Guns in America

Congrats to Dan the Man for live blogging CNN’s “Guns in America” town hall, featuring President Obama. It takes a special kind of human being to sit through an event that rivals bee keeping for dramatic tension. That said, apiculture offers the possibility that someone will get stung. Right from the beginning of the GiA special it was clear that no one in that hand-picked, pre-screened audience was capable of putting the President into the rhetorical equivalent of anaphylactic shock. That said . . .

He almost did it to himself, thanks to his abject inability to utter a reasonably pacey coherent compound sentence without telepromptation. If the President was a Disney Audio-Animatron (you heard it here first) his electrical connection was on the fritz. Mr. Obama was intermittently inarticulate, prone to pauses pregnant enough to keep Kate Gosselin in a family way for decades. Which leads us to the most important “Guns in America” takeaway: Americans are wimps.

Slightly more charitably, CNN produced a TV program by wimps, for wimps, with wimps, saying wimpy things about guns. Other than a couple of half-hearted opening parries by moderator Cooper: indirect questions that he singularly failed to press home. Like this:

COOPER: There’s a lot of people out there who don’t trust you, obviously, on the issue of guns. You keep saying you don’t want to take away everybody’s guns, but there’s a lot of people out there tonight watching who don’t believe you. There’s a lot of people in this room who, frankly, don’t believe you. And it’s not that you don’t really have personal experience having owned a gun, but it’s that things you said — support for Australia’s tough anti-gun policies. They banned semiautomatic assault rifles, they — they banned even shotguns in Australia.

OBAMA: Right.

COOPER: You praised their policies over and over. Back in 2008, you said — you talked about bitter Americans clinging to their guns. Even now, these executive actions tended to cause a lot of concern among a lot of people. What can you say to somebody tonight to convince them that you don’t want to take away everybody’s guns? That you’re not coming for their guns?

OBAMA: Well, first of all, Anderson, I think it’s useful to keep in mind, I’ve been, now, president for over seven years, and gun sales don’t seem to have suffered during that time.

COOPER: If anything, actually, you’ve helped.

OBAMA: They’ve — they’ve — gone up. I’ve — been very good for gun manufacturers.

And . . . that’s it. The President’s admiration for The Land Down Under’s gun control regime – wherein handguns are banned for civilian usage, for example – was lost in the midst of an answer so stilted and convoluted you wonder if the President learned his diction and debating skills from watching the first hour of The Queen’s Speech. Even so, once the “town hall” got started – direct from Thorazine Town – no one dared confront the President of the United States about his desire to degrade and destroy Americans’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. Not Chris Kyle’s widow. Not Pinal County Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu. And not the gun dealer guy. They all wimped out.

All someone, anyone had to do was look the Commander-in-Chief in the eye and say “Mr. President, what do the words ‘shall not be infringed’ mean to you?” Or “If you’re not trying to take away our guns why did you call for a ban on so-called ‘assault rifles’? Come to think of it, Mr. President, why do you keep calling them ‘weapons of war’ when millions of God-fearing, law-abiding Americans own them – as is their right under the protections provided by the Second Amendment? Huh Mr. President? Mr. Constitutional scholar. Why? Tell me why . . . Wait. I’m sorry Anderson. With all due respect Mr. President, answer the God damn question.”

Respect. There was WAY too much of it on display at the “Guns in America” special. I’m not saying the questioners kissed the President’s ass (although they did). It was worse than that. The President kissed the questioners‘ asses. First, let me thank you for getting shot. Or not getting shot. Or knowing someone who was shot. Or wanting to shoot someone who raped you. Or not shooting me. After blessing his erstwhile interrogators with his anti-ballistic beneficence, the President waffled and wafted through interminable verbiage, all of which lacked sound and fury and signified absolutely nothing.

If you don’t agree that the GiA special portrayed America as a nation of wimps, consider the fact that CNN showed the President of the United States watching the President of the United States crying “because he was angry” about “gun violence.” I’m sure there’s a Russian bodyguard somewhere still trying to clean off the coffee Vladimir Putin sprayed onto his jacket when the Russian leader saw that bit. Personally, I felt ill. And knew exactly why Americans are seriously considering elevating a mindless megalomaniac to the nation’s highest office. The Donald may cheat at golf, as may Obama, but at least Mr. Trump doesn’t cry in public. And then fight back tears watching himself cry in public. In public.

In the The Hollow Men, poet T.S. Elliott wrote “This is the way the world ends, Not with a bang but a whimper.” TTAG’s writers and commentators do their best to tell the truth about guns, no holds barred; intellectually, passionately and humorously. But after watching that non-debate debacle on a national news network, I get the feeling that the end is nigh. Just saying.

