Republican Demonstrates Depth of His Convictions
Via Daily Kos, this from the New York Times, this morning:
"Conservative Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said that earlier in the week, Sotomayor told him in a similar closed-door session that she stood by an appellate court decision she signed this year that said the Second Amendment protection from curbs on the right to bear arms applied only to federal laws -- not state or local ones.
In trying to pin her down on the issue, DeMint was essentially asking Sotomayor to go beyond what the Supreme Court has already said on gun rights -- something high court nominees virtually never do on any constitutional issue."
So, Republicans, always so quick to cite the tenth amendment ("The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.") whenever it suits their purpose, or whenever they want to pander to the "states' rights" (i.e. racist) crowd, will abandon their "principles" in a second when it comes time to deliver for their big money contributors like the NRA.
How surprising. This states rights thing, and limited Federal government are supposed to be at the very center of what it is to be a Republican. Yet, out the window with that, the second it displeases the NRA.
If there is anyone out there who still believes that the Republican party has any core values at all beyond serving whatever rich person will pay them the most money, here is one more in an endless series of things to disabuse them.
And, while we are on the subject, is there anyone in America foolish enough to believe that the NRA exists to preserve their gun rights? The NRA exists solely to preserve the right of weapons manufacturers to sell guns to anybody they damn please, and if you think differently, you are a fool.
"Conservative Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said that earlier in the week, Sotomayor told him in a similar closed-door session that she stood by an appellate court decision she signed this year that said the Second Amendment protection from curbs on the right to bear arms applied only to federal laws -- not state or local ones.
In trying to pin her down on the issue, DeMint was essentially asking Sotomayor to go beyond what the Supreme Court has already said on gun rights -- something high court nominees virtually never do on any constitutional issue."
So, Republicans, always so quick to cite the tenth amendment ("The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.") whenever it suits their purpose, or whenever they want to pander to the "states' rights" (i.e. racist) crowd, will abandon their "principles" in a second when it comes time to deliver for their big money contributors like the NRA.
How surprising. This states rights thing, and limited Federal government are supposed to be at the very center of what it is to be a Republican. Yet, out the window with that, the second it displeases the NRA.
If there is anyone out there who still believes that the Republican party has any core values at all beyond serving whatever rich person will pay them the most money, here is one more in an endless series of things to disabuse them.
And, while we are on the subject, is there anyone in America foolish enough to believe that the NRA exists to preserve their gun rights? The NRA exists solely to preserve the right of weapons manufacturers to sell guns to anybody they damn please, and if you think differently, you are a fool.
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