Comeback Weapon Of The Year... The AK47

[Equineer]

Mere days after the 3rd memorial anniversary of 9/11, a shipment of 7,000 AK47 assault rifles is scheduled to arrive in Georgia and go on sale. Ironically, captured terrorist How-To manuals explain that smuggling weapons is too dangerous, so terrorists are advised to buy assault weapons inside the U.S. Terrorist manuals describe how to buy weapons and convert them from semi-automatics to automatics.

Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of Americans favor banning military assault weapons while protecting the right of Americans to buy all sorts of other firearms associated with hunting and personal security.

The ban on military assault weapons is being allowed to expire because this is an election year. Like our presidential candidates, Congress becomes consumed by campaign considerations. The sophisticated political analysts have convinced both parties that negative campaigning has no downside, especially if the mud-slinging has practically no bearing on important issues. In fact, when it comes to real issues... the less said, the better. The problem with real issues is that you lose votes no matter where you stand... so candidates duck the real issues in favor of tabloid-like trashing campaigns.

Bush favors the assault weapons ban but is afraid to lobby for renewal of the ban. Kerry has failed to spark interest in real issues because his message is confusing... almost garbled. When candidates get cornered by questions, they respond with tricky answers designed to obscure, like... "I strongly oppose gay marriages, but I support the rights granted to the states by our Constitution!"

The result is that one year out of every four, meaningful debate and policymaking for both domestic and foreign issues get paralyzed. During these election years, we become vulnerable to both domestic and foreign special interests who can press their agendas under the radar, so to speak.

My sarcastic proposal is that we pay our politicians only during non-election years... let the special interests who finance their campaigns and buy their allegiances pick up the tab during election years!

[schweitz]

Originally posted by Equineer


The result is that one year out of every four, meaningful debate and policymaking for both domestic and foreign issues get paralyzed. During these election years, we become vulnerable to both domestic and foreign special interests who can press their agendas under the radar, so to speak.

My sarcastic proposal is that we pay our politicians only during non-election years... let the special interests who finance their campaigns and buy their allegiances pick up the tab during election years!

Term limits.

[Equineer]

Originally posted by schweitz
Term limits. How right you are! I would like to see single-term-limit Presidents serving for 6 or 8 years instead of 4.

[kenwoodallpromos]

Bush payback for Demos not approving anything but liberal kissass judges.
Ban everything you cannot hunt with.

[Equineer]

Originally posted by kenwoodallpromos
Bush payback for Demos not approving anything but liberal kissass judges.
Ban everything you cannot hunt with. Bush has apparently stopped returning your calls. :D

[delayjf]

I can understand the mind-set of not wanting military assault rifles for sale in this country, but the facts simply don't live up to the hype the anti-gun folks put out.

If this country was really of such a one sided opinion about the assualt weapons ban, they why did it cost the Dems their majority is congress in 94, according to Bill Clinton. And if it's such a vote getter, then why are BOTH candidates not supporting the ban?

Seems to me, with the terrorist threat of today, we the Citizens might need a little fire power. Let them have their AK's I'll take my AR-15 anyday.

[Equineer]

Delayjf,If this country was really of such a one sided opinion about the assualt weapons ban, they why did it cost the Dems their majority is congress in 94, according to Bill Clinton. And if it's such a vote getter, then why are BOTH candidates not supporting the ban?For the same reason that many issues get the same treatment. One one side of the issue are folks who are not single-issue voters, but the other side is represented by a well-organized block of single-issue voters. Gun control won't gain as many votes as it will lose even though a majority of voters favor the ban on assault weapons.

Kerry probably lost votes today even though he gained the endorsement of the National Association Of Law Enforcement Officers. The NRA is more cohesive than this police organization.

[Tom]

Gun control crap probably cost Gore the election in 2000.
People want guns. Enough to count.
Move on.

[andicap]

Tom's right.

If Gore had carried West Virginia he would have won and people there WERE worried about his gun control stance. And West Virginia is a reliably Democratic state that Kerry should carry this year. (unless he keeps letting Bob Shrum make all his campaign decisions.)

But I hardly think being in favor of banning AK-47's constitute being for "gun control."

Since Bush is supposedly doing such a great job on terrorism, as many voters believe why do we need the guns to defend ourselves.

And I see more than a few people on this board who I wouldn't trust with a box cutter, never mind an assault rifle!!

Abortion is another example of the single issue intensivity some voters bring to politics. Those against it sometimes vote solely on that issue, but pro-choice voters usually consider it just one of a string of issues they look it.

It's the emotional, button-pressing issues that bring this out.

Of course there are tons of other one-issue voters as well, those who make their decisions based purely on the economy or Iraq or taxes. There are one-issue environment voters (not a lot tho.), etc.

[Tom]

andi,
I don't favor guns to protect us from terrorists. I favor them to protect us from the governement. They are a far greater threat than Al Qeada. The only governement you can trust is one you can shoot back at.
Putin is already positioning himself to take away freedoms in Russia and put the power in his own hands.
This guy is a very dangerous person and we need to keep our eye on Russia. they are not to be trusted by any stretch of the imagination. Putin is just low on power right now. Some here would love to get all cozy with Russia and France and Germany. I trust not a one of them. History doesn't paint any of them as friends to anyone but themselves.
I suspect not one of the weapons used in the horrifying school masacre were obtained legally. adn Outin's solution is to take away the right of the people to elect their goveneors and representatives! Yikes! Did we learn noting from history???

[JustRalph]

If Gore would have carried his home State.....Tn. he would have won. what does that tell you about Gore? the people who know him best wouldn't vote for him................

[Equineer]

Tom,
I don't favor guns to protect us from terrorists. I favor them to protect us from the governement.I understand... and I could actually consider supporting the sale of assault weapons if the government didn't have stealth bombers, missiles, tanks, nukes, and other nasty stuff. :)

What surprises me is that a Texas deer season can pass without someone bagging Kenneth Lay.

[andicap]

Originally posted by JustRalph
If Gore would have carried his home State.....Tn. he would have won. what does that tell you about Gore? the people who know him best wouldn't vote for him................

Nothing to do with state. Tennessee has become, like many other southern states,increasingly conservative and Republican. Chances are if Gore was still in Senate he would have likely been defeated.

Gore was known as a moderate when he ran in 1988 for president --he had to be to survive in Tennessee. When he went national with Clinton, he turned to the left a bit since he didn't have to worry about getting votes back home. Well, he THOUGHT he didn't have to worry.

Gore's people ran the worst campaign ever. They played it safe when Gore's populist attacks had Bush on the ropes and his dull debate performance --his handlers had him overconfident and he was told not to make Bush look TOO bad -- killed him.