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149 COMMENTS

  1. Alrighty then-thanks for the synopsis. I lasted 2 minutes. Did Bury shed any tears tonite guys? Powder…dry.

    • The end is nigh, now you get it. And it won’t matter one whit who gets elected. Those people who keep thinking they can vote their way to freedom are nailing their own casket. The nature of politicians, of all politicians, is to seek power and control. Of what and how doesn’t matter, but once it is gained it is never given up willingly. Maybe I’m wrong, but does seem as if the list of rules has always increased no matter who was elected, not decreased, along with the debt that they put you in. From Precious Washington to Reagan, they all added to it and nary took a thing away. The AWB, the only thing Bush did was…nothing. Hardly inspiring. Anyway, they’re not coming for your guns, you’ll vote them away whilst praying to Jesus, because that’s what they rely on, your cooperation. You allow them to educate, transport and feed you children. It’s ironic, even tragic that your own children will undo you. You refuse to give up the collectivism, superstition and idol worship, but all of these things must go of true individuality and freedom are to flourish.

      • ” And it won’t matter one whit who gets elected. Those people who keep thinking they can vote their way to freedom are nailing their own casket. The nature of politicians, of all politicians, is to seek power and control. Of what and how doesn’t matter, but once it is gained it is never given up willingly. ”

        I bring this up to all of my statist friends. I also give them the Lysander Spooner quote of…

        “But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain – that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case it is unfit to exist.”

        …and watch their heads explode trying to rationalize away the logic behind it.

        Unfortunately, the change will be a violent one, or it will never happen. Unless the masses (and states) can be convinced to stop sending revenue to DC, it will be another civil war, and it will make our first one look like a playground brawl.

      • I will give you every gun I own , and that’s a true arsenal , if Ted Cruz does anything to take away our 2nd amendment rights and in fact will give them all to you if he doesn’t try and roll back some of the anti-constitutional crap that has already been shoved down our craws .

    • Most important take away? He gets to state lies as truth and no one, even politely, calls him out on it.
      Hard to solve a problem when one of both sides can lie.

    • My answer to gun control . Purchase a damn good awesome made PHANTOM ARMS smp-635 . It’s a select fire sub machine pistol made by an underground gun manufacturer in the south . Their motto is “With the stroke of a pen the rights of we the people are easily taken away and it takes rivers of blood to get those rights back …Purchase now ” !!!!!

  2. Honestly, think about America after one term of Trump. It would be a fantastic place were the media would be shattered and PC would be dead. Get in pussies. We’re making America great again.

    • >> It would be a fantastic place were the media would be shattered and PC would be dead.

      Will Muslims be in internment camps, or is this for the second term?

      • Let me say this about that, and let me make it perfectly clear: I don’t care where they will be, as long as they aren’t raping, pulling jihadi shootings, plotting to blow people up, and figuring out ways to force folks to join their religion under threat of death.

        • You sounds like a late-30s German citizen. “I don’t care where the Jews are, as long as I don’t have to see them.”

          Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

        • He sounds like someone who wants criminals in prison and not causing mayhem on the streets. Non-citizen criminals to be deported after their imprisonment. This is all current law. Too bad the current President is a lawless oath-breaker.

          • No. He sounds like someone who wants those he thinks (based largely on prejudices and stereotypes) are criminal in prison, with no due process, and fuck the Constitution. In short, he sounds like someone who would sacrifice other people’s liberty for his safety. As I recall, one of the Founders warned about something like that…

        • Imprisoning criminals for “raping, pulling jihadi shootings, plotting to blow people up, and figuring out ways to force folks to join their religion under threat of death” is all constitutional.
          I am not sure who you think is arguing for placing people in camps. Heartland Patriot didn’t say it. Have you found the exact Trump quote yet where he proposes to place people in camps? I looked and haven’t found it.

          • He did not propose to place people in a camp. He proposed to register and monitor all Muslims (not all criminals – unless you assume that all Muslims are criminals by definition) in US. That’s blatant violation of 4A.

            When someone pointed out that this is one step away from Japanese internment (for obvious reasons that I shouldn’t have to explain here, given that most readers here assume that gun registry is one step away from gun confiscation for those same reasons), and asked him whether he would condemn the later, he refused to do so, saying that “it was a tough call” and that “you need to make tough choices to win” and “we haven’t won in a long time”.

            Ditto with the poster above. He didn’t say he wants criminals to be imprisoned. He said that it doesn’t care what happens to Muslims (which, again, is not a subset of criminals, unless you’re dangerously insane) if that prevents them from “raping and pillaging” – which also carries an implicit assumption that all Muslims do.

