Pretty awful. If he had any presidential ambitions, this by itself would shoot them down, unless he runs as a Democrat. And maybe even then. He’s swimming against the tide of public opinion in general.
[Update a while later]
Thoughts on President Obama’s awful choice for the head of BATF:
Mr. Traver’s forked-tongue performance in that sloppy NBC story was typical: The popular-disarmament gang has long attempted to conflate semiautomatic weapons and machine guns in the public mind, though it was unusual, almost refreshing, to see a federal law-enforcement agent engaged in so flagrant and undisguised a display of dishonesty. Most of the so-called assault weapons are the ballistic equivalent of sheep in wolves’ clothing; they’re basically scary-looking squirrel guns. The greatest part of them are .223-caliber semiautomatic rifles, which is to say that they are largely indistinguishable from the little .22-caliber plinkers boys have been knocking cans off of fence posts with for generations. The .223 is too small to be used legally for deer hunting in most of the country — these paramilitary terrors being insufficient to bring down Bambi cleanly. Notable, that: The gun-grabbers always insist that they do not want to restrict hunters’ access to legitimate sporting guns, but a North American hunter stalking grizzly bears or moose frequently will be armed with a rifle packing a far more powerful pop than that of those carried by most of the world’s infantrymen.
All of which is rather beside the point, since rifles as a category, from Granddad’s deerslayer to Uncle Nasty’s assault rifle, are used only rarely in crimes. Even for a gangster in sagging jeans, it’s hard to walk around casually with Elmer Fudd’s blunderbuss in your shenanigans, and those .50-caliber competition-grade rifles they’re soiling themselves over in California go for about 15 grand, putting them out of the financial range of Joe Crackhead. Rifles just aren’t where the action usually is, crime-wise.
Which is not beside the point. What Traver and those philosophically aligned with him are engaged in is the opposite of law enforcement. We might call their business anti-policing, inasmuch as they seek to restrict the actions of law-abiding citizens — lawful gun owners, licensed firearms dealers — while largely leaving actual criminals untouched.
I agree that the agency should be disbanded.
But I keep getting told he’s better candidate material than Sarah Palin! I’m so confused…
I don’t want to defend his position on guns (he’s typical New Jersey – and I’m from New Jersey, so I know what that really means in practice), but frankly I think the Federal budget is the greatest threat to America right now. Unless some more pro-gun candidate comes along who is also just as reputable on slashing spending as Cristie, I still think Cristie’s the better choice.
The fact is that the President doesn’t have a whole lot of influence on State gun laws, which is what actually matters to most people. But he does have a much bigger role in making Federal budgets.
This is why I will actively oppose Chris Christie in any attempt to secure the Republican nomination and support almost any credible opponent of his. The Bill of Rights is not a negotiating point.
The greatest part of them are .223-caliber semiautomatic rifles, which is to say that they are largely indistinguishable from the little .22-caliber plinkers boys have been knocking cans off of fence posts with for generations.
Mr. Williamson is plainly not a shooter, then.
3240 fps / 1280 ft-lbs (for 55 grain FMJ .223) is not really “indistinguishable” from 1260 / 141 (40 gr. “high velocity” .22 LR).
There’s a reason, after all, that no military uses .22 LR despite it being far cheaper and lighter than .223/5.56×45, which is that it’s massively underpowered in comparison, being nearly an order of magnitude less powerful in terms of muzzle energy, and well under half as fast.
(And while one can hunt squirrels with a .223, if one intends to eat them, one is typically making a mistake…)
If he’s going to talk guns, even on the Side Of Goodness, he needs to realise that there’s more to it than “mode of cycling” and “diameter of the bullet”.
An M16 uses a 5.56mm round. That is just a bit bigger than a .22.
I don’t believe most of what the anti-gun crowd says, but when they talk about .22 semi-auto being converted to full auto they are talking about making the equivalent of an M16.
BIG CAVEAT: As Sigivald pointed out, weight (grains) in a bullet and the amount of powder in the shell make a huge difference.
The media also calls semi-auto knock off AK type rifles ahs high-powered, fully automatic aK-47’s too.
When they are neither fully-automatic or hi-powered.
Bot it and th eM-16 seris fire INTERMEDIATE powered cartridges that are neither high-powered rifle cartridges or low-powered pistol rounds.
Another reason why Bloomberg has no chance as a presidential candidate. It’s a caution about Giuliani as well. While almost any of these mushy northeastern Republicans, or “Republicans”, would be better than Obama, there will probably be better alternatives available for Republican primary voters.
It’s because the politicians only care about how the gun looks. If the lower receiver has a handle on it then they think it’s a implement of war. In their mind a hunter just needs the smooth rifle stock. Anything more and it’s just too menacing and threatening looking for your own good. “You wanna shoot guns? Fine. Just make sure it is a safe looking gun that looks like you’re not gonna kill someone with it. Proper gun ownership begins with owning what looks to be a proper gun.”
I’m sure it feels much better — more warm and cuddly and safe — to get shot by one of these.
I thought one of the reasons the military uses a lighter bullet is because wounding takes more of the enemies resources than killing?
Anyone that doesn’t understand the 2nd amendment has no place as president.