I was in Florida over the weekend campaigning for Obama. I'm impressed with the way the Obama campaign will not cede any vote to McCain. This is the first time any Democratic presidential campaign has so aggressively fought for gun owners. I think it's working - and it's throwing the GOP-controlled NRA for a loop.

I like this headline from the Daytona Beach News-Journal: "Obama, McCain lining up gun groups"

Obama is actually lining up gun voters, which is most important. Wherever I go, I'm finding gun owners are open to Obama. This year, we're not being duped by the NRA's aggressively pro-GOP spin. That loyalty to the Republicans hasn't gotten gun owners much. Our environment is in danger and the economy in crisis. The NRA's leaders don't look beyond their own narrow self-interests.

I'm also very glad to see more Democratic leaders speaking out on this issue. Last week, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland delivered the message in Southern Ohio:

"There is probably no governor, I would say, in the United States of America, who has a stronger, better record in the support of the Second Amendment than does Governor Ted Strickland and I'm proud of that," Strickland told a rally in Chillicothe as he warmed up the crowd ahead of a speech by Obama.

Strickland, whose battleground state is a focus of intensive campaigning by Obama and Republican John McCain, said he spoke directly to Obama about the right to bear arms in the Second Amendment.

"If you are a sportsman, if you are a gun owner, if you are someone that honors and respects the Second Amendment, you have nothing to fear from Barack Obama," the Democratic governor said at a rally in the rural southern part of his state.

Governor Strickland is absolutely right. We're making progress -- Democrats are talking to gun owners and gun owners are listening.  I've been campaigning for Obama myself in Southern Ohio so I know Strickland's words carry weight with gun owners.  When these gun owners understand their guns are safe, they are willing to hear what Obama has to say about the economy.

It's also good to see the NRA's leadership being called out on their hypocrisy. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times used the NRA's own words to undermine the case the group is trying to make for McCain:

The NRA on Thursday officially endorsed John McCain, though that was merely a formality given that it had already spent $2.3 million on attack ads targeting Obama. This puts the organization in the odd position of throwing its considerable political clout behind a Republican candidate whom its official journal once called "one of the premier flag carriers for enemies of the 2nd Amendment," and against a Democrat who never tires of telling voters that he believes in the right to bear arms. So what gives? Apparently, the NRA thinks that McCain's past legislative sins against gun ownership are forgivable, while Obama's are not.

The gun lobby was furious seven years ago when the McCain-Feingold bill threatened to limit the ability of advocacy groups like the NRA to sponsor political ads; McCain also prominently backed a bill that would have required dealers at gun shows to run background checks on buyers, a smart strategy for keeping guns out of the hands of criminals that horrifies the NRA. McCain's choice of lifetime NRA member Sarah Palin as vice president, on the other hand, seems to have erased any doubts about his loyalty to the Colt-hugging crew.

There was never any doubt that the NRA would endorse their one-time enemy, John McCain. The current leaders of the NRA put their own partisan politics first. This year, however, the NRA isn't the only game in town. Gun owners are hearing from both sides. And, this year, that is making a major difference. Along those lines, I'll be back on the campaign trail this week heading to Minnesota and Michigan.

I'm just back from doing eight campaign stops in Ohiofor Obama over the past couple days.  I want to get out my thoughts on the decision by the NRA to officially endorse John McCain.  They're playing pure partisan politics with this decision.  Based on the NRA's own standards, McCain doesn't deserve the endorsement.

But, today, the National Rifle Association demonstrated once again that it is a partisan political entity, not a organization committed to the best interests of gun owners.

In 2001, the NRA’s magazine, America’s First Freedom (no link), said that John McCain was "one of the premier flag carriers for the enemies of the Second Amendment."  That came after McCain introduced federal legislation on gun show background checks, which came after McCain’s appearances in television ads support referenda in Colorado and Oregon to require backgrounds checks at gun shows.  

The ad from Colorado is here.   McCain knew that the NRA was fighting these measures and rubbed his support right in the faces of the NRA leadership.

There's a pattern of the NRA endorsing Republicans even when those Republicans don't support the NRA's agenda.  In 2004 the NRA endorsed George Bush despite his long-standing support for renewal of the federal assault weapons ban., a measure also vehemently opposed by the NRA.  In fact, John McCain voted for the renewal of the assault weapons ban in 2004, when he supported S. 1805, which included an amendment on assault weapons.

This history is important.  It’s hard to imagine any Democrat getting a similar pass from the NRA.  In fact, the NRA has been going over Barack Obama’s state senate record with a microscope to find any bad vote.  Meanwhile, Obama has repeatedly expressed support for the Second Amendment and has even supported a key NRA bill, the Vitter amendment, in the U.S. Senate.

But, the NRA’s long memory on Obama is contradicted by its lack of honest scrutiny of John McCain and his record.  The GOP nominee mocked the NRA to its face by appearing in those t.v. ads in 2000 and serving as the lead sponsor for gun show legislation.  The NRA is holding Obama accountable for votes taken 10 years ago, but giving McCain a pass for his actions within the past 8 years.

But, the leaders of the NRA always put their own political interests first.  They’re willing to spend the millions of dollars of their members’ money to fight Obama when McCain has led the charge against the organization.  The NRA is spending those millions to deceive its members and other gun owners.  Three independent sources-- FactCheck.org, CNNand the Washington Post, have found the NRA’s ads misleading and false.

And, the truth is that NRA has been selling out hunters on conservation interests for years.  The organization that I head, the American Hunters and Shooters Association, put out a comprehensive report showing that the NRA has support Members of Congress with the worst conservation records (Read the report at: www.realhuntersrealconservation.org) Our report showed that the NRA has stood with George Bush, John McCain, and the corporate lobbyists instead of standing up for hunters and shooters' interest in protecting our forests and public lands.

Today’s action by the NRA wasn’t unexpected.  It just confirms that Wayne LaPierre has made that once great institution nothing but a pawn of the right wing conservative politicians.  

Over the weekend, reports surfaced that Hillary Clinton had dropped an anti-Obama mail piece asking "Where does Obama really stand on guns?"

Those reports were true, but the mailing backfired. At the Politico, Ben Smith reported on Clinton's "gun gaffe" last night:

Forgett is right. The mistake is obvious to real sportsmen. And, while it's laughable, it is not surprising. The real question gun owners need to ask is "Why is Clinton trying to hide her voting record on guns?"

Clinton's true feelings about our 2nd amendment rights became clear to all Americans on July 13, 2006. That's when the Senate took a vote on an amendment to the Homeland Security appropriations offered by Senator David Vitter, which reads: "To prohibit the confiscation of a firearm during an emergency or major disaster if the possession of such firearm is not prohibited under Federal or State law."

Look at the roll call: 84 Senators, including Barack Obama, defended gun owners. 16 Senators, including Hillary Clinton, voted against us. That vote says all anyone needs to know about where the candidates really stand on guns.

The contrasting votes of Senator Obama and Senator Clinton on the confiscation issue are definitive for most gun owners like me. That's one reason I endorsed Obama on behalf of the American Hunters and Shooters Assocation (AHSA).

So, the Clinton campaign's "gun gaffe" mailing shouldn't come as a surprise. Hillary Clinton really doesn't know much about guns nor does she care about gun rights. Her record proves that.

Gun owners recognized the mistake in Clinton's mailing. They'll also recognize the glaring mistake in her voting record.