Uh Oh: NRA tweets support for Bernie Sanders after Democratic debate in Michigan

[Cali_Democrat]

The National Rifle Association is tweeting its support for comments from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at Sunday's Democratic presidential debate.

The NRA tweeted Monday that Sanders was “spot-on” during the debate when he defended his vote for legislation that would hold gun manufacturers liable for shootings.

During the debate, CNN moderator Anderson Cooper argued that a suit brought by families of the victims from the Sandy Hook shooting against Remington may not go anywhere. He asked Sanders what he would say to those families.

Sanders replied that if a gun was legally purchased, he disagreed with holding the gun manufacturer liable.

<...>

Hillary Clinton's campaign has sought to use Sanders's position on guns against him. It has particularly lambasted his vote in favor of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) in 2005.

Critics say the law provides gun manufacturers with an unprecedented form of immunity that no other industry enjoys, but supporters maintain that it protects the firearms industry from frivolous lawsuits.

http://thehill.com/regulation/272029-nra-tweets-support-for-bernie-sanders

[Cheese Sandwich]

1. I'm glad Bernie isn't a gun control extremist

[mainstreetonce]

2. One more reason

To give a loud Hill yes!

[Cali_Democrat]

3. I would have to agree

The NRA just might be the most vile organization in this country.

Merchants of death.

[PyaarRevolution]

7. Bernie was right.

Unless you support guns being defacto banned and I dare you to tell that to families in Vermont who use those guns to hunt for food to feed their families.

[RichGirl]

19. Hunters don't use automatic weapons....

Nobody has said that hunter rifles should have the same laws as handguns.

[Cali_Democrat]

23. Exactly

[Svafa]

24. Both candidates support a ban on automatic weapons,

so this is a moot point in the discussion of the Dem primaries

[PyaarRevolution]

32. You think...

Congress wouldn't be lazy and pass a bill that includes hunting rifles? These are the same idiots who passed a bill to protect children from lead but didn't exempt old books so libraries pulled those books out.

[kristopher]

15. You mean Hunter Hillary or Annie Oakley Hillary?

Clinton Portrays Herself as a Pro-Gun Churchgoer
By JULIE BOSMAN APRIL 12, 2008 6:09 PM April 12, 2008 6:09 pm
Hillary Rodham Clinton - The Caucus - Politics - New York Times Blog

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton managed to co-opt Mr. Obama’s message of hope and optimism, beginning a speech in Valparaiso, Ind., by talking about how positive and “fundamentally optimistic” Americans are.

“We don’t get bogged down and looking back – we’re always looking forward,” she said, as heavy applause nearly drowned out her words. “Whatever obstacle we see, we get over it. Whatever challenge we have, we meet it. We’re the problem-solvers, we’re the innovators, we’re the people who make the better future.”

For the third time since Mr. Obama’s remarks were made public Friday night, Mrs. Clinton criticized him at length, saying his comments seemed “kind of elitist and out of touch.”

“I disagree with Senator Obama’s assertion that people in our country cling to guns and have certain attitudes about immigration or trade simply out of frustration,” she said.

She described herself as a pro-gun churchgoer, recalling that her father taught her how to shoot a gun when she was a young girl and said that her faith “is the faith of my parents and my grandparents.”

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/12/clinton-portrays-herself-as-a-pro-gun-churchgoer/?_r=2

[Lizzie Poppet]

31. She'll flip back to that after she locks up the nomination.

Unless it polls poorly, of course.

[Major Hogwash]

37. She won't lock up the nomination, though.

After she is indicted, she will not have a chance of being the nominee.

[Lizzie Poppet]

40. One certainly hopes not!

At least if one is a member of the 99% (who is not suffering from a severe case of cranio-rectal inversion)...

[peacebird]

27. Because having an NRA head hncho throw a fundraiser for Hillary is a-ok with you?

I'm SURE she told him sweetly to "cut it out"

[MaggieD]

4. LOL - well more proof Bernie blew the debate

Bad!

[Barack_America]

5. Uh oh, is right. But not for the reasons you think.

Particularly if it gets mention at the town hall tonight.

You clearly don't understand how important hunting is in MI, and the rest of the Midwest.

[Cheese Sandwich]

9. Uh huh. I understand why people hate the NRA, but I see NRA stickers and hats everywhere

And it's not just Republicans. It's independents and some Democrats.

Hillary is going to have to explain herself tonight and clarify what type of gun ownership should be protected.

Because so far all she has said is guns are bad and how we can ban them.

[RichGirl]

21. A lot of Democrats have guns...

They have them to protect their families. But they also want strong gun laws to keep guns out of the hands of those people who may be a threat to their families.

You can't be with your family 24/7, at school, etc. So it doesn't help you if every nutcase, ex-criminal can easily get a gun.

[Lizzie Poppet]

34. I'm a socialist with guns.

I have them for protection and (mostly) for competitive target shooting. My possession of them is non-negotiable. But I loathe the NRA, partly because they idiotically oppose too many sensible, non-infringing gun regulations that might do some good...and partly because of their lavish contributions to GOP politicians.

