Political Ruminations

Morning Quote: Joe Scarborough

During a discussion of Obama’s executive actions on gun control, Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough warned his party to tread carefully where gun control is concerned:

“My Republican Party better tread very lightly. They’d better be very careful. They have wandered in and followed the NRA, whose (sic) made some horrible PR mistakes over the past month. Republicans better be careful and think twice before they make their next move.”

Watch:

Via Mediaite

Morning Quote: Robert Gibbs

During an appearance on Morning Joe, (former White House press secretary) Robert Gibbs made a case for activating ‘Obama for America’ to fight the gun control wars:

“The NRA is continually trumpeting they increased their membership by 'x' amount in this month. The president has the most exciting campaign apparatus ever built. It's time to turn that loose. It's time to turn that loose for something more than just an election. If the NRA's got a list, then Obama for America has a bigger list and it is time to get activated again.”

Quote of the Day

Wingnut rocker Ted Nugent compares himself/gun owners to the iconic Rosa Parks:

“But there will come a time when the gun owners of America, the law-abiding gun owners of America, will be the Rosa Parks and we will sit down on the front seat of the bus, case closed.”

Think Progress:

Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in December, the NRA and pro-gun advocates have tried to argue that gun owners are the true victims. Comparisons of President Obama to the totalitarian regimes of Hitler, Stalin, and Chavez are flying around the conservative blogosphere. Nugent, a reliable conspiracy theorist, is actually more moderate to advocate peaceful resistance and faith in law enforcement. In comparison, former NRA president Marion Hammer recently urged armed insurrection against the Obama administration, which she claimed was preparing to take away guns to “control the masses.”

Realistically, as Media Matters notes, any executive order would likely focus on background checks or existing regulations.

Morning Quote: the NRA

Evidently, the NRA is unhappy with Vice President Joe Biden’s task force, emphasis mine:

“The National Rifle Association of America is made up of over 4 million moms and dads, daughters and sons, who are involved in the national conversation about how to prevent a tragedy like Newtown from ever happening again. We attended today’s White House meeting to discuss how to keep our children safe and were prepared to have a meaningful conversation about school safety, mental health issues, the marketing of violence to our kids and the collapse of federal prosecutions of violent criminals.

We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment. While claiming that no policy proposals would be “prejudged,” this Task Force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners – honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans. It is unfortunate that this Administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems. We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen. Instead, we will now take our commitment and meaningful contributions to members of congress of both parties who are interested in having an honest conversation about what works – and what does not.”

Note the only slightly veiled threat to fight efforts at gun control with bribes to Congress. As if they haven’t been doing this all along.

Morning Quote: Joe Biden

Yesterday, Joe Biden made it clear that the president is likely to take executive action on gun control:

“The president is going to act. There are executive orders, there's executive action that can be taken.

We haven't decided what that is yet, but we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and all the rest of the Cabinet members.”

The Truth About Holder's Contempt Citation

You’ve probably either seen the news clips on television, or read something about Congress’ vote to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for supposedly withholding information in the investigation of  “Fast and Furious”.  And, if you have, there is a very good possibility that you’re confused considering how ridiculous and outrageous this whole mess is.

Not to worry, Rachel Maddow to the rescue, during 2 segments of her show. Watch this video/segment first in order to learn the basis of the latest wingnut conspiracy theory which got Holder in trouble with the congressional Frothing-at-the-Mouth-Republicans:

The second video talks about the congressional action on Holder yesterday, along with some discussion of the gun control issue. Watch:

Now, Holder’s contempt citation isn’t the end of it by any means, and in fact, the President asserted executive authority in this matter yesterday, and while conservatives would like you believe that this means he was somehow directly involved in the idiocy, it does not necessarily mean that. Steve Benen:

A spokesperson for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the decision "implies" that White House officials were involved in the operation. Fox News' Andrew Napolitano made the same argument on the air: "Executive privilege protects communications with the president, the human being of the president, not with people that work for him and the Justice Department."

No matter what one thinks of the underlying controversy -- and for the record, I think the right's interest in the matter is kind of silly -- it's worth pausing to clarify that executive privilege doesn't necessarily involve communications with the president. Josh Israel noted there are actually "two types executive privilege: the robust 'presidential communications privilege' and the more limited 'deliberative process privilege.'"

