Patterico's Pontifications

3/12/2018

GOOD: Trump Is Afraid of the NRA

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 9:30 am



I’m happy to hear it. He should be.

The White House announced a series of recommendations Sunday night meant to stop school shootings, including a full audit and review of the FBI tip line after warnings about a student who killed 17 people at a Florida high school last month were not acted upon.

The administration did not call for immediately increasing the minimum age for buying long guns to 21, as President Trump had previously advocated. However, it did announce that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would chair a federal commission on school safety to study the proposal.

The recommendations were announced nearly a month after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

You know why Trump is just “studying” the issue, rather than announcing it? (Well, you know if you read the headline.)

He’s afraid of the NRA. Remember when he said that to Senator Pat Toomey on this very issue?

TRUMP: It doesn’t make sense that I have to wait ’til I’m 21 to get a handgun, but I can get this weapon at 18. I don’t know. So I was just curious as to what you did in your bill. You don’t address it.

TOOMEY: We didn’t address it, Mr. President.

TRUMP: You know why? Because you’re afraid of the NRA, right?

A lot of people are talking about it. As Trump says at the end of that clip: “A lot of people are afraid of that issue. Raising the age for that weapon to 21.”

And one of the people who is afraid is President Donald J. Trump.

Good. The right to bear arms is a constitutional right. He should be afraid to take it away.

[Cross-posted at RedState and The Jury Talks Back.]

76 Responses to “GOOD: Trump Is Afraid of the NRA”

  1. i don’t think he’s afraid of the IRA I think the estimation has been made that this isn’t a winnable policy fight *legally*

    (and rumor from last week is we may soon be needing to confirm a new berobed ivy league p.o.s. to the Supreme Court)

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  2. ugh that should be *NRA*

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  3. RIP Givenche. Fashion is fleeting, but style endures. Givenche had more style than most others combined.

    ropelight (0613b7)

  4. Larry Kudlow “Leading Contender” To Replace Gary Cohn: Report

    yay! this is trading way way up from the corrupt corpulent sacky what had the job before him

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  5. Americans old enough to serve in the armed forces are old enough to buy guns. Any other age restriction is unconstitutional.

    ropelight (0613b7)

  6. Donald J. Trump

    @realDonaldTrump

    On 18 to 21 Age Limits, watching court cases and rulings before acting. States are making this decision. Things are moving rapidly on this, but not much political support (to put it mildly).
    8:22 AM – Mar 12, 2018

    this is wise and perspicacious

    you can always count on our president, President Donald Trump, to make the wise choices that’s for sure

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  7. I wonder what Trump is doing tonight?

    felipe (023cc9)

  8. Nothing short of allowing trained volunteer teachers and staff to carry concealed weapons, combined with early detection programs and prompt removal of violent student offenders, will begin to curtail school massacres.

    Otherwise the twisted adolescent mind will continue to plan and execute bloodthirsty horror on an escalating scale.

    ropelight (0613b7)

  9. “prompt removal of violent student offenders”
    ropelight (0613b7) — 3/12/2018 @ 10:18 am

    I agree 100%.

    On the arming of faculty, I hate to imagine what screwed up nonsense the left will load into the training. The same with early detection programs, which will become early “cloaking” programs.

    Remember, the right is wedded to the left, and Phil Hartmen’s wife killed him while he slept.

    felipe (023cc9)

  10. Hartman!

    felipe (023cc9)

  11. One could give him props for getting good advice, by contrast Richard circoran is now on my dartboard

    narciso (d1f714)

  12. Just raise the age of adulthood to 27 like Obama wanted. There couldn’t possibly be any negative consequences from such an action! It would satisfy all the rape at university problem too because all sex under 27 would be illegal!

    Multiple problems solved all at once, no consequences!

