Rob Portman and Gun Control

The Cleveland Plain Dealer asks the question did Rob Portman ever really say, "I never met a gun control bill I didn't like."

In order to determine that PolitiFact Ohio asked the folks who have used the quote against Fisher, "including the Buckeye Firearms Association, the Ohio Republican Party and the campaign of Rob Portman, the Republican running against Fisher for the U.S. Senate."

It spoke with people who dealt with Fisher two decades ago and opposed him on issues in the Ohio Senate. And it asked the National Rifle Association -- twice -- to dig into its research archives, although the NRA didn't follow up either time. We checked decades' worth of newspaper clippings and websites and asked those who keep using the quote to check their records in case they've found it.

Guess what? No one has come forward with anything indicating that Portman ever said that.

Anyone who reads the gun blogs could have saved them a lot of time. This is the typical way pro-gun people treat their adversaries, or those they perceive as adversaries. A Republican politician who gets a low rating from the NRA is fair game to attacks like this. One exaggerated remark, glib and catchy, which then is repeated countless times, begins to have a superficial credibility.

Isn't it funny that pro-gun folks often refer to anti-gun people as sheep. What's a better example of sheep-like behavior than mindlessly repeating catchy one liners, regardless of their veracity?

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