From the annals of linguini-spined elected representation comes news of Michigan’s Rep. Mike Bishop who represents the 8th Congressional district in the south-central part of the mitten. Like everyone in the House he’s up for reelection this November and he’s apparently been watching a lot of MSNBC and CNN during and after last weekend’s March for Our Lives.
Republican Rep. Mike Bishop’s support of the Second Amendment, right-to-carry legislation and his A/A+ rating from the National Rifle Association have been removed from his campaign website.
It’s all just a coincidence, of course. It has nothing to do with the anti-gun media onslaught since Parkland.
Bishop campaign spokesman Stu Sandler said the issues page was updated recently for the first time since Bishop was a U.S. House candidate in 2014, and now focuses on matters in which the Rochester Republican has played a role during his time in Congress.
“The issues are ones that come up in the community but also that he’s had a major role in terms of legislation — jobs and the economy, tax reform, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, pipeline safety, opioid task force — go down the line,” Sandler said.
Bishop was on the baseball field last year when James Hodgkinson opened fire and shot Rep. Steve Scalise, a capitol police woman and two others. So you’d think he’s have a particular respect for the right to armed self defense. But that was nine months ago. An eternity in political time.
The “issues” page of Bishop’s website no longer mentions guns or the Second Amendment. Also scrubbed from the page are descriptions of Bishop as a supporter of right to work laws, his opposition to abortion and to amnesty for undocumented immigrants.
The campaign site now features largely bipartisan issues, including the opioid epidemic, college affordability, Great Lakes conservation and protecting children from predators.
Because nothing fires up the base and brings them out on election day like conciliatory bipartisanship and signaling — however subtly — that your support for a basic civil right like the right to keep and bear arms may be wavering.
We don’t know who’s advising him on campaign strategy, but good luck with that, Rep. Bishop.