My goodness. Apparently, our Glorious Leader has entered the "piss EVERYBODY off" stage of his presidency.
Irking N.R.A., Bush Supports Ban on Assault Weapons: President Bush and the National Rifle Association, long regarded as staunch allies, find themselves unlikely adversaries over one of the most significant pieces of gun-control legislation in the last decade, a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons. At issue is a measure to be introduced by Senate Democrats on Thursday to continue the ban. Groundbreaking 1994 legislation outlawing the sale and possession of such firearms will expire next year unless Congress extends it, and many gun-rights groups have made it their top priority to fight it. Even some advocates of gun control say the prohibition has been largely ineffective because of its loopholes. Despite those concerns, the White House says Mr. Bush supports the extension of the current law.
There are also reports that the Christian Right is not well pleased with him, although they seem to have issued a denial. Of sorts.
Thing is, no matter how pissed off the right gets with him, they're probably not going to desert him. After all, where would they go? They have a graphic example of what happens when the extreme wing of a party hares off on its own in Nader and the Democrats last year; they're not likely to wish that sort of self destruction on the only party that actually panders to them.
All that said, I would imagine that if the ban passes again, Our Lord High Minister of Injustice Ashcroft will find some way to make sure it doesn't become law, or issues directives not to enforce it. After all, he has a surprisingly flexible idea of what rights are actually embodied in the Constitution, as long as actual civil rights aren't among them.
Posted by iain at May 08, 2003 06:29 PMComments