The White House may invoke the latter to apply to executive branch officials outside of the president's inner circle, as long as they were involved with the government's decision-making process. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush all asserted executive privilege in matters not involving presidential communications.

And Bush Administration Attorney General Michael Mukasey invoked the same "deliberative process privilege" as recently as 2008, rejecting congressional subpoenas for reports of Department of Justice interviews with the White House staff regarding the Valerie Plame Wilson identify leak investigation.

Republicans, including House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), are well aware of this -- they endorsed the distinction during the Bush/Cheney era -- and have acknowledged that executive privilege is not limited to the president's direct communications.

But they're playing a political game today, hoping you aren't well aware of this.

Now that you’re reasonably well informed you might be tempted to think that since this mess all hinges on both a George W. Bush policy, and a seriously crazy/whacko conspiracy theory by a ridiculous little man wingnut who counts for, well, nothing, that this will all go away soon.

You would be wrong. The contempt vote against Holder is just a step on the way to holding the president in contempt, then going for impeachment proceedings in his second term. They were always gonna do this. They made plans to “lynch them a Negro” ™ back when President Obama was elected or maybe even during the run-up to the election. After all, there was no way the good old boys with power were ever going to be alright with a black man as the president. If you thought otherwise, you were, like myself, deluded.

And, just as it will be a modern form of lynching, so too will it be a modern coup d’etat.

Adding………you can easily see where they’re going with this if you read a June 18 opinion piece by Cal Thomas.

H/T mrbrink

Morning Quote: Sarah Palin

Last weekend in Reno, Nevada, former half-term governor, Sarah Palin, addressed the Safari Club International’s annual convention. Notably, she warned the audience that President Obama wants to take their guns. Yee haw!

This recent talk coming from the White House about President Obama's attempts to perhaps infringe further upon our Second Amendment rights. We need to keep tabs on what the White House is telling us. Just think if we had even stricter gun control laws! Imagine, though—imagine making life even more miserable for the liberals who want that gun control. Here's how I figure it. Remember that weird guy in Wisconsin was so angry, so upset, watching a Palin win slot after slot each week on Dancing with the Stars that he shot Bristol through his TV? He blasted his Panasonic? Well, I'm thinking, 'Imagine more gun control. Then he'd have to attack his Panasonic with a butter knife.'

Meanwhile, yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg’s probe announced their findings that guns are easily purchased illegally in Arizona.

On Monday, Bloomberg trumpeted the findings as proof that current gun-control regulations are ineffective at keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals, the mentally ill and others who are barred by law from purchasing them.

Private gun merchants are not required to run background checks when they sell firearms, but are barred from providing them to individuals who the seller "has reason to believe" are prohibited from purchasing weapons. In one video, however, a seller at the gun show tells the investigator, "Just need to see an Arizona ID and that's it with me." When the investigator replied that he "probably couldn't pass one," the seller looks down, shakes his head and proceeds with the sale.

The investigators also purchased a Glock 9mm -- similar to the gun alleged Tucson shooter Jared Loughner used -- without a background check from a private seller at the gun show, which is legal under a loophole in federal firearms laws. Although federally-licensed gun-dealers are required to make background checks before selling guns, private and supposedly "occasional" dealers are not required to conduct such checks.

Critics of the current sales law say the gun-show loophole allows criminals and other prohibited buyers an easy avenue for purchasing guns, but legislation to change that has stalled in Congress. After the Tucson shooting earlier this month, several lawmakers introduced bills to strengthen gun laws, including a bill that would require background checks for all gun sales, but they are unlikely to pass.

The constant lies from the Right Wing just make me freaking tired.

Morning Quote: Tom DeLay

Former Republican Speaker of the House, Tom DeLay, responding to a question about the Arizona shootings on NBC's "Today" show with his usual utterly with out conscience, crap:

If I was still in congress I would welcome and urge those who can carry to come to my town meetings, I'd feel safer having them there. Gun control and grandstanding doesn't help anyone.

Via HuffPost