Thursday, April 17, 2014

Michael Bloomberg Is Starting A Gun Control Organization To Take On The NRA - "Everytown for Gun Safety"

message from ssgmarkcr:

    Just saw this pop up on the news.  Former Mayor Bloomberg is going to try to adopt tactics used by the NRA to lobby for gun control legislation.  I found this pretty humorous considering how much ink nationwide has been used by these groups maligning how the NRA is a bully because of its lobbying techniques.  This introduces a whole new paradigm suggesting that bullying is ok if your "cause" is just and your heart is pure.  It will be interesting to see how this works for them.
    The former Mayor seems to have no qualms about his standing both here and in the afterlife,

"I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It’s not even close."

http://www.thewire.com/national/2014/04/michael-bloomberg-is-starting-a-gun-control-organization-to-take-on-the-nra/360728/
    It will be interesting to see where they take this, and it appears I'll get a ringside seat because they are going to be setting up in my home state, among others,

The group will post robust field staff in more than
a dozen states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana,
Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
Actually, I find it hard to believe Bloomberg said that about getting into heaven.  It sounds like something one of the Bloomberg-haters might have made up to make him look stupid.  But, if he really did say that silly shit, the point is clear.  He's proud of his philanthropy. Big deal.

The main thrust of the article is the pledge to spend more money on gun control. Does this amount to hypocrisy, as ss suggested?  I don't think so.  If the NRA and the gun lobby has been described as bullies, what's wrong with standing up to them? Isn't that what you're supposed to do with bullies?  In fact, when confronted with equal power and resources, bullies cease to be that.

To me, it sounds like a plan.

19 comments:

  1. Quote came from a NYTimes interview. Sorry, no conspiracy bub.

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  2. If we made up that Bloomberg quote, it would have been more like; "when I get to heaven, I'm going to tell St. Peter to step aside, and I'm going to pass judgement on all the gun owners." But according to some religious tenets if you have to say "if there's a God", you're not getting in.

    Did you catch the part about how the new group is going to drop banning stuff from their focus? That's you guys 'winning'.

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  3. You gun control bullies do keep being shown that your evil won't win here, but you never give up. But tell me this: How is Bloomberg any different from the Koch brothers that you leftists hate so much?

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    1. At least they don't have the evil of killing people, that's left to your "side."

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  4. "The main thrust of the article is the pledge to spend more money on gun control. Does this amount to hypocrisy, as ss suggested? I don't think so. If the NRA and the gun lobby has been described as bullies, what's wrong with standing up to them?"

    Actually Mike, I wasn't suggesting that the adoption of bullying tactics doesn't make them bullies, but that their use of the same tactics proves that the NRA isn't a bully. You also don't seem to understand the dynamics involved here. The NRA has a lobbying arm that advocates for favorable legislation and has the same carrot and stick tool to use on politicians as any other lobbying group. Hint, they aren't the biggest kid on the block either.
    They offer a voting block and financial backing in return for political support for the people they represent. However, the NRA provides more for their members than just political representation. The former Mayor of NYC has also been quoted as saying that he can outspend the NRA, but keep in mind that in the recall elections in Colorado, election spending in support of the incumbents easily outpaced those challenging them, to include personal donations from Bloomberg himself. Yet, the extra money and the advantage of incumbency didn't save them from elimination.
    I think that those in the gun control camp, have a mistaken impression that all they have to do is outspend the NRA and all of their troubles will be gone. However, that has been proven wrong in Colorado which resulted in two defeats and one resignation. This fall, this will also be tested in Washington with the two initiatives that are up for a vote.
    So, back to the two bullies. Mike believes that the use of the same tactics as the NRA, which they have previously described as bullying tactics only for the side that advocates for stricter gun laws equates to standing up to the bully.
    So we've got the NRA bully who threatens to have the poor politician ousted from office if they don't vote their way. And now we'll have Everytown also threatening to have the same politician ousted from office if they don't vote THEIR way.
    Sounds more to me like the bullying has doubled instead of one side reducing the amount of bullying the other side does.

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    1. Colorado is not the victory you seem to think. The recalled politicians were 2 out of 35 and the objectionable laws are still on the books.

      I didn't say our side would become bullies too. I said the pro gun side is a bunch of bullies not because they spend money but because of their threatening rhetoric and other "bully" tactics. Standing up to them by out-spending them is a good plan.

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    2. "Standing up to them by out-spending them is a good plan."

      Its looking to me like a bit more than outspending on advertising campaigns.


