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Subscribe to RSSHouse Democrats are bracing for defections during Thursday's vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress after the National Rifle Association (NRA) announced they will be including the vote in their "future candidate evaluations."
"It is no secret that the NRA does not admire Attorney General Holder," a letter from the NRA to members of the House of Representatives reads. "For years, we have pointed out his history of anti-second Amendment advocacy and enforcement actions."
In an effort to persuade Democrats from voting for the contempt citation because of their fear of repercussions from the enormously powerful gun lobby, aides say that House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is actively engaging members of their caucus to encourage them to vote against the measure, something called "whipping" on Capitol Hill.
"I think there are some members that will consider the recommendations of the NRA," Hoyer said to reporters today. "Whether they think those recommendations are founded or not, I don't know at this point."
The number of Democratic defections could reach 31, according to House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), whose committee voted last Wednesday to move the contempt citation to a full House vote.
Issa cites a letter sent from 31 Democrats to the Obama administration last year asking for them to be forthcoming with details of the Fast and Furious gun-walking operation as a template for possible Democratic "yes" votes.
While 31 Democrats voting for the contempt citation on Thursday may be overly optimistic, the sway of the NRA during an election year is a legitimate concern for Democrats. Democrats running in swing districts need the support of organizations like the NRA (or at least not their opposition) to stop more conservative opponents from taking them down in November.
But the NRA has made it crystal clear that it supports finding Holder in contempt of Congress, and they think members of Congress should as well.
"The reason we support the contempt resolution is the same reason we first called for Attorney General Holder's resignation more than a year ago: the Department's obstruction of congressional oversight of a program that cost lives in support of an anti-gun agenda," the NRA's letter reads. "This is an issue of the utmost seriousness and the NRA will consider this vote in our future candidate evaluations."
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………” the recognition is starting to break through
to the general public regarding the President Obama’s rhetorical strategy that
I’ve have been calling Calculated Deception. The latter is deliberately using a
misleading argument to paint a false picture. That has been a central Obama
practice not only throughout his entire presidency, but also as the foundation
of his 2008 campaign strategy, and actually throughout his whole
career”.---Peter Ferrara
Eric Holder has been an outstanding Attorney General. He is a very brilliant lawyer. The contempt citation is political. It should never have been issued.
That the NRA is making this issue even more political reveals the extent to which our country has been seriously injured by U.S. Supreme Court rulings that allow unlimited campaign contributions.
Every voter in the U.S. should be outraged. The U.S. Supreme Court rulings allow politics to sway a vote that should be strictly based on objectivity. This is an excellent example of the corruption that the U.S. Supreme Court rulings permit.
Please recognize that these U.S. Supreme Court rulings mean the end of democracy in America as we have known it. We have a system now that is similar to an oligarchy. A few billionaires and well-funded corporations control literally everything now.
In this instance, only 7% of the population hunts. But some of those hunters are extremely wealthy and can contribute billions to the NRA. The NRA can now fund political elections without limit.
And think. How did the billionaires make their money? Not through kindness or charity. They move their companies overseas where they can exploit foreign workers horribly. They can pay them virtually nothing and subject them to working conditions that are against the law in the United States.
Billionaires become wealthy through exploitation. It is these people who now have virtually complete control of our political system. We should be grieving and mourning the loss of our democracy.
Joan Iverson: Please accept my praise for your comment. May I suggest that the American people have responded to would-be oligarchs more than once in the past. In the Progressive Era, around 1900 with TR and Wilson, then revived with FDR, they rejected a similar seizure of power; a similar assault on our democracy by robber barons. Personally, I believe that the American electorate will assert itself again. They will reject Rove, Koch, the media propagandists. Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Kennedy, and Roberts have revealed themselves as justices of damaged integrity. Obama, reelected, will appoint jurists of unblemished character to counter their right wing bias.
Corporations, Hollywood, Super Pacs on the left and Super Pacs on the right can spend all the money they want to put out messages that support their side. Choosing who can speak and who cannot is not what our country is all about. If you're afraid that money will sway votes, maybe we should do this:
Let's teach young people and old to listen to the messages of each side, give both sides some thought and formulate a few arguments, and let's teach them to resist being swayed by the opinion of others, but rather choose to form their own opinions themselves.
Joan, it sounds as if you believe our country is made up of simple minded lemmings. I don't believe that......we at least have the capacity to make our own decisions. Are you afraid a bunch of advertising will cause you to change what you personally believe?
