Why Heller is a stumbling block for BHO

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possum

New member
While Heller is a great victory for us, it is also a bigger stumbling-block for Obama than you might realize.

Here's why.

Minutes ago, Wayne LaPierre announced on national TV that today, the NRA is filing lawsuits against gun bans in Chicago, all suburbs of Chigao (Morton Grove, anyone?), New York City, etc. etc.

BHO made his career in Chicago. He wholeheartedly supported those bans in Chicago and the suburbs of Chicago.

And now he's trying to say he supports the Second Amendment?

He cannot dodge this one.

If he says he supports today's ruling, and throws out all the support he used to have for the Chicago ban, he pisses off his anti-gun supporters in Chicago.

If he says he supports Chicago's ban still, he pisses off the rest of the country.

He cannot have it both ways on this issue, strictly because of geography.

He's got a history and decisions and public statements in Chicago on this one.

possum
 
BHO made his career in Chicago. He wholeheartedly supported those bans in Chicago and the suburbs of Chicago......If he says he supports today's ruling, and throws out all the support he used to have for the Chicago ban, he pisses off his anti-gun supporters in Chicago.
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Probably not that much of a problem for him........who else are they gonna vote for?
 
sasquatch, they can always get disillusioned and simply not vote.

That's one of the principle strategies of the anti-gun left, after all.....disillusion gun owners to the point that they get fed up and simply don't vote.

Every single example of Obamessiah changing his position, especially for political expediency, takes more and more of the shine off him.

The less he shines, the less likely folks are to vote for him.

It'd be easy for middle-of-the-road Democrats to vote for McCain.

It'd be even easier for disillusioned leftists to just not vote on election day.

possum
 
In my opinion, all of his other stances, e.g. punishing "big oil", socialized health care, taxing the rich, will bring out Democrat voters in droves. His waffling on the issue of gun-control won't hurt him one bit.
 
People are Much Much Dumber than you think.

Most folks only need to hear:

I am not George W. Bush.
I will bring jobs back to america.
I will bring the troops home form Iraq.

John McCain is running for George Bush's third term.

If he sticks to these four sound bytes he will win the election.:barf:
 
In my opinion, all of his other stances, e.g. punishing "big oil", socialized health care, taxing the rich, will bring out Democrat voters in droves. His waffling on the issue of gun-control won't hurt him one bit.
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This. The fall of gun bans may lose him some votes...in states he'd already win anyway. An affirmation of gun ownership as an individual right may well gain him votes (from people that otherwise agreed with him but were pro-gun)...in states that he otherwise would not have won.

Net gain, net loss, I'll not try and guess. But not as simple as you'd think.
 
I agree Obama's comments will not lose or gain him a lot of votes either way. Most gun owners already do not trust Obama on gun rights issues and understand he speaks out of both sides of his mouth. There are some naive gun owners that might buy into his supporting the 2nd amendment. On the other hand, a few ardent gun banners will not be happy with his words.

For me it's just another brick in the wall that shows how devious Obama can be in trying to woo votes.
 
I won't vote for Obama or McCain, but if I were Obama I simply would stay as neutral or vague as possible on the 2nd amendment from now on.
"I respect the Supreme Court decision. Blah Blah Blah. Time will tell if my past stances on guns were right. Blah Blah Blah. Lets talk about jobs and the economy for a minute."
 
He's now pushing "sensible gun laws" while endorsing the rights of hunters and shooters. While it is now an individual right, all Justices endorsed some kind of restrictions and laws around ownership.
 
Heller decision is just to new to

be more than a commentary box for either candidate. The actual interpretation and applications of the Heller decision will be long after the election is over. Both candidates can use the decsion as a dance theme but neither will have to use it as a platform in the campaign.

The court has indicated the 2nd amendment is an individual right. It also indicates there are reasonable level of controlling the ownership of firearms. Either candidate can easily spin the decision so as to make their position look good to their voters. Neither can make the decision look so good or bad for the country that it will change voters from one candidate to another.

If anything the Heller decision will be more of an issue for 2012 as we find the application of the decision and the resulting changes or additions to state laws.
 
The stumbling has already begun.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/06/obama-camp-disa.html

Uh, how is Barry going to straddle this issue when the lawsuits (some already filed!) against his home town of Chicago hit home?

Anybody seen what His Highness Mayor Daley has said today?

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/supreme.court.handguns.2.757471.html

How is BHO gonna straddle this one and keep both sides happy?

If he tries to mollify gun rights folks, he pisses off anti-gunners. If he tries to mollify anti-gunners, he pisses off gun rights folks.

If he tries to mealy-mouth it down the middle, he looks like a fake, phony schmoozer.

That's my point.

The "Gun Issue" is such a hot button issue on both sides, that Obama will be caught between the two sides, and if things work out, he will wind up not pleasing either side, and hopefully making folks on both sides mad at him.
 
Obama Helper?

The Heller decision might help Obama. There might have been some voters afraid to vote for him except for his second amendment stand. Now the Supreme Court has removed that obstacle. He can also placate his liberal base by saying the issue is now out of his hands.

This decision has rendered one arguement in favor of McCain moot.

I think it won't hurt Obama as much as some think. I think it might actually help him.
 
Obama's supporters aren't listening to anything he says and they just don't care. There is nothing he could say or do to turn them away. People who oppose Obama won't be any more against him. People who are undecided are too numb to catch on to this. It'll take a much bigger and simpler crayon diagram to persuade them.
 
I don't think Barack Obama has anything to worry about at all. He won't turn off any of his base if he supports the Heller decision. His supporters are so turned off by Bush and the Republicans that they don't really even care what Obama says, as long as they see him as a "change" candidate they will vote for him.

The best strategy for Barack is to publicly support the Heller decision. It won't cost him any liberal votes, and he will pick up a few more of the voters leaning towards McCain but undecided. Some of these people will decide its ok to vote Obama now that the Supreme Court has affirmed the 2nd Amendment as an individual right.
 
reality check

the Heller decision was going to happen during this election cycle. Do any of you believe that Obama just winged it today or McCain just arrived at his statement a moment before the mike was put before him.

I have no doubt the Obama or McCain responses were prepared well in advance of the court giving its decision. Both sides had multiple plan in place for how to respond after the decsion was announced. The same would be true of the Brady Bunch and the NRA. No-one was going to allow this decision to catch them off guard by shooting from the hip without a preconceived set of statements ready to fire off after the announcement.
 
Actually the Obamessiah is starting to get some press scrutiny of his position. The lying weasel shows himself whenever the questioning gets away from softball. The scumbag is a gun-grabber and it will become so bad even the Obamapologists here will have trouble keeping their defenses from being a laughingstock. No ObamaNation!

The Democrat's campaign said a spokesman made an "inartful" statement when he said in November that Obama believed the D.C. law was constitutional. But Obama himself did not correct a debate moderator who repeated the position in February.

"You said in Idaho recently, I'm quoting here, 'I have no intention of taking away folks' guns.' But you support the D.C. handgun ban and you've said that it's constitutional," said the moderator, Leon Harris of Washington television station WJLA. Obama nodded as Harris spoke and said: "Right, right."

"How can you reconcile those two different positions?" Harris asked.

Obama answered that the United States has conflicting traditions of gun ownership and street violence that results from illegal handgun use. "So, there is nothing wrong, I think, with a community saying we are going to take those illegal handguns off the streets," Obama said.

The Obama campaign argued that Obama was simply acknowledging the question by saying "right."
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