      "Oddly enough, this sounds a lot like a warning Bloomberg also issued to people who oppose his anti-gun agenda, especially Democrats. Arguing that the NRA plays hardball in electoral politics, Bloomberg pledged to oppose even those Democratic politicians who otherwise align with his own politics. “We’ve got to make them afraid of us.” That sounds like a strange strategy for someone selling Utopia."
      http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-bloomberg-nanny-campaign-backfire-091500861.html

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  5. An interesting thing has happened with the Everytown gang. Apparently someone forgot to register the name in Facebook before going public. Ooops! There are now a whole bunch of Everytown for Gun Safety Facebook pages dealing with real gun safety. This would be a great candidate for the meme, "You had one job"

    "But in the process of setting it all up, disguised as a “grass roots” effort, somebody in Bloomberg’s camp evidently forgot Facebook. That left the door open yesterday for activists to quickly register the name “Everytown for Gun Safety” (EGS) on Facebook, and launch a bushel of them over the past several hours as pro-gun sites that are now drawing viral attention and no small amount of laughter from the gun rights community."

    "All of the Facebook pages have one thing in common. They all promote gun safety, including links to such things as the National Rifle Association’s “Eddie Eagle” program and the three key gun safety golden rules: Always keep guns pointed in a safe direction, always keep guns unloaded until ready to use, and always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire."

    http://www.examiner.com/article/everytown-project-blowing-up-bloomberg-s-face

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    1. Surely Bloomberg's grass roots supporters were rushing to register these names at the same time. No, you say?

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    2. Yeah, that's a pretty weird twist to the story.

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  6. It is interesting that gun loons claim the recall of those politicians represent the majority view of the people, yet they don't have the votes to rescind the laws they objected to. As gun loons know from their own experience, rich guys do make a difference, which is why this move by Bloomberg scares them.

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    1. The recall process is what could be referred to as the lowest level of citizen activism. And the most direct. Colorado happens to have the options of recall and also initiative and referendum.
      The three recall actions were the result of the citizens that were represented by the individual elected representatives decided they wanted someone who truly represented their interests. the petition drive was started by the citizens, and it was after the drive was begun did it become a media circus and attracted out of state money.
      I don't really know if the insertion of national level groups were asked to assist. Perhaps the politicians being recalled asked for help, I don't know for sure. Perhaps someone else has that information.
      The out of state forces seem to haven't helped though because despite the substantial outspending by the pro incumbent side, two were tossed out, and the handwriting must have been on the wall since the third resigned in order to prevent the possibility of a third loss which would have resulted in a straight up party tie.
      It remains to be seen how the recalls will effect the power balance in the upcoming midterm elections. Stay tuned....

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    2. No, we're not scared of him. We hold him in contempt.

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    3. GC,
      But you don't hold NRSA racist board member Nugent in contempt, so it's reasonable to believe you agree with his racism since you support the NRA.
      SS,
      You don't know. Yes, we will leave it at that.
      What percentage of voters voted for the recalls?
      Was that a majority of voters? Was it even a majority of the people who originally voted for those representatives? There are many was to get minority representation, which is legal, but does not reflect majority views on any issue, my point.

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    4. "What percentage of voters voted for the recalls?"

      The percentage who voted isn't terribly important. The vote was done according to state law. If the incumbents had survived the recall, I'm sure there would have been much crowing in triumph over the event. And all we would be hearing is the people have spoken. Well, the people spoke here too. And the results are there for all to see.

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    5. If I recall correctly, the vote totals in the recalls were greater than the original votes electing those politicians.

      Anonymous, you go on and on about Ted Nugent. I don't care about him. He's a loudmouth, but he's not trying to violate my rights. And no, I don't agree with what you perceive to be his racism.

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    6. "The percentage who voted isn't terribly important."
      Wow, you really believe that? Mind boggling.

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    7. Since Ted's racism is obvious to all, then I can only surmise that you are a racist. No surprise. You also backed a Mayors comment comparing gun control laws to Hitler and his laws.

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    8. "Wow, you really believe that? Mind boggling. "

      Anon, recall is part of the state constitution passed in 1912 and amended in 1984. There was literally millions spent in advertising and there were liberal residency requirements.

      "Williams wrote to the secretary of state that the law "provides that an elector registered outside El Paso County may appear and change their address in order to vote in Senate District 11 by stating 'that the elector moved before the election and that, on the day of the election, the elector will be living at the new address in the new precinct.' "

      http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24040159/new-el-paso-county-resident-jon-caldara-turns

      All the voters had to do was show up and cast their ballot. If they didn't care about their elected representative to show up, too bad, so sad. Especially in light of the supposed gigantically high percentages claimed to support the very legislation they voted for and which led to their removal.
      Keep in mind also that it might have been more than just the recent gun legislation which led to their defeat. There might have already been some discontent with them previously and the gun votes were enough to get the ball rolling.

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