Joan...NOT sorry to burst your liboturd bubble, but Eric Holder is NOT an outstanding AG.....name ONE accomplishment of Holder that has not been RACIALLY or POLITICALLY based. NBPP members on steps of polling places with clubs or batons in their hands, CASE DISMISSED. RACIAL. Holder sends Agents to FLORIDA to investigate possible HATE CRIME by Zimmerman, before any real facts were even known to point to Hate Crime. RACIAL. Young White boy set on fire by 2 Black teens.....Where the hell is Holder???? NOT TO BE SEEN OR HEARD. RACIAL. Case never investigated. Federal Lawsuits filed against States trying to protect their citizens interests BECAUSE HOLDER IS NOT DOING HIS JOB. POLITICAL. Holder SUCKS Big Time!! Find another line of SH*T to post on. PRAISING Holder Stinks.
Holder contiues to prosecute agents of the law from local Sherrif Arpio) to Border agents.He even goes after States (Arizona). Where was he when Jamil was shot by an illegal gangbanger alien in Los Angeles?
What's all this about the "enormously powerful " gun lobby? They sure aren't Big Oil, Big Coal, or Big Pharma. This article talks about Congress as though they were nothing but a bunch of spineless prostitutes. Although they are influenced by big money, obviously, they are, nevertheless, not totally supine. They can in fact vote their conscience here. The issue is a manufactured farce, as Issa virtually confesses. As always, we have a very few statesmen and stateswomen, and a mediocre herd of puppets. President Obama and Eric Holder are the former; Issa, Boehner, and Cantor are the latter. Case closed!
Issa is a GOD....and Holder is going down....take the Kenyan with you Eric.....I LOVE IT
ODUMBO has Democrats jumping off the bandwagon left and right.....he doesn't go to Wisconsin in the Walker fight....and now McCaskill isn't even going to the convention....the Kenyan is poison....I LOVE IT
I guess that wasn't a racist comment.
Do you actually believe that he is a Kenyan, or are you just trying to be cute? It's so disrespectful to call the president ODUMBO that nobody is going to listen to your point. So what have you accomplished?
Jimmy the Dupe doesn't even believe his own rant, he just likes to hate on people.
I hate those kind of posts. What's the point? I just don't get it, I wonder what these people are like in their "real" lives.
Candice, the problem is that the amount of money spent in a campaign usually determines the outcome. Political research has shown this. Republican primaries this spring demonstrated this. People pay attention to negative TV ads which are very costly, very expensive.
Further, what you referred to is the problem. People listen to the campaign propaganda of both sides during an election season and make a decision. They tend not to look much beyond campaign statements and television ads.
Very few people actually study indepth news reports and political developments on a daily basis. Their knowledge does not extend much beyond campaign rhetoric.
Unfortunately, nothing is going to change that so money does buy elections.
Any issue can be framed in such a way as to blur or obfuscate its meaning. I'm sorry to say that we have been exposed to more of that in 2012 than probably ever before in the history of our country.
Peoples' confusion over the issues today defies description. The fact that billionaires can buy and control campaigns is in great part the problem. Huge amounts of money are being spent to virtually deceive and propagandize voters. The deceit is hard to counter because the issues are so complex and would require indepth time and effort to thoroughly explain.
The U.S. Supreme Court decisions permitting unlimited campaign expenditures is probably the most damaging thing that has ever happened to our country. It is certainly the worst development that I have seen in America in my lifetime.
The court decisions have done serious damage from which our country will suffer irreparably.
The NRA threatening members of the House of Representatives with regard to their vote on the contempt citation is an excellent example of the horrifying repercussions that unlimited campaign contributions can bring about.
Romney does what is best for him , always.
Veterans, military retirees; note that Romney PROMOTED THE DRAFT, then skipped out to France for extraordinary lenth of time when church missionary tours were limited. When Romney came home, he sided with his dad that the whole Viet Nam War was a scam and that he was against the war. His early flip flops, he is good at.
Promoting the draft, while Americans were dieing, he skipped out, then says he wishes he could have participated. Pro church, Anti Americam.
So you are saying that Nam wasn't a scam, then? Really
Romney does what is best for him , always.
Veterans, military retirees; note that Romney PROMOTED THE DRAFT, then skipped out to France for extraordinary lenth of time when church missionary tours were limited. When Romney came home, he sided with his dad that the whole Viet Nam War was a scam and that he was against the war. His early flip flops, he is good at.
Promoting the draft, while Americans were dieing, he skipped out, then says he wishes he could have participated. Pro church, Anti Americam.
NRA will probably start a violent revolution if they don't get the decisions they cry for and Obama/senate/congress dems win. All those gun nuts sitting on their assault weapons will go crazy and shoot at anything that moves, probably patrol with their heavy trucks in the streets hunting innocent people. These guys are pure nuts, no other country would accept their BS.
