From: rats@cbnewsc.cb.att.com (Morris the Cat)
Subject: Re: Attempt to Repeal NJ's Assault Gun Ban Dead
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 15:38:05 GMT


In <1992Aug28.180508.25463@athena.mit.edu> The Rifleman, a Good Guy states:

|In article <92240.192447JCEHC@CUNYVM.BITNET> <JCEHC@CUNYVM.BITNET> writes:
|>   So after pouring money and volunteer hours into the Republican
|>party for the past two years, New Jersey's gun owners have been
|>screwed.   What should they do now?  Well for starters, they might
|>vent their anger at former Gov. Tom Kean who is the Chairman of
|>George Bush's reelection committee.  How about asking the Republican
|>party to repudiate Kean and fire him from Bush's relection campaign.

Considering that El Presidente' is a supporter of so-called "Assault Weapon"
bans, this is highly unlikely to be successful.

I suspected this was going to happen after reading a front-page 
NY Times article with an obvious pro-AW-ban spin; it talked not
only of Gov. Kean, but several other Republican "wafflers".

|How about organizing a rally to put 1000's of gun owners on the steps
|of the State House.  The rally would conclude with each protester going to
|the office of their representative and voicing their anger.  

Close, but no cigar. Recent history has shown that large marches on the
issue of RKBA are routinely ignored by both the legislative and executive
branch, and is usually accompanied by an almost total news media 
"blackout" outside of the local area.

Right after President Bush by executive fiat ordered the ban on imported
semi-autos, RKBA supporters just about burnt out the telephone lines
to the White House comment lines. Net result? Zilch. El Presidente'
not only ignored them, but further proposed the large-capacity magazine
limitations. His BATF futher compounded the matter by implementing as
policy legislation passed by Congress but not signed into law. He sent
Vice-President Quayle to attack gun owners by stating something along
the line of NRA wasn't going to this...

There are several things that count come election time:

	1) Are there enough people around registered to vote that
	   can affect the election?
	
	2) Can supporters of the RKBA get those voters to the polling
	   booth come election day?
	
	3) Money talks, bullshit walks. Are RKBA supporters giving
	   money to pro-RKBA campaigns?
	
	   The treachery of some members of the Republican Party is
	   now obvious; I would advise direct contributions to pro-RKBA
	   candidates rather than soft-money contributions to the
	   Republican Party.
	
	4) Volunteers; are you and other RKBA supporters willing to
	   do the leg work required in a successful campaign?
	
	5) Special case: Mannie Fernandez type action.
	
	   This involves well-referenced "Dirt" on the scum that inhabits
	   elected office. A multi-page referenced 
	   "character assassination" document is produced, and volunteers
	   agree to make xerox copies, and send them to voters who appear
	   on part of a registered voters list.
	
	   Expensive, but apparently feasible if you can get national
	   interest among gun owners. No anti-RKBA candidate has yet
	   been defeated by this technique, but it generates quite a
	   bit of angst among the scum.
	
	6) Absentee ballots; do your buddies rountinely ignore elections
	   because it's too inconvient? Get them absentee ballot.
	
Others have pointed out the advantages of gun owners volunteering early
on for a candidate and getting them elected. If a candidate decides to
turn on you like Rep. Les AuCoin in Oregon, gun owners can decided to
drop their volunteers, leaving the candidate to their own resources.

Folks, supporters of the RKBA do not have the advantage of positive
feedback via newspaper editorializing to incumbent legislators and 
executive branch members; when the "waffler" reads the newpaper and sees 
themselves being excoriated, they will try to moderate their views.

RKBA supporters have to inundate their elected representatives with
calls and letters, AND back it up with votes. There is nothing more
pathetic than a candidate receiving scathing letters and phone calls
from constituents, and laughing when they see the constituent isn't
even registered to vote! Your letter and call don't count for shit
if you can't back it up with voting power!!!!
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns