NRA distorts Obama's record, causes miners' strike

The National Rifle Association doesn't seem to have much political gumption: The NRA has actually supported some gun control efforts by Republicans, and continues backing the GOP despite its increasingly poor record on Second Amendment rights.

Barack Obama (much to his credit) supported overturning the District of Columbia's gun ban. The Bush regime actively urged against such a ruling. Obama (again to his credit) supported a bill to stop law enforcement from confiscating guns from Hurricane Katrina survivors. The gun grabs had been ordered by Bush regime officials.

But the NRA continues to operate under the delusion that the Republicans actually care about gun owners' rights.

Now the NRA has a new ad falsely claiming that Obama wants to ban hunting shotguns and rifles. But that is a lie. The Obama campaign has explicitly opposed confiscating hunting guns. Obama's running mate Joe Biden even said, "I guarantee you, Barack Obama ain't taking my shotguns. ... I got 2 and if he tries to fool with my Beretta, he's got a problem."

The NRA's ad contradicts itself: It says Obama wants to ban hunting guns, but it also says he wants to tax them. You can't tax something that's banned - this ad's doublespeak notwithstanding.

The NRA's leadership is so insistent on spreading this doubletalk that it's managed to touch off a work stoppage by coal miners who saw right through it.

A mining company allowed the NRA to bring its film crews into a mine in West Virginia and try to get miners to assail Obama on camera. When the miners refused to go along with this hooey, the United Mine Workers - which has endorsed Obama - called for a brief work stoppage at that mine.

Miners don't look too kindly on mining firms or partisan Republican groups like the NRA trying to manipulate their views. I don't know whether the UMW officially refers to the walkout as a strike, but the stoppage was necessary to crimp the NRA's partisan mind-bending.

It's good to know that some folks aren't believing the distortions.

(Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/22/nra-ad-claims-obama-wants-to-ban-guns;
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/22/umw-plans-stoppage-over-nra-filming)