    Dejectedhead (81690d)

  13. CNN’s copying you Patterico: Know who’s ‘afraid of the NRA’? Donald Trump. https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/12/politics/trump-guns-nra-analysis/index.html

    Tillman (a95660)

  14. I could not find the number of people ages 18-20 (I found 18-24 in the census numbers, 13%) but I imagine they’re enough to be swing voters in red and purple states, and those would also be the states with the stronger RKBA ethos.

    nk (dbc370)

  15. who wants to steal everybody’s guns is cowardslut constitution-hater Tim McGraw

    (i abjure this)

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  16. @4. ‘In 1987 Kudlow was rehired by Bear Stearns ( the global investment bank, securities trading and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and recession) as its chief economist and senior managing director. Kudlow was fired in 1994 after abuse of cocaine caused him to skip an important client presentation. Kudlow later admitted to a $10,000 a month cocaine habit.’ Yay, Mr. Feet!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  17. Good. The right to bear arms is a constitutional right. He should be afraid to take it away.

    Based on the law, 18 is too young to possess a handgun or alcohol but old enough to have an AR-15. If you think this makes sense, perhaps you can explain why.

    random viking (6a54c2)

  18. you know who else did a lot of cocaine is the Biden family

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  19. It could be Trump is “afraid” of the NRA, that is, the millions of rank and file that make up his base and draw the line at 2nd amendment infringement, not the lobbyists.

    Having said that, its apparent to me nevertrump types will never get pro Trump types because they always look at Trump through a negative perspective. By consistently viewing him as stupid and incompetent, they end up consistently underestimating him.

    The biggest mistake I think his detractors make is thinking he just shoots something dumb off the cuff , then ends up having to walk it back, declaring him either stupid or a liar. The difference with is supporters is, we see him as a master negotiator, and the seeming madness in his method actually is calculated to take him where he wants to go, his tactics revealing who are his real allies and which are not, the strategy of his advisories along with their strengths and weaknesses, and gaining insight into what he can realistically achieve. Nevertrumpers never seem able to grasp Trump is in consistent negotiation, and anything said before the deal is actually done is basically fiction designed to gain advantage of some sort. That is why we are continually saying, quit obsessing on what he says, look at what he does.

    This is why his detractors are always perplexed at the deplorables continued defence of the man. Their bias blinds them to actual game being played. Their virtuous principles inform them the ends don’t justify the means, but negotiations are the exception that prove the principle. When you are dickering with a used car salesman (apologies to used car salesman for the analogy, I don’t mean to compare you morally with politicians) you don’t start off with your high offer. You negotiate (“deceive” if you are a nevertrumper), the means, to gain the best deal you can, the ends. If your self righteous virtue stops you from engaging in negotiation with the salesman under no such restraint you are going to get screwed.

    And so it is with Trump. So when he starts off saying the car has too many miles on it, is ugly, and only a fool would pay $10 for it, we understand he is negotiating, the nevertrumper says he’s stupid, lying, and generally wasting everybody’s time even talking about it. And anyone that supports what he said is defending the indefensible.

    While we wonder just how dense people can be after seeing all the success of his actual dealings.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  20. So, who is going to run in the GOP primaries in 2020? The NRA only matters then, since they are hardly going to back the Democrat who would be far worse.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  21. we see him as a master negotiator

    Trump is to negotiating as Jackson Pollock is to portraits.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  22. The problem with Trump for many conservatives is that they are mostly lawful in outlook and Trump is thoroughly chaotic. In D&D he’d be a hill dwarf. But with yuge hands.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  23. he’d be a magnificent hill dwarf with a heart of gold and he’d dispense justice to the people and do prosperity all up in it!

    o how the poets would sing

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  24. Now, if we could only get Jim Cramer as press secretary.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  25. There is only ONE thing that matters to the NRA: who replaces Justices Kennedy, Breyer and RBG. All of them are gone by 2024.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  26. He’s afraid of the members, not some board or powerful small clique or monolithic emblem.

    And I agree, good.

    Now if he would understand the power and influence of conservative voters he could further improve.

    harkin (df3a15)

  27. What’s to fear?

    National Rifle Assn: Summary | OpenSecrets

    https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000082

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  28. @ the Bas/theBas: Pick a screenname and stick to it, please. You’re not worth two separate entries in my comments blocker.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  29. It appears that DJT is simply being pragmatic when it comes to not supporting raising the legal age at this time. Saunders insisted that he is all for one (I agree with her), but he wants to get some bill through with at least the appearance of doing something.

    It’s all about the signing ceremony.

    Ed from SFV (3400a5)

  30. 29.He’s afraid of the members, not some board or powerful small clique or monolithic emblem.