            Dog whistle is still there, even though it’s less subtle these days.

        • He did specifically cite Japanese-American internment during WW2 as a valid and positive model in the context of discussing his proposals on Muslims because “that’s what strong countries do to win”. It’s not exactly hard to add 2 and 2 and get 4.

          His supporters are even more blatant about this. Just look at this guy above who said “I don’t care where they will be”. That’s your typical Trump voter.

          Trump is exactly the kind of guy that the Second Amendment was written in mind of. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, that’ll be the time to start shooting. I do wonder how many of the various “Patriot”, “Oath Keeper”, “3%” etc groups see it that way, though. Based on what I’ve seen there wrt broad anti-Muslim bigotry and willing desire to ignore the Constitution on that matter (as in “Islam is not a religion, so freedom of religion does not apply, so everything goes”), a good part of them would rather volunteer to be guards in such camps. But hopefully not the majority. And hopefully that would break it. Hopefully.

      • Typical liberal. Do you believe everything you see on CNN? How about you go make up more BS about anyone not named Hitlery over at the blog HuffPo.

      • There are millions and millions of Muslims happily raping and killing in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Trump is a pretty yuuge, scary guy, but I have feeling there is still going to be a lot of raping and killing going on even if he gets elected. So don’t worry, the thousand year orgy of rape and violence will probably continue.

        But if a President Trump curtails Muslim immigration and deters Muslim rape mobs from being a thing in the U.S. for a few more years, I’m fine with that.

  3. Mark Kelly stood up and said that he and and Gabby Giffords both own guns. Maybe someone could ask for their thoughts on Obama’s executive order taking 2nd Amendment rights from people who can’t handle their own finances, and whether Gabby Giffords can handle her own finances..

    • I set up a camera on my tv pointing at me to record my reaction. I watched the entire circus and had some great responses to the bullshit.
      Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you look at it, I had the settings on 1080 and 60fps so I only got the first ten minutes until the memory got full.

  5. “They all wimped out.”

    More likely than not, all in attendance to this charade were given lengthy instructions on how to behave while on the presence of the liberal’s hero.

    Perfect example of smoke & mirrors.

    • That’s exactly why the NRA said FU to their invitation and I applaud them for it.

      • Fox 2 news Detroit called the NRA out and complained they weren’t there to sit down and have a conversion.

        • I have used this example before …

          Say that 55% of the U.S. population supports man-woman on-demand sex … meaning any man can demand sex from any woman and the woman is guilty of a felony if she does not immediately cooperate. Are the 45% of the population who disagree obligated to “sit down and have a conversation”? Should we condemn that 45% of the population who oppose man-woman on-demand sex because they refuse to support common sense sex laws?

        • Lordy, Jeff, that is a riot, even if I don’t believe you did it on purpose! I think that is exactly what Obama wanted, for the NRA to “sit down and have a *conversion*”.

    • I bet it was more than instructions. No doubt they were required to sign forms, were threatened, rehearsed, etc.

      The media may be dumb but they are not stupid, and presenting lies and fantasies as truth is what they do best.

      And I do agree with the NRA not showing up for this sham. There was very little upside for them and lots of bad.

  6. I was doing windshield time, collecting coin and outlining with vendors three projects, should they close, 2016 will be a good year. So I missed the The “Liar & Chief” lay on the bull shit. Sad no one stood in the Arena but the pussification of the country is almost complete.

    Thanks for the update. Vote 2016

  7. The president’s Executive Orders announcement
    kind of reminded me of the 1987 movie Broadcast News where William Hurt’s character faked his tears to get higher ratings.

  8. I cut the cable cord years ago. One reason was I didn’t want CNN. Even the most basic package at that time had it. I just did not want them to get any of my money. Hopefully those who read TTAG or support gun rights will cut the cord.

      • Bit torrent is your friend. Cut the cord almost 10 years ago, and aside from a relapse due to a roommate who absolutely had to have cable, haven’t looked back since.

      • Google Play or Amazon prime dude. Big Walking Dead fan here as well but No mas on the cable for me.

    • In my 3rd year as a cord cutter. I was actually developing an unhealthy attachment to arguing with MSNBC on Sunday mornings. Luckily I get plenty of local stuff over the air, and can still watch the Panthers. Between Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, we get all the shows we want and it still costs way less than a cable.

  9. I do not agree with Obama in any way shape or form… but I have to say he went up a notch in my book tonight. These were not softball questions (Especially the rape victim talking about concealed carry.) and while he is wrong in every way, I do respect the fact that he went up there to debate.