Its a sad day in this country when special interests rule the roost- just hink if we had term limits most of this wouldn't matter regardless of political leanings if we all vote out the incumbent for next three elections we can clean this septic tank called congress
Any candidate is free to ignore NRA ratings. The NRA only writes letters and makes telephone calls like any another American petitioning their government for a redress of grievances. The fact that some voters think ownership of multiple firearms is excessive is proof that they are open to the idea that ownership of even a single firearm is excessive. Therefore gun owners must not give an inch on the issue. Let the NRA be our AARP and let the Second Amendment Foundation be our ACLU. Consider it a legislative and judicial form of self-defense.
Funny how the left doesn't complain about the trial lawyers. Could it be because they're one of the lefts largest contributors. Wonder why tort reform wasn't addressed in Obama's healthcare monstrosity? No need to wonder, they refuse to cut off the hand that feeds them. Next to the unions, you can thank the trial lawyers for buying their way into the left's pocket.
The NRA does much more than "make telephone calls and write letters". They actively direct large amounts of money into campaigns in which any candidate even hints that changes in gun law are needed, bullying legislators to agree to their agenda. While you make high-sounding statements about the NRA "cause", it actually is the worst kind of special interest, manipulating elections and distorting reasonable discussion. The AARP represents a huge number of citizens based on their interests as an age group- a factor no one chooses but which everyone who lives long enough eventually becomes a part of. The ACLU, despite the rantings of NRA leaders, protects Constitutional principles, including many "right wing" causes that many of who support the ACLU don't like but which we acknowledge as involving an important principle, such as freedom of unpopular speech. Your claim that the NRA just "writes letters", as if it was some low key, homespun grassroots movement is either totally naive or intentionally dishonest. The NRA is led by political ideologues with no willingness to acknowledge the reality of the inherent dangers of it's political extremism. It is in part financed by wealthy right wing individuals with selfish agendas to manipulate politics.
You don't think the Trial Lawyers Association, and the AMA and the AFT, etc. etc. do the same thing? It isn't just the NRA, it's all of them. We need to get special interests out of the equation, this system is broken.
Issa on ABC "you cant be oversight if lying and lying tocongress is a crime". The whistle blower (agent Dodson) lied before congress. Agent Dodson said before congress (Issa)"I cannot begin to think of how the risk of letting guns fall into the hands of known criminals could possibly advance any legitmate law enforcement interest". Yet agent Dodson sold guns (gunwalking) to a known criminal Fermandez and they were never recovered and this was prior to his statement before congress. So by Issa own statement"lying to congress is a crime". The killing thing about this is Issa knew he was lying and you may say how do I know? Issa himself mentioned the case on ABC sunday!!
Think about it for awhile.......does the term "whistleblower " ring a bell??
Ever-paranoid, the NRA continues on its path of proclaiming itself the guardian of freedom, while undermining actual democracy. At what point do we acknowledge that the leaders of the NRA are nearing a psychotic state, with their fixed delusion that anyone who admits that the current situation costs lives on a daily basis is secretly plotting to destroy America? The combination of NRA paranoia, gun and ammo profiteers, and right-wing political ideologues is directly related to the inability to make even the slightest improvement in the ridiculous number, and type, of weapons in the marketplace. Assault weapons for hunting? Guns that fire multiple rounds per second? Successful manipulation of legislators and the marketplace by profiteers like Glock, producing hand guns that fire 17 rounds like the one that was used to shoot Giffords and kill a child and several others? These aren't hallmarks of freedom- they're dangers to real democracy, which relies on reasonable compromise to protect citizens from unreasonable ideology. The NRA is protecting no one but it's own distorted interests and mistaken ideals.
I think perscriptions are dangerous, let the party of ban everything except drugs swallow this one.
Get'm
Whatever happened to the NRA defense that "Guns don't kill people, people kill people". By their own philosophy it doesn't matter which gun killed, the perpatrator would have had a gun anyway.
You are an absolute idiot. Does your caretaker know you are phucking with the pooter again???
the nra can kiss my concave ass!!!!!
those fat ass sucking scumbags should give out free guns to the debate audience along with military arsenal that they sell for free yes for free they are doing that anyhow, just like the westerns on tv and point them to rompney yo-ho-ho and all his up the ass congress and lobbyist and maybe they will think twice !!!!?????
the nra should have no place in government. they are corrupt !!!!
Take a Pill!
The NRA has an IDEOLOGY of KILL, KILL, KILL. Just like the REPUKES & TEA-SHYSTERS!!!
