You and I agree that Straus has blocked efforts to expand Second Amendment rights further and that's one reason I'm not a Straus fan. I also don't like his liberal leanings on other issues and I assume you and I agree on those issues also.mojo84 wrote:I should have chosen my words a bit more carefully. I should have said "damaged the efforts to restore and expand gun rights and 2nd Amendment agenda issues". I am not interested in getting involved in a word parsing argument with you. As an attorney and long time political operative and advocate, I am confident you will win.Charles L. Cotton wrote:I guess our definitions of "damage" differ. When I say "damage," I mean it in the traditional usage context, i.e. "injury or harm that reduces value or usefulness." Apparently, to you "damage" means "failure to improve," or more accurately "improved, but not improved enough." That's a new one on me.mojo84 wrote:I consider him taking steps that thwart the passage of pro gun legislation as doing damage.If I recall correctly, some very good bills you strongly supported and maybe even helped write never had a chance because they couldn't get out of committee. Do you not believe his committee appointments and the fact some pro gun bills died in those committees are directly attributable to Straus and have had a negative impact on the passage of pro gun legislation?Charles L. Cotton wrote:I am not a Straus fan by any stretch of the imagination. However, he has not done any damage to Second Amendment rights. Not one anti-gun bill has passed while he has been serving as Speaker. We have passed many pro-gun bills during that same time, so Second Amendment rights have been advanced. It can be honestly said that more pro-gun bills could have passed had Straus supported those bills. The same could be true for Senate pro-gun bills and Dan Patrick, but I still support Dan Patrick.mojo84 wrote:. . . Straus has done significant damage to 2nd Amendment Rights and has hidden behind the fact he hasn't had to vote on the bills because he is the Speaker and he also controls whether or not bills get to the floor
Chas.
Many bills I wrote never got a hearing. If Straus had wanted them to pass, they would have passed the House, then there's the Senate. I haven't seen you blasting Lt. Gov. Patrick for his failure to promote the very bills you condemn Straus for not supporting. Why the double standard?
Chas.
In regards to why I am less critical of Patrick than Straus, I have stated I have direct personal experience with Straus, his lieutinents and business cronies that have helped me form my opinions of him. As far as Patrick, I agree with him on many more issues than I do Straus. Again, I am not a one issue voter, nor do I base my opinion of a politician based on any one issue. Staus and I have opposing views and beliefs in many areas. Also, this topic is about Straus. I have been scolded in the past for getting off topic and I am trying to abide by your rules.
Charles, you and I agree on a lot of issues and I support you and your efforts. Just because I apparently have a different view of Straus than you do and believe he hides behind his lack of voting record and his lieutinents doing his dirty work, it doesn't mean you and I are on different teams. I firmly believe one the reasons Republicans do not enjoy as much success in advancing our agenda is because we spend too much time arguing and debating one another rather than our common opponents.
Straus, while he has thrown the republicans a few bones and allowed some bills to pass, is not a Republican, Conservative or Libertarian. He is a pure RINO that outsmarted the Republicans by running as a Republican to get elected and then endeared and aligned himself with the Democrats to obtain the Speaker position. He has demonstrated his true beliefs by his committee appointments session after session.
I am not trying to be adversarial and am trying to voice my opinion with all due respect while avoiding sarcastic personal attacks. However, my opinions are my opinions and believe there is nothing wrong with me expressing them.
My concern comes from the efforts of perennial NRA-bashers to diminish voters' trust in NRA and TSRA candidate ratings with such claims as "Straus is anti-gun," etc. (I'm not saying you are in the anti-NRA club, I'm speaking generally.) I realize that some folks want the NRA to grade people on issues other than their record on Second Amendment issues, but the NRA is a single issue organization. Our members are all over the political spectrum and taking a position on abortion, gay rights, taxation, immigration, etc. will alienate a segment of our membership and weaken our overall efforts to preserve and expand Second Amendment rights. I talk to a lot of NRA members at various events. While most share at lease some if not most of my conservative values, many do not. On those issues, we would be political/legislative enemies and I would fight them as hard as I do anti-gunners. I don't do that because I've dedicated my entire adult life to expanding gun rights and being publicly active on other hot button issues would damage that effort. Heck, I disagree with most planks in the Libertarian Party Platform, but we agree on the Second Amendment.
Straus is leaving and I am thrilled! Hopefully we can get a true conservative in the Speaker's Chair and Phil King is the best hope for that result, at least for the present.
Chas.