Mitt Romney didn’t help himself this morning when he went on Meet the Press with Tim Russert. He made it perfectly clear that he is perfectly wimpy when it comes to standing strongly against the kind of gun restrictions the anti-gun crowd continues to push, like the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban. From the transcript of this morning’s show
..MR. RUSSERT: Let me turn to gun control. Here’s the headline: “Romney retreats on gun control. Romney, who once described himself as a supporter of strong gun laws, is distancing himself from that rhetoric now as he attempts to court the gun owners who make up a significant force in Republican primary politics. In his ‘94″ Senate race, Romney backed two gun-control measures strongly opposed by the National Rife Association and other” guns rights “groups: the Brady Bill, which imposed a five-day waiting period on gun sales, and a ban on certain assault weapons. `That’s not going to make me the hero of the NRA,’ Romney told the Boston Herald.’” “At another campaign stop” “he told reporters, `I don’t line up with the NRA.’” Suddenly Romney decides to run for president and signs up for a lifetime membership in the NRA.
GOV. ROMNEY: You know, it’s, it’s wonderful, and you’ll appreciate this. There is a great effort on the part of, in some cases, my opposition, in some cases, just folks that are interested in writing an interesting article to, to try and find any change at all. And my position on guns is the same position I’ve had for a long, long time. And, and that position is that I don’t line up 100 percent with the NRA. I don’t see eye to eye with the NRA on every issue. I…
Yup… he did the old “get me a huntin’ license” routine that another famous Mass pol did so convincingly a number of years ago. Watch this weasel squirm around
..MR. RUSSERT: You’re still for the Brady Bill?
GOV. ROMNEY: I supported the assault weapon ban. I…
MR. RUSSERT: You’re for it?
GOV. ROMNEY: I assigned–and I–let me, let me describe it.
MR. RUSSERT: But you’re still for it.
GOV. ROMNEY: Let’s describe what it is. I signed–I would have supported the original assault weapon ban. I signed an assault weapon ban in Massachusetts governor because it provided for a relaxation of licensing requirements for gun owners in Massachusetts, which was a big plus. And so both the pro-gun and the anti-gun lobby came together with a bill, and I signed that. And if there is determined to be, from time to time, a weapon of such lethality that it poses a grave risk to our law enforcement personnel, that’s something I would consider signing. There’s nothing of that nature that’s being proposed today in Washington. But, but I would, I would look at weapons that pose extraordinary lethality…
MR. RUSSERT: So the assault ban that expired here because Congress didn’t act on it, you would support?
GOV. ROMNEY: Just as the president said, he would have, he would have signed that bill if it came to his desk, and so would have I. And, and, and yet I also was pleased to have the support of the NRA when I ran for governor. I sought it, I seek it now. I’d love to have their support. I believe in the right of Americans to bear arms…
The fact that Bush would have signed the bill is no great recommendation for your position Mitt, and if you knew the folks you’re asking to vote for you a little better, you’d understand that. The man is even more ignorant of firearms than I am, and he shows it every time he starts with the “weapons that pose extraordinary lethality” nonsense. Who talks like that? And what the heck does it even mean!?
..MR. RUSSERT: How about the Brady Bill?
GOV. ROMNEY: The Brady Bill has changed over time, and, of course, technology has changed over time.
MR. RUSSERT: But the idea of a waiting period.
GOV. ROMNEY: Well, we have, we have a background check. That’s the key thing. I support background checks to, to–for people who are going into a store or whatever and buying a weapon, I want them to have a background check to make sure…
MR. RUSSERT: But you stand by your support of the Brady Bill.
GOV. ROMNEY: …to make sure, to make sure that the, that the crazies don’t buy guns.
The, the current Brady Bill is, is a different measure than the original. The original had a waiting period because it took a long time to check on people’s backgrounds. Today we can check instantly on backgrounds. I don’t want to cause a waiting period that’s not necessary based upon today’s technology. But my position is we should check on the backgrounds of people who are trying to purchase guns. We also should keep weapons of unusual lethality from being on the street. And finally, we should go after people who use guns in the commission of crimes or illegally, but we should not interfere with the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns either for their own personal protection or hunting or any other lawful purpose. I support the work of the NRA. I’m a member of the NRA. But do we line up on every issue? No, we don’t.
That’s pathetic. We DO have a crime problem. But the crime problem isn’t because we have guns in America. The crime problem isn’t because we don’t have enough laws on the books for law abiding citizens to try to comply with. We have a crime problem because we have people who couldn’t care less what the bloody law is, they’re going to prey on the rest of us regardless. If I had a closet full of full autos and RPGs, I would be no more of a danger to the community than the little old lady who lives behind me. But that crackhead in the alley behind the Stinker station getting ready to rob the place is a danger to all of us, whether he has a stolen gun or a long stick. And Mitt’s only answer is the same as the gun control crowd… MORE gun control aimed at law abiding citizens. He’s staked out a position that he knows he cannot defend to his base, and by doing so he can’t even discuss it intelligently, he has to squirm and tap dance. He supports the so called Assault Weapons Ban, and he supports the Brady Bill. Here is the assessment of the Gun Owners of America
..What we do know is that even in Massachusetts, Romney has tried to appease both sides of the aisle. As governor, Romney supported legislation to ease restrictions on gun licensing in the state, but he only did so at the expense of gun rights, as he signed a draconian ban on common, household firearms that are owned by millions of Americans across the nation.
This is kind of like the thief who sticks a gun in your ribs and demands $100, but then gives you $25 back to “soften” the blow.
Seeing that Mr. Romney likes to frequent both sides of the legislative aisle, Americans are going to want to know where he really stands on issues that are important to them. And when they go to polls next year, voters are going to be asking, “Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up?”
I’m not asking that. The real Mitt Romney is standing up, for all to see. He’s that slick weasel over there doing the John F Kerry imitation. He sounded like a constitutionalist the other day when he gave his “freedom of religion” speech. He’s memorized the words of the Second Amendment, and he even strings them together fairly well, in very short sound bites and 30 second TV debate answers. But when you listen to him here, let me ask you, “Do you trust this man with your Second Amendment Rights?” Are you fooled yet?
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