They are out for their own GREEDY and KILLING Ideal WAYS !!!
Take another Pill!
This COUNTRY because of CONGRESS GREED and the NRA SLUGS has turned it into a COUNTRY OF BANK ROBBERS AND GUN SLINGERS and their GREED IDEOLOGIES!!!!!
Take the whole damned bottle!! Haven't seen a bank Robbery in several days now. I think it is safe for you to take your head out of your colon socket.
So you are saying that bank robbers use legal weapons, lol
WOW!! People blaming the NRA for this and that. Even claiming their membership is un-Patriotic or un-American. Nothing could be further from the truth! Those that think this need to see how the NRA came into being. It was formed by Union Generals who had just preserved the country during the Civil War. There is a reason they are so powerful in Washington. They have over 6 Million Members from all walks of life and cover every demographic group. Rich or poor, any creed color or religion or sexual preference it doesn't matter. Just a short list of famous members: John F. Kennedy, John Wayne, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, Audie Murphy, Alvin York, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry S Truman, Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt, Jimmy Doolittle. The list goes on and on. The fact of the matter is the current administration got caught doing an illegal activity and needs to be held accountable. It does not matter the political affiliation. The 31 Democrats that are defecting are listening to their constituents and not the Democratic Party Leadership. They remember 1993 when President Clinton screwed up and it cost them the House and Senate.
Only one issue with your summary - The current administration - "didn't get caught."
This is a witch hunt in colution with the NRA to make the Obama Presidency look bad.
Plain and Simple.
Eric Holder and the Obama administration are not cooperating with a Congressional investigation into the Fast and Furious operation. Thousands of guns went to Mexican criminals and hundreds of lives were lost. It was done without the consent of the Mexican government and it appears that it was sanctioned by the Obama administration.
Holder, with Obama's assistance, is refusing to release documentation that would likely clear this up, one way or the other. Until they do, the appearance is that they are hiding something very damaging.
They may not be, but it sure doesn't appear that way.
Some Democrats don't want to be tied to this sinking ship. Can't blame them.
The once great NRA has degenerated into a right wing vote mongering PAC and that's sad because their unflinching support of the Second Amendment has been pivotal to preserve and protect this essential right of all Americans to keep and bear arms.
Holder's Fast and Furious program was an enormous misfire, a fundamentally ignorant, perhaps even stupid mistake. Obama's advisors clearly weren't doing their jobs by allowing this ludicrous program to occur in the first place. Zero effective oversight by the very people who are supposed to be looking out for the Prez.
All that said, I'm a strong demo who totally supports not just the Second Amendment, but the entire Bill of Rights, something most repugnicans simply will not do.
And those apparent demo-defectors in this upcoming vote had better beware that like so many situations before this, voters will remember the pathetic defections more than the issues at hand and will vote the defectors out of office next time around as turncoats, Congressional whores incapable of standing by their very own party.
Obama is hiding something, otherwise why not just turn the documents over?
What does congress need them for? Because an agent died? BS!!!!
I guess Valerie Plame doesn't count? Where was the republican outrage then?
"Rosso3
What does congress need them for? Because an agent died? BS!!!!
I guess Valerie Plame doesn't count? Where was the republican outrage then?"
I think the Republicans were saving their outrage for something important, like the deaths of hundreds of Mexicans and at least 2 agents and the leaks of Classified Information that exposed our cyber technology and our double agents, not to mention incriminating our allies in espionage.
They didn't want to waste their outrage on some silly blonde file clerk that thought she was important.
OMG, are the dems really afraid of the NRA? This is so sad for our democracy that those who controll the minds are such a danger to our society.
GUNS kill people and ruin lives. And now their organization is trying to "hold up" the USA. This is a sad time for us folks. Please let's not give in to a bunch of redneck gun owners that think they can own all of us.
I don't care what the NRA wants!!! NRA ARE NOT ELECTED OFFICIALS!!!!
If the US Reps would stop bowing to these agencies and came to the people for contributions they wouldn't be so scared all the time.
If the PEOPLE donate we email our complaints and requests.
If these big LOBBYISTS donate they come to your office and order you around.
US Reps - STOP being WIMPS!! Forget those LOBBYISTS - go straight to the people - you'll sleep better!
Ahhh,
Democrat who really want to be re-elected are distancing themselves from Barrack and their own party. Won't help them.
Once you have worn the dreaded "D" after your name, you are branded as an idiot for life. Trying to get religion now is totally transparent and laughable.
All of those floating in the Democratic toilet will get flushed in November.
Barrack, the biggest turd, will lead the way. KER_FLUSHHHHH. LOL