    The data suggests otherwise– The total of contributions to candidates from National Rifle Assn PACs is 65 times larger than contributions from individuals

    source– https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000082

    OTOH, as it’s all about ‘him’ anyway, our Captain appears alarmed by Stormy clouds on the horizon and the pings from the Mueller probe on his radar. Keep your lifejacket handy.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  31. Commenters that block comments get no consideration from me. Get yourself a comfort puppy or something.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  32. @ the Bas/theBas (#34): Commenters who use multiple sock-puppet handles so that they can continue to inflict their nonsense on people who don’t want to read it are likely to draw a reaction from our host. If you continue changing screennames, expect there to be complaints, from me and others, and proceed at your own peril.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  33. Bloomberg agent 4 times as much, with bupkis result, btw hes the new skydragon wrangler.
    Ts

    narciso (d1f714)

  34. i heard David Hogg’s bogarting all the comfort puppies

    he’s such an asshole

    dude all you have to do is enter him in your blocker with a space done and done you can do that in like a fifth of the time it takes you to whine about it

    if I can shake a puppy loose from Hogg I’ll ping you

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  35. I think the estimation has been made that this isn’t a winnable policy fight *legally*

    Oh, I’m sure Trump cares deeply about that.

    gwjd (032bef)

  36. The total of contributions to candidates from National Rifle Assn PACs is 65 times larger than contributions from individuals


    Who do you think comprises the PAC’s? Wouldn’t contributions by teacher’s union PACs be greater than from teachers?

    I think right now we have between 6 and 7 million members at the NRA. We are just regular Americans mostly interested in the shooting sports but we are well aware there is a whole cadre of communists and Nazis out there that want to disarm the American people like they always have through history. We would no more be for that than making laws about free speech.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  37. i love the NRA cause they help protect kids

    and that’s so important

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  38. Spent four timesas much, gun rights supporters are more motivated than confiscation advocates (ultimately this what its about

    narciso (d1f714)

  39. The difference with is supporters is, we see him as a master negotiator, and the seeming madness in his method actually is calculated to take him where he wants to go, his tactics revealing who are his real allies and which are not, the strategy of his advisories along with their strengths and weaknesses, and gaining insight into what he can realistically achieve. Nevertrumpers never seem able to grasp Trump is in consistent negotiation, and anything said before the deal is actually done is basically fiction designed to gain advantage of some sort.

    I seem to have stumbled on the Trump Fanfiction site.

    you don’t start off with your high offer.

    Thanks, Captain Obvious. I think most people, including Nevertrumpers, are reasonably acquainted with this rather well-known fact of life. (Our host is a prosecutor. You think he doesn’t understand negotiation? Really?) What is less clear is: How does this apply to what Trump does?

    I might add that, contrary to what you seem to believe, lying and behaving unethically are not really necessary to successful negotiation.

    So when he starts off saying the car has too many miles on it, is ugly, and only a fool would pay $10 for it, we understand he is negotiating,

    I don’t think anyone would find that particularly objectionable. But instead of giving us a hypothetical example, why don’t you find an actual example? You know — take something that Trump has actually said or done, and show how it is a negotiating tactic that led to a successful outcome? That kind of pro-Trump argument would at least be rooted in reality.

    gwjd (032bef)

  40. The Boring Company’s loops “will still transport cars, but only after all personalized mass transit needs are met. It’s a matter of courtesy & fairness. If someone can’t afford a car, they should go first,” Musk tweeted.

    this is butt-stupid and i’d be wary of investing in a pussyhat dorkwad company that reasoned this way

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  41. I had to reenter my info because I did a maintenance cache deletion on my device, and inadvertently added a space. Hardly a case of using multiple “sock-puppets” to trick unwary comment blockers ascared of dissenting viewpoints triggering their delicate sensibilities.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  42. hah! there’s no such thing as maintenance cache deletion!

    what we have here my friends is clearly a nefarious Russian Bot

    a clever one to be sure, but altogether corrosive, nevertheless, of our glorious democracy

    and he woulda got away with it too if wasn’t for them meddling kids

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  43. Wow… Hillary Clinton really doesn’t want to be POTUS… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KKPpjN5PTc

    As Ace said, Cirrhosis ain’t just a river in Egypt…

    Colonel Haiku (f0e797)

  44. @42- admittedly the analogy is more simplistic when than dealing with the swamp. There’s other elements to the game, like playing good cop/bad cop with the whole DACA fiasco, which caused the DACA people to begin mistrusting the dems sincerity on the issue.

