantra.
I am reminded of a dictum of Napoleon: Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. Obama is on the wrong side of history on this one. He does not know it, of course, or he would approach this appointment differently; I wonder if the possibility he is wrong ever crossed his mind. He rules in the splendid isolation of an ideologue, as the rest of us watch, and wonder.
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