The Ballot Box

 “There are four boxes to be used in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury and ammo. Please use in that order.”

I listened to a radio show the other morning and the host was talking about how it seems like the mainstream media is downplaying the importance of this coming election. That is really won’t be all that important. This is not the case. It is very important. If it weren’t I don’t think we would be seeing the reports of touchscreen voting machines that seem to be changing Republican Votes to Democrat votes.  Interestingly, there don’t seem to be reports of it going the other way which is sort of shooting a hole in the stock reply from officials it’s a “calibration error”.

Here, here, and here.

So, my first bit of helpful advice for the upcoming ballot box trip, is carefully check your summary and make sure that the votes it shows are the ones you actually wanted to make.

Second tip. Who can you rely on to give you accurate suggestions when it comes to voting for pro-gun candidates?  While what I’m going to say may sound like heresy, it’s not. Nor am I “attacking” the NRA. But when those little orange cards come to your house, or that handy voter guide is in the magazine, please, please, please do not let that be your only source of information.

While the TZP (The Zelman Partisans) are NOT making political endorsements, I do have a suggestion along those lines. I would suggest you go to Gunowners of America and check out their voter guide.

Why you ask? Well, let’s take this one race. In West Va. The NRA has endorsed Nick Rahall. They have given him an “A”. He is the incumbent. The endorsed him over Evan Jenkins, who has his own voting record.  GOA gave Rahall a D- and gave his opponent Evan Jenkins an “A” rating.

That’s a pretty big difference. But also remember the NRA gave anti-gun Harry Reid a “A” rating and it cost Nevada and America a solid Second Amendment Senator, we could have had Sharon Angle.

Arkansas too had problems with the NRA ratings.

I know there were some problems in Missouri when the NRA endorsed the late Ike Skelton who at the time had been voting WITH Nancy Pelosi 98% of the time. I’m not sure how that managed an A rating, but it did.

I can only guess at why they rate candidates the way they do. I’ve heard they prefer to endorse a candidate they think will win, so that their endorsement win level appears high. That probably explains their preference for endorsing incumbents.  Another thing to consider is what kind of “gun legislation” does the NRA consider important. If you want state sovereignty gun legislation, know that the NRA does not.  Missouri and Florida have both tried to pass a state version of a “Second Amendment Protection Act” only to see it sabotaged by the NRA. Wyoming has also had fights with the NRA on expanded background checks, but Wyoming has a very strong grassroots Second Amendment group, Wyoming Gun Owners,  and it seems they win some of their fights. Wyoming does have a Firearms Freedom Act.

So am I trashing the NRA? No, but if I’m going to urge you to check other sources for voting guidelines, I should give you a few reasons for that statement.  Yes, the NRA does some good things. I love the Eddie Eagle program. But if you are an activist that wants a version of a Firearms Freedom Act or a Second Amendment Protection Act, then understand the high grade that you see on the orange card may not actually mean what you think it means!

Our country is in a very pecarious postion, we can not afford to make mistakes. I think the GOA voting guide will be your best source for accurate guidence on the candidates.

Please, this coming Tuesday, utilize the ballot box, we do not ever want to be in a position to have to utilize the cartridge box.

.

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

4 thoughts on “The Ballot Box”

  1. I agree with you Sheila voters should not rely only on the NRA’s voter guide for guidance. Voters should also look to their local state pro gun organizations for guidance. I don’t know the criteria the NRA uses in their guide but I do know they send out a questionnaire for candidates to respond to. So, as I see it, if the candidate is anti gun without a voting record and in a gun friendly district and answers appropriately….well then the NRA gives the candidate his/her grade based on those answers. This seems to be happening in a district next to me now and the liberal Democratic candidate is trying his best to come across as a pro gun caring conservative.

    I think many dem/ liberal politicians in gun friendly districts vote pro gun only to save their political necks at least that seems to be the case here in Central Valley of California. We have some dems in the legislature in the Central Valley who vote pro gun or abstain, I think for party reasons, if necessary

    So voters be ware. Them stinking politicians are shifty critters.

  2. Sheila’s description of NRA’s endorsement process is charitable at the very least. The NRA (born out of embarrassment at the sound whuppin’ often dealt poorly-trained Union soldiers, by Confederate marksmen) tries to be too many things to too many people.

    Operating on the conventional access-advocacy model, they sell out our liberties and then come home to convince us that they saved us from a ‘worser’ fate. Incrementally we are beggared, and the NRA poo-bahs make their Mercedes payments.

    By comparison, the GOA openly tells elected officials, “Toe the line or we will work tirelessley to get you FIRED.” That is reflected in GOA’s Candidate Grading.

    In the case of Mr. Rahall, upon inquiry over his ratings-slide, the GOA rep told me that they use several metrics, including voting records of incumbents. He surmised that Rahall’s support of ObamaCare (and its victim disarmament elements) didn’t help.

  3. Agreed. Also remember that the NRA falls back on the “single-issue” excuse for taking a neutral (or worse) position on several issues.

    Take “immigration reform” (a.k.a. unlimited amnesty), for example. It’s a documented fact that amnesty recipients will overwhelmingly vote Democrat and “gun control” tickets if given a chance; they come from areas and cultures where both are a good idea. Yet, NRA takes no position because it’s not a “gun rights issue”, regardless of how it might affect “gun rights issues” in the future.

    GOA, on the other hand, factors a politician’s stance on amnesty into their grading scale, as does our local gun rights group, OFF (Oregon Firearms Federation).

    ANYTHING that could affect gun rights SHOULD be factored, but some groups choose to and some don’t, so it pays to do one’s research.

  4. Wisecaveowl: Republicans are at best not destructive of our firearms rights. They sometimes stumble and support our Second Amendment rights.

    Democrats have a party plank and travk record to take away our 2A rights.

    So, go buy ammo while you still can since you and those who share your attitude are useless for our rights.

    Peeved at my rebuke? Well, riddle me this…how can you effect any political change by not participating? If a few more good Germans had voted, we might have been spared Adolf Hitler.

Leave a Reply to Y.B. ben Avraham Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *