Glenn still thinks that the assault weapons bill is bad news for Bush, because of this WorldNetDaily article. I emailed him about it, but I didn't post first so he had nothing to link to. Here's what I emailed him:

That article actually makes my earlier point. Note the wording:

"many gun owners say they'll dump Bush in 2004 and vote for someone else if he signs new legislation extending the prohibition."

I never disputed that--I'd be pretty angry if he actually signs legislation, but I still don't believe that the legislation will ever get to his desk, so the point is probably moot. And while it's irritating to hear him give it lip service, I don't think that very many gun owners are going to risk putting in a president who will actually fight to get the ban extended (or in that case, renewed), which is probably exactly what the effect of not voting for Bush would be.

Here's another key quote from the piece:

"I will not vote for [Bush] if this ban is in place by Election Day," one WND reader said. "I am a Republican who will vote for a Democrat if I have to, if they fight against this bill. All of my conservative, gun-owning friends are exactly the same as me."

Again, it doesn't matter, because the ban won't be in place by election day. It will have died a well-deserved, albeit belated, death.

It's hard to see with all the really important things going on in GWB's life how this issue is even visible to him.

Images of assault weapons in the hands of Marines in Baghdad, plucky Army Pvt. Lynch defending herself with an assault rifle, etc. are giving assault rifles the best press they have ever had.

We'll see how it plays out in GWB's classic wait to win strategy.

I'm sure it's not, and this is really a tempest in a teapot, because the president hasn't even made any recent statements about it. All of the furor is over what an aide said.

This bears copy n' pasting here AGAIN:

108th US Congress -

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE -
(this is where all gun-control bills are introduced in the House)
Chairman - Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-WI: GOA rating: A

HOUSE JUDICIARY SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME, TERRORISM, AND HOMELAND SECURITY -
(this is the judiciary subcommittee that is the first to vote on (or bury) all gun-control bills)
Chairman - Rep. Howard Coble, R-NC: GOA rating: A
Subcommittee Members -
* Rep. Tom Feeney, R-FL: GOA rating: A
* Rep. Rick Keller, R-FL: GOA rating: A
* Rep. Mike Pence, R-IN: GOA rating: A
* Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-VA: GOA rating: A-
* Rep. Randy Forbes, R-VA: GOA rating: A-
* Rep. Steve Chabot, R-OH: GOA rating: A-
* Rep. Mark Green, R-WI: GOA rating: B-
* Rep. Robert Scott, D-VA: GOA rating: F-
* Rep. Adam Schiff, D-CA: GOA rating: F-
* Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-TX: GOA rating: F-
* Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA: GOA rating: F-
* Rep. Martin Meehan, D-MA: GOA rating: F-

HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP -
(this is who is most responsible for "moving" bills or "sidetracking" bills in the House)
* Rep. Tom DeLay, R-TX: GOA rating: A

Just look at that straight-A line-up!

THIS is what a Republican-majority can do - but the battle's just beginning now!

This is our BEST chance to kill these kinds of bills.

Right now we got a
GOA-A-rated Committee Chairman,
GOA-A-rated Subcommittee Chairman,
MAJORITY of GOA-A-rated Subcommittee members, and a
GOA-A-rated House Majority Whip.

[mpuckett]P.S. A 'B' from the Gun Owners of America is as good as an 'A' from the NRA. The GOA grades to amuch stricter scale and this is well known inside the Second Amendment community.

An 'A' from GOA measn yo believe the only gun control is hitting what you aim at!

Note: I am not the orginal author, only of the content past my name in brackets. However, it does make my point....and Rand's.

Those people who are going to dump Bush in favor of a democrat are just cutting off their nose to despite their face. If they truly despise Bush and value their gunrights they'd be better off voting libertarian. Democrats will just make the plight of gun owners worse.

I agree with April, voting Democrat would be cutting off your nose to spite your face. It's not like this bill would survive the Congress. And have you seen the latest Shotgun News? There are more "assault weapons" and "hi-capacity" mags for sale in the pages of thea magazine that there EVER was in 1994! This bill has more loopholes than Clinton's Legacy...

Anyone who votes Democrat to spite Mr. Bush EVEN over something as important as the Second Amendment, may not need to be a gun owner. Who will it help to allow one of the dems back into the White House? How will it help gun owners causes to put Algore or John Edwards in the White House? If the conservatives would vote as a block, regardless of individual causes, the way the dems do, we could rule the world for a century. And once we have total control of the fed and state governments and state and federal courts and appeals courts, we could undo many of the idiotic laws that were rammed down our throats over the last 40 or 50 years. This should be a long term goal of the right, not a 4 year plan, that gets renewed every 4 years.

Steve: Hear, hear!