Obama and Clinton Face Off Over Guns
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Barack, Democrats, Guns and Ammo, Hillary“She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment. She’s talking like she’s Annie Oakley.”
That’s Barack Obama discussing Hillary Clinton’s gun rights support in the wake of the Illinois senator’s recent comments on bitterness and voters who cling to such things as guns. Obviously, Obama finds Clinton’s gun support and tales of hunting to be disingenuous.
Clinton’s sudden love affair with hunting deserves some mocking. But it’s telling that Obama is more interested in pointing out his opponents’ insincerities than he is in defending gun rights himself. That’s fine. I appreciate that he’s no lover of guns and that he’s not going to pander on the issue. But at the same time as he’s mocking Clinton, he still wants us to believe he was just talking about “traditions” when he said bitterness over poor economic times makes people cling to guns (among other things).
I really don’t think he can have it both ways. He can’t claim Clinton is being disingenuous on the issue of guns while he wants us to believe he finds guns as part of some worthwhile tradition. Even if Clinton is pandering on the issue, pro-gun Democrats will have a hard time believing that Obama understands them or will look after their interests.
This entry was posted on Monday, April 14th, 2008 and is filed under Barack, Democrats, Guns and Ammo, Hillary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Have you seen this video from 2004 where he talks about the tradition of gun ownership and the value of traditions (like hunting) during hard economic times?
April 14th, 2008 at 8:18 am
So who does he think he is with his poor attempt at comedy-Sheriff Bart from Blazing Saddles?
His arrogance has come through loud and clear
he is as conceited as his wife Mo
Clinton seemed far more comfortable in her faith than the stuttering Bo did
April 14th, 2008 at 8:24 am
The central message here keeps getting lost in the debate over elitism: Politicians of both parties, but especially the Rove-era Republicans, are experts at using single-issue controversies to distract and deflect from the REAL issues. Are we in a huge amount of debt that threatens to destabilize our entire economy? Can’t let gays get married! Are we in an open-ended military action that we appear to have no idea how to resolve and no intention of ending? Watch out for people who want to take your guns! I agree a thousand percent that the people with the most to lose, who SHOULD feel bitter about seeing their chances for safe, healthy, prosperous lives undercut again and again, wind up turning to single-issue subjects because no one is willing to say out loud (except Obama, who has spent more time in the inner city than either HRC or JM combined) that they’re getting the short end of a really crappy stick.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Interesting video. I think it’s unfortunate we have to pull up interviews from 4 years ago in order to guess at what he really believes. What I found odd about what he said to Charlie Rose is that he was simultaneously respecting the tradition of hunting while STILL linking the love of guns to economic hardships. I’m not going to try to diconstruct what he said but it would be easy to see his comments as more-or-less laying out a political strategy rather than earnestly supporting gun rights.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:58 am
CCS — I agree that the use of wedge issues has been disastrous. If Obama just said “let’s stop being single-issue voters” then I’d be in support. But he made those single issues seem to be matters that are not particularly important, just things people cling to because they’ve been given nothing better.
I’m seeing the matter is open to massive interpretation. It’s like the picture that’s either a woman’s face or a vase. You see it one way or the other and, once seeing it that way, you can’t see it the other without contorting your head and squinting.
April 14th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Alan
I hope you’re not suggesting Obama is against the second amendment.
“Even if Clinton is pandering on the issue, pro-gun Democrats will have a hard time believing that Obama understands them or will look after their interests.”
By that logic then abortion should now be illegal since GWB was so against it. The second amendment isn’t going to be overthrown by Obama, or anyone else for that matter. You’re falling into that fear and distraction politics that only serves those people at the top. Don’t paly that game, you’re better than that.
On another note, the age of the video indicates a consistency in policy you don’t find in the public figures currently running. By the way, Hillary and John Kerry are apparently Goose hunting buddies - so don’t make fun of her shooting and hunting (she’s off hunting Pander bears right now by the way).
April 14th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Terence, I don’t think I implied Obama is against the second amendment, just that he may be less of a gun rights advocate than Clinton. That’s not fear mongering, just making a point about where he stands on the issue of guns. I’m not worried about Congress or the president taking away guns, it won’t happen. I support gun rights but not radically and it’s more of a secondary issue for me. This wasn’t a “ooo, Obama’s gonna take away our guns” post. Just a note on a current squabble in the Democratic race.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Honestly I think this whole thing is absolutely ridiculous and I can’t for the life of me figure out why everyone rushes to the trough over this stuff. It’s not like Obama doesn’t have a voting record on Gun Control - he supports gun control. (http://www.sportsmenforobama.org/)
Really, that’s the end of the discussion right there. Whether he’s elitist or compassionate about it is beside the point, you either are willing to accept a president who supports gun control or you’re not.
What’s the fuss? Why waste our energy dissecting the cult of personality when we know his policy?
April 14th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Sorry Obama can attack Clinton for acting like a gun toting nut, and still be fine with people who are real gun owners
April 16th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Excuse those of us whose urban communities are plagued by weapons fire and dead children to be too busy grieving over their loss than to grieve over the gun rights of a minority of persons which might be lost through more efficient gun control.
That is a truth which is, yes, bitter.
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Obama is losing on the internet face faceoff!
ClintonObamaFaceOff.com