    But to provide an example on the analogy as is, take his “Mexico will pay for the wall” gambit. People like Dave hear this opening offer, and believe it means unless Mexico cuts an actual check for the cost of the wall, he’s lied. Meanwhile, people like me believe if the wall actually gets built, even if we pay the bill as we were supposed to way back in 2006, it’s a win, and in actually controlling the border, it will indirectly be paid for with welfare savings that won’t be going to another ten million illegal aliens.

    Hope that helps.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  45. Also, with regards to DACA, Trump was offering an amnesty, but countering with an end to chain migration and birthright citizenship, arguably a great win if done as that is more important long term than granting the amnesty, which had strings (10-12 year process that would weed out the criminal types), while recognizing deporting DACA types is not exactly wildly supported.

    Anyway, my main point is that nevertrumpers would probably be better served by giving the guy a little credit rather than instantly and always starting with the premise he’s an imbecile without a plan. Look at what he does, not what he says. You’ll thank me later.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  46. @47 – Well, that’s a nice concrete (ha!) example. Only it involves something he hasn’t actually accomplished yet. So it’s not the most persuasive proof of your point.

    gwjd (032bef)

  47. @20. The difference with is supporters is, we see him as a master negotiator, and the seeming madness in his method actually is calculated to take him where he wants to go, his tactics revealing who are his real allies and which are not, the strategy of his advisories along with their strengths and weaknesses, and gaining insight into what he can realistically achieve.

    Translation:

    “You can’t cheat an honest man; never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump.”- Larsen E. Whipsnade [W.C. Fields] ‘You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man’ 1939

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  48. 50- you aren’t interested in my point.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  49. if I can shake a puppy loose from Hogg I’ll ping you

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/12/2018 @ 2:46 pm

    Hogg is busy deleting his own tweets.

    Pinandpuller (f93602)

  50. Very Red Sparrow, eh, narciso?

    I’ve finished the trilogy, btw, and continue to think it has good movie potential, but that there couldn’t have been a worst job of casting than picking J-Law to play the tiny ballerina.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  51. it’s time to start the David Hogg prom date pool

    what lucky “school shooting survivor” will get to pin a corsage on this tiny-dicked don quixote’s non-chest?

    will it it be plucky trans anti-gun activist Felicia Navidad?

    or does Ryan Kravitz the french horn player from third period have the inside track

    maybe your money’s on horny english teacher Mercedes Fontaine

    it’s Florida and it’s hard to predict

    buy one square for $5, five squares for $20

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  52. I said it at the time, probably letting francis lawrence direct was the first mistake, the recipes dominikas un

    narciso (d1f714)

  53. Intuition, two things you can’t convey on film effectively,

    So if the north Koreans used the has last year, paving

    narciso (d1f714)

  54. This helps advance my point.

    Give “Dilbert” cartoonistScott Adams the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He deserves it for understanding and explaining all along what’s been going on with President Trump and North Korea, in a way that the coastal establishment elites missed because of their blinding contempt for Trump. […]

    The Trump-North Korea talks could end inconclusively, or even dangerously, so the story isn’t over yet. On the basis of what’s happened so far, though, it certainly looks like Mr. Adams was correct. Mr. Trump’s tactics, rather than leading to war, have brought the North Koreans to the bargaining table.

    Compare Mr. Adams’ take to elite opinion. As recently as February 1, in an editorial headlined, “Playing With Fire and Fury on North Korea,” the New York Times editorial board said, “It’s hard to come away from the State of the Union address without a heightened sense of foreboding about President Trump’s intentions toward North Korea. The signs increasingly point to unilateral American military action….

    “Mr. Trump seemed to be building a case for war on emotional grounds… such words were in line with his history of bellicosity toward North Korea… Last year he threatened to answer North Korean provocations with fire and fury ‘the likes of which this world has never seen before.’… Mr. Trump’s preoccupation with military action and refusal to seriously pursue a diplomatic overture to North Korea are foolhardy.”

