Obama aims for pro-gun vote

[Psycho4Bud]

Barack Obama did not hunt or fish as a child. He lives in a big city. And as an Illinois state legislator and a U.S. senator, he consistently backed gun control legislation.

But he is nevertheless making a play for pro-gun voters in rural Pennsylvania.

By highlighting his background in constitutional law and downplaying his voting record, Obama is engaging in a quiet but targeted drive to win over an important constituency that on the surface might seem hostile to his views.

The need to craft a strategy aimed at pro-gun voters underscores the potency of the issue in Pennsylvania, which claims one of the nationâ??s highest per capita membership rates in the National Rifle Association.

It also could provide clues as to whether Obama, as one of the Senateâ??s more liberal members, can position himself as an acceptable choice to a conservative-minded demographic in later primary contests and in the general election

â??Guns are a cultural lens through which they view candidates,â?� said Jim Kessler, vice president for policy at Third Way, a progressive think tank. â??If you are seen as way off on that issue, then you seem way off on everything. If you are seen as OK, if the lens is clearer, then they continue to look at you and size you up on other things.â?�

â??For Obama, who is less known and is from Chicago, a city guy and an African American, the feeling is that he is anti-gun,â?� Kessler continued. â??By handling the Second Amendment correctly, he starts to get a hearing among these folks.â?�

Obama aides would not discuss the campaignâ??s strategy. While the effort so far in Pennsylvania appears modest, it is noteworthy for a race that has largely avoided such direct engagement with gun owners.
Obama aims for pro-gun vote - Carrie Budoff Brown - Politico.com (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9398.html)

Barack Obama on Gun Control
Provide some common-sense enforcement on gun licensing. (Jan 2008)
2000: cosponsored bill to limit purchases to 1 gun per month. (Oct 2007)
Stop unscrupulous gun dealers dumping guns in cities. (Jul 2007)
Keep guns out of inner cities--but also problem of morality. (Oct 2006)
Ban semi-automatics, and more possession restrictions. (Jul 1998)
Voted NO on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers. (Jul 2005)
Gun Control: 2008 contenders' views (http://www.ontheissues.org/Gun_Control.htm)

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit". This should be Obamas campaign slogan.

Have a good one!:s4:

[Dream of the iris]

Its sad how people put the blame on a gun because a bunch of people got murdered. Its an inanimate object being used by the wrong person. Its like pot. Yeah it can be a problem for some people but for many others it is a wonderful recreational drug. It depends on the person whether or not he or she will handle it right.

[bongerstonerd00d]

Hell, cars kill people, should we make cars illegal ? As we all know, guns do not kill people, people kill people. For that matter people flip out and kill someone with a kitchen knife. Should steak knives be illegal, too ?

The thing that scares me about guns becomming illegal is that the only people who will have them is the criminals. When they come to take mine, ITS ON!
:rambo:



b0nger

[Breukelen advocaat]

I think that the point being made is that Obama is a hypocrite, and trying to play both sides.

[Mr. Clandestine]

I think that the point being made is that Obama is a hypocrite, and trying to play both sides.

Yep, this seems to hold true to many of his 'stances' on public matters. He gets on stage and tells concerned Americans that he has a plan to curb illegal immigration and promote legal immigration...


â??The time to fix our broken immigration system is nowâ?¦ We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplaceâ?¦ But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to Americaâ?¦ Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we shouldâ?�
â?? Barack Obama, Statement on U.S. Senate Floor, May 23, 2007

...then stands by Eliot Spitzer and his idea to grant special privileges and drivers licenses to illegal aliens. What an egocentric tool. He'll say/do just about anything to get people to like him, and get past the fact that he's running his whole campaign on charisma... NOT experience.

[medicinal]

Hypocrite=politician. Tell them what they want to hear. Isn't that the game? I don't know why anyone would want to be president, especially following Dubya, but getting people to vote for you is the predominant criteria in winning an election. If this is what it takes to get Obama elected, then so be it.

[the image reaper]

Obama is a phony motherfucker, just like the rest of the candidates ... talk to Chicago people, they'll fill you in on his background as a bagman for Mayor Daley, and a racist ... hey!, how do you think you become a candidate for President ? ... you do the dirty work for your local party machine, and work your way up .. it's all about backroom deals and slick moves ... vote for Steve Kubby on the Libertarian ticket (he's the guy that instrumented the states' medical marijuana laws, got them on the state ballots) ... he CAN'T win, your vote will do nothing ... except, you wont feel so guilty, when your new President turns out to be as worthless as the other bastards we have lived through ... this is the sorriest bunch of liars, crooks, and America-hating motherfuckers, to ever run for American office ... :mad: .... whew! glad I got THAT off my chest :D

[the image reaper]

my apologies for the bad language, just been buildin' up for a long time ... I'm better now, will go lie down, and not get up for 4+ years ... hopefully, we should be past it by then :jointsmile:

[boaz]

. . . â??Guns are a cultural lens through which they view candidates. If you are seen as way off on that issue, then you seem way off on everything. If you are seen as OK, if the lens is clearer, then they continue to look at you and size you up on other things. . . . â?�

:stoned: these guys get paid well for this stuff . . . :jointsmile:

[jamesia]

Every politician tries to play multiple sides. You have to appeal to as many people as possible to win an election. Every person has their own conception of what "truth" is, so when you say a politician is honest, they're just honest to the extent that you agree with their opinions. There aren't universal truths that everyone agrees with all the time... So yes, politics is a game of trying to appeal to wide audiences with wide and sometimes contradictory ideals, but pointing out that it is a game is irrelevant and redundant. It's kind of like saying that in order to win a basketball game, you must pass a basketball through the hoop as many times as possible, from as many different angles and positions as possible. Well... duh!

The problem comes when some of them completely sell their souls for a win, and only espouse opinions that they test in focus groups for hours, like Hillary. Nothing she says is not scripted, tested, and approved beforehand. Obama and McCain speak from the heart more than she does, and they're both playing multiple sides to an equal extent. But you can't have a politician that tries to appeal only to a certain subgroup of the population. That would be like Ron Paul's tactic, and it's clear it doesn't work.

PS: that wasn't a Ron Paul bash.