    • I already had a lot of contempt and disrespect for the boy president, but he lost even more with me. He clearly doesn’t know a damn thing about the gun laws or gun shows. Since he’s never been a gun owner, I don’t expect him to and as such, he shouldn’t be discussing much of anything to do with guns because he got to grow up in the “paradise” of Hawaii and since 2007, he’s had taxpayer funded bodyguards.

      This creature has been so insulated from the world’s problems that he can’t comprehend any argument from real people; all he can do is spout the liberal nonsense he’s be fed in school and Universities.

      • The government provides protection.

        Protection financed by stolen wages.

        They know more guns equals less crime.

        They need crime.

        It validates their existence.

        When crime is low, the peasants question the need for a large and violent state…

        To keep the serfs underfoot they import the 3rd world and attempt to remove the guns.

        When crime goes up, the slaves run to their master to save them and their children.

        The pendulum swings further left.

        • This shortened version says it all:

          Government needs crime.

          When crime is low, the peasants question the need for a large and violent government …

          As you were … or not.

      • Exactly! On par with his usual Brat and hag window dressing every time he does a press conference performance to push more feel good propaganda.

  10. Crybaby Sparklefarts did his very best to …. ….well……”sparkle” and of course he’s always crying about getting no respect from the evil NRA or Republicans or most of Congress all of whom refuse to accept his personal magnificence.

    I more f’ing year and 13 more f’ing days

  11. I think that Anderson Cooper was the wrong CNN figurehead for this particular gig… They should have chosen Lynne Russell.

  12. I skipped the special on CNN so I could buy an AR-15 off a guy in a Cabela’s parking lot. The irony was not lost on either of us.

  13. BREAKING – 11:15 PM EST – President Obama writes New York Times Editorial demanding mandatory ‘Smart Gun’ technology.

    “The gun industry also needs to do its part. And that starts with manufacturers.

    As Americans, we hold consumer goods to high standards to keep our families and communities safe. Cars have to meet safety and emissions requirements. Food has to be clean and safe. We will not end the cycle of gun violence until we demand that the gun industry take simple actions to make its products safer as well. If a child can’t open a bottle of aspirin, we should also make sure she can’t pull the trigger of a gun.

    Yet today, the gun industry is almost entirely unaccountable. Thanks to the gun lobby’s decades of efforts, Congress has blocked our consumer products safety experts from being able to require that firearms have even the most basic safety measures.”

    “Require”.

    People Of The Gun, you know what *that* means.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/opinion/president-barack-obama-guns-are-our-shared-responsibility.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-top-region&region=opinion-c-col-top-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-top-region

    • I don’t expect a progressive to understand how markets work, but just in case any are reading this – People don’t buy what manufacturers want to make, the manufacturers make what the people want to buy.

      • “People don’t buy what manufacturers want to make, the manufacturers make what the people want to buy.”

        Try telling that to Californians when they want to buy a new car. (to say nothing about the guns they’d really like to buy, but can’t, because… California.)

        There are a bunch of other products sold in Cali that are for the Cali market *only*.

        Because, …California.

        (Speshul Snowflakes, don’t ya know…)

        • @Wedel, that is an old, tired opinion…..the country is being Californicated, and has been for decades. Where are you going to point the blame in 5-10 years when the rest of the country makes today’s California look free?

    • If they’re that safe perhaps they should mandate them for the NYPD first. I mean, they’re not exactly safe with guns as precedence has shown.

    • Aren’t the only “smart guns” that are out there available only in .22LR? I think they also cost about as much as 2 or 3 new Glocks.

  14. Assbama’s ideal world is dystopic, but mine is not. In my world, the individual right to defend my life is alive and well. And as long I am on the upside of the sod, life is good and my family will be safe.

  15. I think that we’re all appalled that the US seems to be the home of the beta male, but in my opinion, Obama is neither.

  16. “…an event that rivals bee keeping for dramatic tension.”

    Spoken like someone who’s never popped the lid off an Africanized hive… Dramatic and tense!

    As far as this CNN “special” goes, I gave up watching presidential dog-and-pony shows several presidents ago. There’s more substance in the average internet cat video.

    • Come on. You send those bad boys into a smoke-filled reverie before saying hello, right? Then again, is there such a thing as a thrill seeking bee keeper?

      • Smoke doesn’t really do much to calm a really “hot” hive. Africanized bees subscribe to the “speed, surprise, and violence of action” school of self-defense, and they can go from calm to DEFCON 1 in seconds. Even with a full bee suit on, a cloud of hundreds of the little buggers bouncing aggressively off your face is…bracing.

