(8-18-2006) In the 2002 gubernatorial election, Bob Ehrlich earned gun owners’ support with his promise to review all gun laws and work to repeal those that had failed. He said he wouldn’t hurt us, and we’d have a seat at the table. We believed him because of his record in the House of Delegates and Congress. Unfortunately, none of that came true.
Now a GOP that can’t court gun votes using the Governor’s record is fighting for endorsements by threats and bullying. Top administration officials have put the word out to GOP candidates in both House and Senate races that they intend to secure the endorsement and active support of gun groups, from the National Rifle Association on down. According to GOP candidates who feared the NRA might endorse against them, Ehrlich’s team assured them they would spare no effort to “embarrass and discredit” any NRA endorsements of Democrats.
At issue are races between pro-gun incumbent Democrats and a GOP plan to win seats in each house (a plan that, even if it succeeds, cannot affect issues since replacing one conservative with another makes no change in votes on key legislation.) The NRA is strongly in the corner of Dems such as Senators Kathy Klausmeier and Roy Dyson, officials who have been there for our community and who are deserving of our support. Nevertheless GOP party officials have launched several heated attacks on NRA decision makers to endorse a GOP challenger in those races, and involved RNC officials in their effort to muscle gun votes. So far NRA shows every sign of sticking to its guns.
How can Ehrlich’s team “embarrass and discredit” gun groups over endorsing pro-gun Democrats? So far they have only embarrassed themselves. One of the memos circulated by Ehrlich’s people to campaigns cites ways that Dems crossed the Governor. Included in the list is ballistic fingerprinting repeal, which pro-gun Democrats co-sponsored. Yes, the GOP cites Klausmeier’s sponsorship of this NRA (and Tripwire) backed bill as an example of why NRA should endorse against her. That’s either a major gaffe or a confession that the Governor really didn’t want repeal. (Remember, even after the legislature removed its funding, Ehrlich’s people fully funded the program anyway.)
As always, we recommend that you look past rhetoric and objectively examine each race is it comes up. If you were to work against Kathy Klausmeier or Roy Dyson just because they’re Democrats, then you’d be working to remove decades’ worth of 100% pro-gun track records, not to mention flush the community’s credibility in Annapolis. (Officials who’ve done everything we need should never have to look over their shoulder and wonder if we’ll stab them in the back.) If in Montgomery County you were to back Chris Pilkerton for Delegate just because he’s the Republican in a race, then you’d endorse a candidate who’s on record as supporting stronger gun control than even the Dem incumbents he seeks to replace. He supports mandatory gun owner licensing and registration of all guns.
Look at the record too. If you were to back Don Dwyer’s re-election in District 31 (he claims to be pro-gun) you’d be backing the top reason our community lost its own ballistic imaging repeal in 2005. Many resources went into positioning this bill so it could succeed, and it came together well. To make it happen, our side needed the favor of key legislators who had originally voted for the law in the first place. They had no reason to take political lumps for its repeal, so it was clear we needed a low-key handling of all gun issues that year. Advocates briefed Dwyer, as a member of House Judiciary, who shocked all by expressing his indignation that anyone would deal with Dems. He demanded that resources be put into the GOP, and when a ransom was not paid, he created a circus atmosphere (using an unachievable carry bill) which scuttled the whole team effort. Clearly if he couldn’t pass a bill, nobody was going to pass a gun bill. Later he led an effort to get NRA to withdraw its lobbyist and leave the state! For these craven antics and more, pro-gun groups who look at the record, not rhetoric, have named Dwyer’s defeat a priority.
GOP bullying is not limited to attacking NRA. Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore, once influential in state politics, was tapped by GOP activists this year to channel donations to Republicans, as confirmed in state records. (This step appears to have been given in trade for MSP running a seminar at AGC, and switches AGC’s historical pattern of supporting pro-gunners independent of party.) Then in August, AGC trustees voted to recommend that no members support MPFO, since (like NRA) it opposed GOP candidates like Dwyer. (Our view: AGC is obviously free to give as they want, but we’d be surprised to discover that a majority of AGC range badge holders pay some of the highest fees in the state in order to support a Republican Club that works in opposition to NRA priorities.)
Bottom line: It’s that time when some people will say anything to get the most precious resource of all – your vote. Don’t give it for cheap to someone feeding you a line of bull. We’ll help you get the facts so you can decide for yourself. The best news: We have good people in both parties to help. See you at the polls on September 12th!