Much has been made of Barack Obama’s audacious embrace of Second
Amendment rights for rural Pennsylvanians. Since entering the
national scene, the Illinois senator has kept mum about his
undeniably anti-gun voting record. Now he’s actively courting
firearm-rights supporters.
According to the Politico Obama is
“highlighting his background in constitutional law,” “downplaying
his voting record,” and assembling a set of pro-gun Democrats’
endorsements. He’s even sent an e-mail to a sportsmen’s group
asking for their support.
There are several overlapping phenomena at work here, none of
which should encourage — or really surprise — supporters of the
Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
One, he’s not courting pro-gun voters per se but
pro-gun Democratic primary voters, a demographic that will
likely recede to insignificance before the general election. Two,
even if these voters aren’t convinced just yet, this outreach can
garner endorsements from figures the demographic does
trust. Three, Obama’s efforts are a change in tone, not direction,
from his life of anti-gun advocacy. This is politics as usual.
The briefest glance at the road ahead reveals why Obama and
Clinton have become gun-totin’, NAFTA-hatin’ small-town folks of
late. The two are (red)neck-and-neck in the delegate count. While
the superdelegates could turn down the voters’ pick, the two remain
locked in a fierce competition for every last ballot.
The states that haven’t voted yet? Pennsylvania, Indiana, North
Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Montana, and South
Dakota. Plus Guam and Puerto Rico, for what they’re worth.
It’s not hard to see why a battle rages for the working-class white vote, and how a little
gun love could pay off in the months ahead. Come
November, though, Obama will need to focus on independents and
disgruntled Republicans, which will require dropping the gun issue
or at least presenting it through a whole new prism of
deception.
After all, it’s easier to run to Hillary’s right than John
McCain’s — on guns, at least.
IN THE SHORT TERM, will pro-gun Democrats fall for the ruse? Quite
possibly. In a race with virtually no political differences between
the candidates, voters have to use whatever criteria they can drum
up.
Mild gestures toward a voter’s values can serve as a place to
hang one’s hat, as can endorsements from trusted figures. Obama
already has the support of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and
state representative Dan Surra — pro-gun Democrats both.
And mild gestures these are. A serious effort to court the
general pro-gun vote would require some outright flip-flops from
Obama — who, in the Politico’s summary, “long backed
gun-control measures, including a ban on semiautomatic weapons and
concealed weapons, and a limit on handgun purchases to one a month.
He has declined to take a stance on the legality of the handgun
prohibition in Washington, D.C., which the U.S. Supreme Court is
reviewing…”
Obama can refuse to “take a stance” on the DC ban all he wants,
but he had to choose sides regarding Illinois senate bill 2165,
which related to similar laws in his home state. The legislation
came about in response to the case of
Hale DeMar, who shot a home invader, only to find himself with
a $750 fine from the Village of Wilmette for owning a handgun.
The bill allowed self-defense as a legal defense against local
firearms charges. Obama voted against it. In 1996 he (or maybe “a
campaign aide”) also indicated on an interest-group survey that he
supports handgun bans. Obama has yet to change
his mind about any of this publicly, or even in e-mails to
sportsmen’s groups.
The bottom line is that if Obama manages to dupe anyone, he’ll
simply take votes from another anti-gun candidate in a primary
between two anti-gun candidates. Only as November approaches are
non-Democrat Second Amendment supporters likely to pay any
attention, because only the Republican candidate has made any
serious effort to earn their votes.
Unsolicited advice for Second Amendment supporting Democrats in
states that have yet to hold primaries: Don’t let him fool you.
Flip a coin.