        • Stinkeye,

          I have always wondered: are bee suits puncture proof … at least in terms of bee stingers?

          If they are not, then anywhere that the suit is tightly stretched on skin means a bee could sting through the suit.

          Either way, it seems like I have heard recently about people wearing bee suits and getting stung through their suit. It seemed like the suits greatly reduced the number of stings but did not entirely eliminate them.

  17. Tears because “he’s mad.” Really? Men (and I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt on that) don’t tear up when they’re mad. They, for better or worse, yell, curse, punch a wall, etc. They don’t shed a tear, unless of course the tear(s) is only part of a performance.

  18. This may have already been mentioned, but right before this thing started the talking heads were speculating that Obama would make gun control and climate change his signature issues after he leaves office. My husband is really not looking forward to being nagged about those for the next few decades. Neither am I, but don’t even get him started.

    • Bloomberg would be happy to use him as a sock puppet I’m sure. I don’t really wanna talk about where his hand will go. Maybe Rahm will wear his welcome in Chicago out at this rate and take Obama there with him.

  19. Love your writing, RF, and agree with your entire take on this “Town Hall”. What frightens me most is I see NO ONE on the horizon who offers any semblance of sanity concerning our rights as POTG. Vote in 2016, but for WHAT, exactly?

    NO ONE.

    • Not to hijack this into a political discussion, but I have my concerns on that as well. There’s alot of talk, but no really strong track records. I know Cruz tends to be a Constitutionalist, but I’m not sold on him yet. Christie is on the 2A bandwagon now, yet he’s done absolutely nothing to support 2A in The People Republic of New Jersey. I like the fact that The Donald has the nuts to say whatever comes to mind and got some good conversations started, but that’s part of the problem – fools don’t know when to talk and when to shut up. And, he’s orange. I really struggle with voting for someone who’s orange. Any normal human color, I’m OK with. Orange? Not so much.

    • I’m glad you put “Town Hall” in quotes. After tonight, I believe that term (and format) is officially meaningless, and dead to the world.

  20. Like the fed up ranchers in Oregon and many western states , gun owners are in the ‘ battered spouse ‘ cycle from never ending assaults by elitist do-gooder / do-something lawfakers. The abuse WILL continue ………. until it gets stopped , permanently.

    • It will never be permanently stopped, no matter what. There always have been, and always will be scumbags who want to take away the rights and freedoms of other people.

      • Which is exactly why the Founders tried to codify a system to minimize the effect they could have.

        Looking back, that lasted one generation at most. The decay began almost immediately. It took 100 years to pick up real steam and hit critical mass.

        They tried. I’ve often wondered what things would be like if the government actually followed the Constitution rather than spending time and our money trying to find ways to game it.

        • Actually, it lasted months. That little incident called the Whiskey Rebellion was the beginning of the end for the US as it was founded.

        • True enough. I figured someone would call me on that.

          I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt in terms of describing systemic decay. Fair enough to say it clearly did not last beyond a generation. Once the original founders were gone, the system was pretty much gone with them.

          Sad. It is an intriguing idea to think of what it “could be.”

  21. Idiot or not he’s the prez. It’s easy to talk a big game and fall flat when it comes time to put up. In the end some of the key points were made that needed to be including first and foremost that background checks would not have had an impact on any of the major shootings that made the news. I also wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the narrative was virtually fully controlled by Obama and that anyone who was “unruly” would get assisted out by the Secret Service or something.

  22. That was some fantastic prose. But, what happened in the Town Hall? Did Obama announce any new plans for gun control? Do we have something new to expect?

    • “Did Obama announce any new plans for gun control? Do we have something new to expect?”

      Read tomorrow’s New York Times.

      Obama wrote an editorial outlining what he wants to do.

      It isn’t good for gun rights.

  23. Ok but why then wasn’t the NRA there asking those tough questions. I’m so upset by that I can’t even speak. I mean we send them all this money and they aren’t at this event defending us? So disappointed

  27. Sure but when your right. Even if the deck is stacked against you. SHOW UP!! Make your voice heard. I think they let us down and gave feul to the other side

    • “Make your voice heard.” And what, appear beligerant to gun-control advocates and those on the fence on gun control issues? The new town hall format has no open, free dialogue (a previous poster is correct in that it has lost its meaning). Nothing to gain there.

    • Nothing good would have come from the NRA going on this dog and pony show. We are doing quite well, we don’t need CNN to get our message out.

  28. Guys I totally agree. However. We are right !! They weren’t going to do anything that was going to make anything worse in the eyes of the liberals and gun haters. Be there. Show your not afraid to step up and fight

    • I get that you are quite passionate about this, but really, this was not the venue for NRA to make a stand.

