Fast & Furious is a NRA Conspiracy

[babylonsister]

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/6/23/9499/46443

Fast & Furious is a NRA Conspiracy

by BooMan
Sat Jun 23rd, 2012 at 09:49:09 AM EST


snip//

There seem to be no grounds for suspecting that President Obama has any kind of gun control agenda at all, and neither does the Democratic Party. This, of course, makes the National Rifle Association (NRA) rather irrelevant, at least in political matters. Their fundraising should be drying up since there really is no need for them to do anything in the political arena. Their opponents were vanquished long ago. Even watching a colleague get shot in the brain wasn't enough to move Congress to do anything to restrict gun ownership.

Yet, the NRA is telling people that the president has a secret plan to confiscate their guns and actually informed Congress that they will be "scoring" the contempt vote for Eric Holder, as if you couldn't be a supporter of gun rights if you don't think the Attorney General should be held in contempt for failing to turn over irrelevant emails and meeting minutes.

Probably the most startling thing about the Fast and Furious conspiracy theory is that the program was initiated by the Bush administration. That single fact undermines the whole theory that the Obama administration initiated the program for any nefarious purpose. They didn't initiate it.

In fact, they didn't even know about it. The whole contempt case rests on the idea that Eric Holder initiated a damage-control strategy after he realized that he'd been lied to by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, which resulted in the DOJ giving erroneous information to congressional oversight committees. The Republicans are demanding to see the internal deliberations the DOJ went through after they discovered they'd unintentionally misled Congress. But that has nothing to do with taking anyone's guns away or any foreknowledge of the program.

Basically, what we're witnessing is just a way for the NRA to stay relevant in an era where gun control efforts are dead. That's it. And it's further proof that the NRA is acting as more of a wing of the GOP than as an advocate for responsible gun ownership.

[Kolesar]

1. I don't see how this witch-hunt helps the GOP to control the "news cycle"

The GOP has a desperate need to make Mitt Romney look like something other than what he is. They are pissing away time with five months until the election.

[Doctor_J]

15. They have no chance of that

their ONLY hope is to cover the president in enough shit that people will stay home

[graham4anything]

2. audit the NRA

audit the NRA
they are not what they claim and follow the money trail

when was the last time the NRA defended blacks rights to owning weapons? Imagine in the million man march if each of those American patriots (and citizens) had owned, taken with them, and stroked their guns like the townhall teabaggers did two years ago.

[handmade34]

3. NRA letter to the House Oversight Committee

all very unsettling...

http://nraila.org/media/7733622/cc-letter-to-issa.pdf

[Hoyt]

5. Damn, more evidence of a right wing "lynching." Hope Obama and Holder stand their ground.

[Doctor_J]

14. Fat chance of that

Van Jones, Shirley Sherrod, Anthony Weiner...the president is not exactly one to stand up to right wing thugs.

[Logical]

4. The NRA is a right wing support group. Read any gun forum. They....

Love the NRA and hate the liberals.

There are many pro gun liberals that hate the NRA.

[slackmaster]

6. Conspicuously absent from the OP and the linked article - Any mention of the murder of Brian Terry

That is shameful. F&F is a genuine scandal that is being exploited for political purposes to embarrass the President.

[Hoyt]

9. Too many want to implicate Obama and Holder in the murder of agent Terry.

That's kind of a stretch, but there are a lot of folks who hate the ATF and buy into the NRA crud that "Obama is going take our guns and we will be defenseless . . . . . ."

[COLGATE4]

8. Enjoy your short stay on DU.

[Hoyt]

10. I've seen that on Free Republic, probably on Stormfront too.

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. Blind of the real facts and willfully ignorant is no way to go through life, son.

[KharmaTrain]

12. The NRA Needs To Shake Down Its Members...

The NRA is a big money lobbying group and uses that money to be a player in elections...especially on the congressional and state level. The money that goes to the millions used to buy off legislators has to come from somewhere...and the best way to get members to their checkbooks is to create some urgent controversy that is spread over and over again through right wing media and ramped up to fever pitch. The far-fetched "theory" that F&F was some secret Obama plan to go after the 2nd ammendment is classic NRA...and I'm betting the money is flowing fast and furious into their coffers.

[Doctor_J]

13. Lots of "Dems" in the gungeon believe the lies

as with all fringe elements, the gunsters believe the propaganda that their own organs put out.

[sad sally]

16. The current leadership in the House has done nothing to respond to the Mexican government's

pleas for the US congress to strenghten our gun laws to stop gun trafficking from US gun shops to the drug cartels.

[Hugabear]

17. There are even some here on DU who are parroting the NRA talking points

I've seen several threads here on DU with posters - not just newbie trolls - spewing the same right-wing NRA propaganda. They try to deny any Bush involvement with F&F.