McCain’s tepid relationship with the NRA hasn’t always been as smooth as McCain has tried to make it seem on the 2008 campaign trail. Today’s ruling on Heller and the response from McCain almost seems laughable given the tongue-lashing McCain has received in the past from gun rights advocates.
From PBS:
In 2001, McCain’s work on an initiative called “Americans For Gun Safety,” drew criticism from the NRA, which called him “one of the premier flag carriers for the enemies of the Second Amendment,” in an article that appeared in the organization’s national magazine “America’s First Freedom” in July of that year."
McCain’s ambiguity on the Second Amendment, which is on par with McCain’s stance on most issues, should indicate to sportsmen and firearm owners across America that McCain’s dedication to the gun rights is directly correllated to how well it helps him politically.
Did McCain file an independent amicus brief on Heller? Did the GOP?
John McCain’s nomination (awaing only the coronation) as the GOP’s presidential candidate is a perfect fit into the Republican Party’s war against guns. It’s hard to think of the Republican Party as the "neo-gun grabber" party, but these are precisely the people that are current or rising-stars in the party.
To people who appreciate the Second Amendment, and to those that want to see this right protected, there isn’t much support to be found within the Republican Party. George Bush, the Connecticut cowboy, used the U.S. Solicitor General in the Heller case to argue a position that gutted the very notion of a Constitutional right. Rudy Giuliani, the frontrunner of the GOP race for president early on, has a worse track record with guns than many Democrats.
It’s common knowledge that the Democratic Party is notorious for their attacks on the Second Amendment, but the Republican Party is slowly edging towards that same level of hostility.
A John McCain presidency would futher ensure that gun rights are never a sure bet if the polling is off.
With Libertarians, there is no question on the issue. The Libertarian Party filed an amicus brief in Heller penned by Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr. Barr, who serves as an NRA Board Member and has an "A+" ranking from that organization (compared to McCain’s "C+" rating), is without question on the right side of gun rights.
When the question is asked what party stands for an individual’s right to keep and bear arms, the Libertarian Party doesn’t have to qualify its answer.