      Anything said by the NRA reps present would be twisted and/or ridiculed. CNN and the White House controlled the venue, controlled the content produced therein and had complete control of the message.

      There simply was no point to show up and play into that…none whatsoever.

  29. A squib, no bang, no muzzle flash, nothing
    Thought I was watching The Wizard of Oz, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Nothing like the Prep Rally like last week!
    Vote Cruz, he will not forget the lesson his father learned in Cuba, supporting Castro, then disarming the population, only candidate that has a personal expierence of how tyrants gain power via his father’s history

  30. This is the first election year where I have no idea what’s going to happen. In 2008, my gut told me Obama would win because the economy was poor and McCain was a weak candidate. 2008 was a “change election” due to the economy being poor. McCain, being old and in politics forever, was not a “change candidate.” Obama, for better or worse, was a “different” candidate and filled the role of “change” very well. So much so, he use the word “change” almost every chance he got on the campaign trail.

    In 2012, my gut told me Obama would win reelection because Romney was a weak candidate. Obama failed to deliver on his “change” pledge. Voters put Obama in the White House because of the economy and he used up that political capital for Obamacare. The economy was in poor shape in 2012, so there was a very real possibility that Obama would be a one term President. Then the GOP nominated Romney and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. I can’t think of a candidate who is worse than Romney. He failed to articulate a contrast between himself and Obama. He’s not a conservative, so many Republican voters stayed home on election day. The GOP had a winning issue with Obamacare and found the one Republican who was responsible for a very similar law in his state (Romneycare). It’s almost as if the GOP was trying to lose the election.

    This time around, my gut tells me we’re going to have another “change election.” However, this time, it won’t be about the economy. I don’t think it will be about any one issue. Rather, a general dissatisfaction with everything. Hillary Clinton, being old and in politics forever, is not a “change candidate.” Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson do fit the “change” role very well. However, Trump isn’t just “different.” Obama was “different” because he was young, articulate, and African-American. While “different,” he was still a typical politician that started in state office and moved up to the Senate. In other words, Obama, while “different,” wasn’t all that different from any other politician. Obama had a long history of being a liberal. We knew what we were going to get with Obama.

    Trump is not just “different,” he is really different. He does not have a long history of being a conservative. The phrase “he was for it before he was against it” describes The Donald on many issues. We don’t know what we’re going to get with Trump. Despite that, many Republicans are supporting him. I don’t think anything like that has ever happened before. Trump isn’t a Republican. Trump doesn’t belong to any party. He’s the first independent who has a shot at winning the Presidency.

    If he does, what then? I have no idea.

  31. How many people tuned in to watch? I suspect not very many. Liberals/Democrats being perplexed about this issue is interesting to watch. They don’t get it. They rely too much on polling and ignore what happens on election day. After Newtown, Obama and the media kept talking about “90% support” from some poll. Then the 2014 mid term election came and Republicans won a landslide election. If 90% of Americans truly supported more gun control, we would have seen that support reflected on election day. Republicans who opposed the President would have lost their jobs. The fact remains, unless we see Republicans lose elections because of opposition to gun control, support for gun control amounts to nothing more than hashtags and slacktivism. The NFA is powerful because of its members. Telling a pollster you support x cost you nothing and requires no effort. Joining the NRA and voting requires money and effort. That’s something liberals and Democrats who support gun control don’t seem to get. Their hashtag army is too lazy to vote.

    • The 90% support statistic you are talking about is one I remember hearing too. I don’t believe it now and I did not believe it then. In fact within my daily travels when people ask me find out I am a shooter, they show interest in what I do. I often hear, “I have never owned a gun, but with the way things are now days I am going to get one.” I also have been asked, ” would you be willing to show someone how to shoot if they bought themselves a gun?” That is encouraging to me and if anything it shows that people are paying attention.

      Now another thing I have noticed is that politicians seem to focus, “putting out fires.” That is to say the issues they give most of their attention to areas and subjects that are not in line with their agenda. The democrats have decided that evil, dangerous, guns and gun owners are this elections new straw man. This is a notorious subject for liberals democrat and republican alike. Yes, I said republican because not all republicans are conservative, (ahem looking at you Mr Mcain) and do not support our way of life. Obama is doing the town hall “debate” with screened attendees and questions and putting on live dramatic performances during speeches because he has failed miserably at pushing the civilian disarmament agenda of his party. All last night’s event has done is please the ears of his followers and frustrate his enemies. Furthermore I would wager that an effort is being made to steer attention away from subjects like immigration and the economy. There are some hard truths to those two subjects that are unavoidable and would not please the Democratic Party’s base. I sincerely hope that this helps to motivate conservatives and gun owners nation wide. It is time be heard.