Gun control is an absolutely toxic issue for any Democratic candidate, even a center-right one like Hillary. It's a sure ticket to getting demolished in November and dragging the downballot with them. I think that while some good, sensible gun regulation reforms can be initiated at the federal level, the best way forward for those is state-by-state. I was pleased to see my state (Oregon) pass a universal background check law (and proud to have helped with the effort...it surprised a good few people how many gun owners volunteered).

[Svafa]

6. This is the *only* issue where Clinton can claim to be on the left of Sanders,

so she desperately clings to it despite the fact that the two candidates' differences on gun control are minuscule.

[DefenseLawyer]

8. Does this mean we won't hear the "Duck hunting in Scranton" story this year?

Damn. That's one of my favorite stories ever.

[Cali_Democrat]

10. There's a difference between hunting game and hunting humans. nt

[Cheese Sandwich]

12. Because somebody in politics supports "hunting humans"?

Don't you know Dick Cheney is retired?

[HerbChestnut]

14. Exactly, but many gun control activists refuse to acknowledge that fact

That's the fine line that Bernie is trying to draw, which is difficult when partisan hacks are trying to paint him as a gun nut.

[Cheese Sandwich]

11. We may hear it in the general election

If she is the nominee her opponent is definitely going on full attack calling her a gun grabber

[Broward]

41. Yes, she's so authentic.

[bigtree]

13. k&r

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. Deeeeeee Minus!

SMDH.

[AzDar]

17. Another sad smear attempt. Not even 'artful'. Manufacturers shouldn't be held liable for products

obtained legally. Should Ford and/or Miller be held responsible for DUI fatalities?

[Onlooker]

18. They are when their products are unsafe

There are many ways to make guns safer that manufacturers aren't forced to comply with. A lawsuit or two costing them millions is a language every manufacturer understands.

You don't need to pander to Sanders to support him you know. It's okay to support him and still disagree with him on some things.

[AzDar]

20. Careful, straw men are flammable...There was no safety issue, and of course you KNOW that.

It's okay to admit that Hillary is a ridiculous political opportunist on many issues, but it may take you a while to cover them all...

[Onlooker]

25. I'm not expert, but there are ways to make guns safer ...

... such as by having them be enabled by fingerprints. If the Republicans won't legislate this, then a lawsuit can have the same effect.

[Lizzie Poppet]

29. What, specifically, are those "ways to make guns safer?"

I know gun technology quite well...feel free to go into detail.

[kcjohn1]

22. I believe all guns should be outlawed

No reason for your average citizen to have one. There can be exceptions but the barrier to getting one should be very high. This will never happen b/c of 2nd amendment and countries mood towards guns. But my views are to the left of most people including Bernie.

But I agree with him on the liability issue. If guns are sold legally I can't imagine how in the world manufacturers can be held liable. Essentially what Clinton is saying no one should be able to manufacture or sell guns. Of course she doesn't really care about this issue except politically. If this is her position she needs to be honest with the public.

[noamnety]

38. ^^ This.

Not a fan of automatic weapons at all.

But I don't know how we can say a company is criminally liable for making a legal product.
That would be like passing a law saying all manufacturers of alcoholic products are criminally responsible for drunk drivers.

[PM Martin]

26. Vote Hillary, keep the gun nuts in line.

[Lizzie Poppet]

28. Sanders isn't a gun control extremist, and that's a good thing.

Not only are more-extreme gun control measures just bad ideas, generally, but strong advocacy of them is pure poison in November. An aggressive gun control platform component from Hillary would itself alone doom her in the GE. Gun control is toxic for Democrats.

Bernie's gun control policies aren't great, but they're far better than Hillary's. He's still rated D- by the NRA, btw. That they tweet in support of someone they don't like kinda shows how much Hillary's gun control positions are huge outliers. It's easy to get the impression that extreme gun control measures have broad support if you only look here at DU. That is profoundly not the case. Americans support some additional sensible measures (as does Bernie and as do I)...and no more. Take that to the bank for the foreseeable future.

Oh, and if you can't find a bank to take it too, just ask Hillary...

[yardwork]

30. The NRA funds deaths squads in Honduras.

The NRA funds human trafficking, weapons trafficking - the worst human rights violations on the planet are fueled by the NRA.

[fourcents]

33. This makes Sanders much stronger than Hillary in the general.

[mcar]

35. Hmmm

[lunamagica]

36. Why wouldn't they? It looks like they are the only corporation Sanders is willing to protect

[Wednesdays]

39. The Nazi Party could tweet support for Bernie Sanders, too.

Does that make him a Nazi?

[mmonk]

42. Should knife manufacturers be held liable for

someone who kills someone by stabbing someone to death?

[ismnotwasm]

43. Not surprising.

[azurnoir]

44. LOl

[marlakay]

45. Also read they are doing fund raiser for H

I have a strong feeling NRA, Wall Street and Corps are told I have to say stuff to get elected wink wink....