    If anyone’s “foolhardy” here, it’s not Mr. Trump, but the Times editorial writers, who apparently hate Mr. Trump so much that they couldn’t see the truth of what Scott Adams had been writing for nearly a year.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  55. you’re much less life-like when you just cut and paste

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  56. As recently as February 1, in an editorial headlined, “Playing With Fire and Fury on North Korea,” the New York Times editorial board said, “It’s hard to come away from the State of the Union address without a heightened sense of foreboding about President Trump’s intentions toward North Korea.

    that’s the same angle Mr. Patterico kept taking, the angle that our president, President Donald Trump, was nefariously ratcheting

    using “rhetoric”

    and “twitter”

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  57. I think that maybe if you can’t handle the dumb things a seventeen-year old says — a seventeen-year old who just had 31 people shot in his school, 17 of them shot dead, BTW –then maybe you shouldn’t have a gun. What do you think?

    nk (dbc370)

  58. i like guns they keep kids safe

    and that’s so key

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  59. Good. The right to bear arms is a constitutional right. He should be afraid to take it away.

    Based on the law, 18 is too young to possess a handgun or alcohol but old enough to have an AR-15. If you think this makes sense, perhaps you can explain why.

    I don’t, so I won’t.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  60. A kid who stands up for the sheriff’s deputy who though they were in a game of dodge ball who along with bureau agents ‘playing galaga’ allowed his classmates to be cut to pieces that kid?

    narciso (d1f714)

  61. Nevertrumpers never seem able to grasp Trump is in consistent negotiation, and anything said before the deal is actually done is basically fiction designed to gain advantage of some sort. That is why we are continually saying, quit obsessing on what he says, look at what he does

    I will assume that consistent is a typo for constant,since the one thing Trump never is, is consistent.

    Yes, Trump is constantly negotiating. So constantly that he never stops, even after the deal is made. We “nevertrumpers” are simply assuming that the same strategies he used in private business are the same basic ones he uses now. Those strategies mean that he can’t be trusted to deliver on any promise he makes. They aren’t worth the CNN video they’re recorded on. He says things that he thinks will appeal to the audience of the moment, that’s all.

    Kishnevi (e95dc4)

  62. Well CNN video isn’t worth much, like sheriff Israel’s crocodile tears

    narciso (d1f714)

  63. Yes. That line should not be lost in a comment

    They aren’t worth the CNN video they’re recorded on.

    Kishnevi (e95dc4)

  64. I have to give Trump credit for not giving a Schiff (by your leave, Haiku) about the inevitable “He is afraid of the NRA after all” in this instance. It’s not only here; it’s all across the MSM. Can you see Obama opening himself up to such snark? (I can’t.)

    nk (dbc370)

  65. you aren’t interested in my point.

    If you say so, Col. Jessup.

    This helps advance my point

    Again. . . an example in which he hasn’t actually accomplished anything yet.

    You’re selling vaporware.

    gwjd (032bef)

  66. gwjd, you are a great point misser.

    I even included the part in the quote where the deal isn’t done, just so you would understand that wasn’t the point. THAT was in the second sentence, and the last sentence of the quote.

    But, alas. I fully expect you to continue missing it. ‘Cuz of the hate and contempt and not wanting to. And your so good at it.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  67. They aren’t worth the CNN video they’re recorded on.

    The ones he has control over are done. The ones requiring the turncoat, cowardly GOP to back him on are still being worked on. The Obamacare mandate is gone, the tax bill is done, national CCW reciprocity passed the house and is waiting on the Senate, the wall is getting close, immigration law is being enforced, tariffs were a promise even if you don’t like them.

    To say he has not delivered on promises is pure horse hockey. Your hate and contempt just blind you to his accomplishments.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  68. Bas, may I note that all those successes were done in spite of Trump? Especially Obamacare and tax cuts. Overall the less he has to do with policy implementation, the better off we are.

    Kishnevi (e95dc4)

  69. I wouldn’t expect you to note anything else Kishnevi.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  70. A sixth grader makes a will ‘just in case’ of a school shooting
    https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/13/us/school-shooting-will-javon-davies-birmingham-trnd/index.html

    ‘We having fun yet? It’s a shame.

    Tillman (a95660)


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