Republican Candidates Try To Win The NRA

Update: Rudy lost worse than I thought. He got the Second Amendment Wrong.

The obvious loser on this one going in was Rudy, but he did the best he could backpedaling. Heh, he even took a lovey dovey phone call from the wife in the middle of the speech for laughs. And…surprise! He wasn’t very convincing and got very few, if any, of the NRA behind him.

Glossing over the less appealing line items on his gun control resume, ex-NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani presented himself as sympathetic to the aims of the National Rifle Association and pledged, as president, to protect gun rights.

“Your right to bear arms is based on a reasonable degree of safety,” he said.

He indicated that he would oppose new efforts to tighten national gun laws.

“I believe that law endforcement should focus on enforcing the laws that exist on the books as opposed to passing new extensions of laws,” he said. “A person’s home is their castle. They have the right to protect themselves in their own home.”

Giulaini explained the lawsuit he initiated in 2000 against gun manufacturers by saying that he was “excessive in everyway that I could think of in order to reduce crime” but said that “intervening events” like September 11th had caused his views to evolve. “I think that lawsuit has gone in the direction that I don’t agree with.”

McCain did much better, but may have salted the wounds of his pal Rudy by making a few digs.

This is a sophisticated crowd. You know politics, and you know politicians. You are pretty used to hearing aspirants for public office come before you and pledge fealty to the cause of the Second Amendment. You know you need to dig into a politician’s record to find out where they really stand. You know some will change their position or have little record for you to judge. That is not the case with me.
When I first ran for Congress in 1982, I was proud to have the support of gun owners and the National Rifle Association. For more than two decades, I’ve opposed the efforts of the anti-gun crowd to ban guns, ban ammunition, ban magazines, and paint gun owners as some kind of fringe group, dangerous in “modern” America. Some even call you “extremists.”

Mike Huckabee, a solid second amendment advocate, did a great job!

Mike Huckabee warned Friday against federal judges who seek to use international law to shape gun-control rulings.

Huckabee told a friendly crowd at a National Rifle Association meeting that the nation should not tolerate judges who try to strip away the Second Amendment right to bear arms by using international law as precedent.

He also was sharply critical of the United Nations, an organization that the NRA says supports a global gun ban.

Mike makes a good point, because groups like the ACLU that have a very different view of the Second Amendment, are trying more and more to impose international law upon us.

Romney didn’t do too bad either, but his speech was sent in via audio recording instead of personal appearance…not to mention that his view changed as well.

Mitt Romney, who has taken some hits on his record on gun control and gun owner rights, did not show up in person today for a National Rifle Association forum attended by other Republican presidential contenders.

But via a video, Romney did pledge to protect the rights of gun owners and to appoint judges who would oppose “back door” attempts to ban guns through lawsuits against gun manufacturers. He also said he would ask Congress to repeal a campaign finance law that he says unfairly limits the rights of the NRA and other groups to participate in politics.

“Let me speak very directly and candidly about where I stand: I support the Second Amendment as one of the most basic and fundamental rights of every American,” he said in the video. “It’s essential to our functioning as a free society, as are all the liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights.”

“I’ve been proud to have the support of pro-Second Amendment and sportsmen’s groups in my previous runs for public office. I’d be proud to have your support again as I campaign for President.”

Overall, I think the trophy for the day will have to go to Fred Thompson and his joke below about his wife making a better first lady than Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton, by the way, agrees.

Jim Geraghty called Fred’s speech flawless:

Going in, Rudy Giuliani was going to have a tall order to get a warm welcome from the NRA. Fred Thompson just made that harder by going up on the stage and giving a just about flawless performance.

….

“Some believe that the Second Amendment has different meanings in different places, and that the gun rights of citizens in, say, New York City and Chicago can restricted more than the gun rights of those in Tennessee and Montana. Do you agree?”

Thompson responds with a deep, rumbling, slow, “Noooope.” Then he follows with absolute catnip for gun owners: “It’s never seemed to me to be coincidental that the places that have the highest crime rates tend to be the places that have the most restrictions on gun ownership in America.”

Asked about gun shows, he calls the “part of Americana… There’s always been an effort on the other side to go after something high profile or particularly vulnerable, an easy target, but I’ve always resisted that.”

Will he appoint an Attorney General who shares his opinion of the Second Amendment. “Yes.” More applause. “I think we’re winning on the interpretation of the Second Amendment. I have a complicated position on this: The Constitution means what it says.” He gets another standing ovation.

Oh, and I gotta give props to the one Democrat that chimed in. This was an open forum and any of the Democrats could have came out to speak their views on the second amendment. Thought it was by video, only one Democrat spoke his views, Bill Richardson.

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico was the only Democrat invited to address the group. Richardson, who has a high rating from the NRA, appeared by videotape, but did not endorse any specific gun policy. Instead, he urged NRA members to stay involved in the primary elections for both parties, and added, “Your voice needs to be heard. When I’m president, it will be.”

Alphecca, much more of an expert on the Second Amendment than I, also did a spectacluar roundup and analysis.

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