      Ladies and gentleman, I cannot promise you that I will like the next republican candidate that runs for president. All I can say is that there will be one. Please do not cut off your nose despite your face by not voting. All you are doing is supporting those oppose your views and beliefs. In 2016 lets make sure we are heard.

  32. As an Australian who spent the afternoon pistol shooting and who has multiple shotguns the question from Cooper is not entirely accurate

    Semi autos are now similar to fully auto is USA if you want to do the paper work and depending on which state you are in you can own and use them. Licencing here is by state not federal and all a bit different

    Not that I like the current laws here but still easier to own firearms here than when I was in California for a while

    • That is one of the agravating things about our politicians and our “journalists”. They spend a lot of time talking about things as if they are subject matter experts when in reality they are ignorant and often quite misinformed. Never the less, don’t think for a second that has ever stopped them from spewing bad information.

    • “It’s easier to own certain firearms in Australia than it is in California.” is a talking point that we should throw at some of these dipsticks.

  34. Golly ghee wiz, I am starting to get a strong feeling we have the wrong mouth breather in the POTUS office!

  35. My question to the President would have been:

    “According to the Second Amendment, what are the conditions under which a citizen may be denied his or her right to keep and bear arms?”

    The other one I was thinking of: “What is the full text of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States?”

    I am sure both answers would not have given me confidence in the President’s willingness to secure my inalienable rights.

  36. All he kept referring to was chicago! Every city isn’t like chiraq. Very few in fact. That is only city he seems to care about. U cannot punish the rest of the U.S.A because of the complete failures of one city! Also, can you believe it when he told the rape victim that it was more likely she would shoot herself than her attacker, if a gun had been present. Disgusting.

  37. Obama talked alot but said nothing.

    I think he has done more to denigrate the office of the presidency and America’s international standing than Bill Clinton. He has made America look weak and indecisive.

    I can show disrespect because he is NOT my national leader, and as an Australian it is my prerogative to trim down the “tall poppies”. We will take the p**s out of anyone, especially our own national leaders.

    • “I think he has done more to denigrate the office of the presidency and America’s international standing than Bill Clinton. He has made America look weak and indecisive.”

      Forget Clinton. I’ve been thinking lately he may well have done more to denigrate America’s standing than Jimmy Carter.

      I remember the Misery Index. I remember Americans talking of feeling ashamed to have it known they were from the US when traveling abroad. I remember sensing the weakening of the national consciousness.

      And this feels worse. Maybe my memories of the 70’s have been dulled by time, but this just seems worse and on a much bigger scale.

    • I am truly amazed by some of the comments made on this site. S. Cross your comments got my attention not because of your obvious disdain for President Obama, but because of the irrationality of your thought processing. You state that you can disrespect this national leader because you are Australian and he is not your national leader. This comment errs in so many ways. By the same rational you are saying that it is justifiable to disrespect anyone in authority who you deem unworthy due to nationality (this would include ethnicity, gender, age etc.) or because they are simply disagreeable. Does your nationality somehow afford you the privilege to disregard courtesy, civility and feign humanity? I don’t know whether you are a parent or not or what capacity you serve in on your job, but would it be appropriate or even acceptable for a child or employee under your direction to blatantly disrespect you simply because you were his parent or primary supervisor?

      • You do realize that the President of the United States of America has no authority over the individuals in this nation, right? We don’t have royalty.

        Plus, he is a total douche nozzle anyway.

  38. American men have been socially conditioned by mainstream media and pop culture to be pussies for decades. Not every American male has been conditioned, and some races and ethnic groups are targeted more aggressively, but you can now see the results of this social conditioning more and more prominently as time passes.

  39. Here is an odd article from today’s NYT about something that “should have been a DGU”. In the Men’s Style section, for Heaven’s sake! A metrosexual’s perspective on being stabbed from behind and nearly killed in what was probably a gang initiation. The response from the NYPD was bizarre, to say the least. I mention it because from what I have been seeing on the NYT news feed, even they, however grudgingly, are being forced to acknowledge that crime cannot be stopped by the police, and even today, in spite of BO’s guest editorial, are having to walk back their position, however slowly (see for example today’s profile on small-scale gun sellers). They will never come around to saying that the banger might have thought twice if he had to fear an armed response, but the very fact that the attack came from behind says the banger feared anything resembling a face to face confrontation. Come to think of it, the anti’s fear anything resembling a face to face confrontation as well. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/fashion/mens-style/the-time-i-got-stabbed-in-the-neck.html?emc=edit_th_20160108&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=63520981&_r=0

  40. Debates and “town halls” are so stupid.
    Ask me a vetted question on friendly turf surrounded by friendly forces and I get to respond with no evidence, no citation, no interruption, no follow up and you get no rebuttal.
    Then we let the lead-chip eating mouth-breathers decide who is right and who is wrong.

    I guess that’s political “science.”
    It’s all about wrangling imbeciles for fun and profit.

  41. Slow-pitch softball, but his outright lies about then NFA process made me want to throw a weight at the TV in the gym.

  42. Interesting reaction to the suggestion people don’t trust him.

    “Mr. Obama, if I like my doctor I can keep him, so if I like my gun I can keep it too, right?”

  43. I like how Obama shows his support for gun owners by citing the backlash and fallout from his personal policies (to spite him) as proof of his benevolence.

    Either he’s the greatest troll/double agent in American history or he’s doing all he can to try and be seen as effective.

  44. Meh. I didn’t watch that drivel, had better things to do.

    By now Obama looks inarticulate and wimpy to more people than only gun owners. Besides, it’s one network staging some propaganda – would have been a bigger deal 20 years ago when a single major network drove opinion more effectively.

    TTAG had an interesting article the other day where you mentioned more local news stations running self-defense stories. There’s a nugget in there. We should write and demand that from our local news stations. “WHy haven’t I seen stories about the self-defense usage of a gun down the street?” Might not sound like much but 15 years from now those local newsies make it to the big leagues.

  45. BHO made several references to polce and sheriff’s taking action to assist an individual under attack.. SCOTUS has repeatedly ruled that law enforcement has no legal obligation to protect or assist individuals even when it is known the individual is under attack and will likely be killed. TTAG frequently posts examples of law enforcement refusing to provide assistance or intervention.

    I do not understand why these facts were not used last night to make the point for gun ownership. For me these facts say it all because the reality is if someone wants to do you harm law enforcement is not required to assist.

    I have posed this question several times and never get a response. For me it is the only fact necessary to own and carry guns.

  46. Bottom line, the people holding obamas markers have called them in. Why the big push now? Think about it.

  47. Basically, Obama knows these orders are a sham. He’s just doing “something” in his lame duck term to appease all the gun control lobbyists whom have donated to his campaign over the years.

  48. Jimmy Carter if officially off the hook as the worst president – he should send Obama a fruit basket every Christmas.

  49. I don’t mind the NRA not being there last night. I want to know why Cruz, Paul or Trump weren’t invited to the “Town Hall”. The rest of the R candidates might well have been there but wouldn’t have said anything even if called upon.

    • They weren’t invited because this farce was carefully curated. Every member of the audience was painstakingly vetted so as not to ask a question that nobody at CNN wanted answered. So naturally none of the GOP Presidential candidates were allowed. In fact, even though they invited the NRA, they were only permitted to ask ONE question, which would have to have been approved by CNN first. And CNN was not going to allow them to ask the question they wanted to ask.

  51. Been listening to Dana Loesch’s show and she confirmed my suspicions about this “townhall” farce.

    All questions were heavily pre-screened before people asking them were even considered to be allowed into the presence of the liberal’s demi-god.
    Explains why the NRA and several pro-gun folks didn’t bother to answer CNN’s invitation to this prefabricated charade.

    Sheesh. More lies from this administration… what a surprise. [/sarc]

  52. The political theater masquerading as a Town Hall only affirmed just how much Obama wants to find a legal, or extra-legal way to take our guns. He doth protest too much, me thinks. How many times did Obama say he didn’t want to take our guns? (Maybe that should have been magic phrase for the drinking game) Denying that you want to do a thing,…that you actually, really want to do, is a psychological deflection that’s as old as original sin. Whenever the Fed says they don’t expect to raise lending rates, prepare for an inevitable raise in lending rates. This kind of thinking is the product of an intellectually weak, or calculating mind.
    What we need is a Town Hall: Gun-grabbing in America. What Obama has said, what our elected politicians have said, what heralded members of the Lefty media are saying, and most of all, what anti-gun groups like those sponsored by billionaire Bloomberg are saying, and how all of them want to legislate their way around the 2nd amendment. Have Andrew McCarthy, Mark Levin, John Lott, etc. explain why our founding fathers crafted the 2nd A. And why any government attempt at eroding it, is a really bad idea. We need to reset the foundation of basic principles and understanding of the 2nd A, in a way every American can easily understand.

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