It's Common Sense, Stupid!

It's time for the rest of us to speak up about the Second Amendment as we experience it.  There are gun owners in this country, including myself, who are NOT convinced the government is coming to take away our guns.

Before you accuse me of being one of those liberal, freedom hating, big government socialists, know that I am a life member of the National Rifle Association.  I attended more gun shows before I was twelve than most of you have probably been to in your life.  My father was a licensed gun dealer and antique firearm collector.  I grew up in a home where hunting and firearm ownership were revered and respected.  I understood that firearms were a way of life for our family.  They put food on the table, money in our pockets, and protected us from individuals who might attempt to take what little we had away from us through theft or malice.  However, in this house where guns leaned in every corner, hung above the front door, and occupied every closet not a single assault weapon existed.

On Tuesday, Vice President Biden will present a set of legislative proposals to Congress and the American people for consideration.  A ban on the manufacturing, sale, and ownership of assault weapons SHOULD be part of these proposals.  There is no place in a responsible gun owner's home for these kind of weapons.  They were designed for one purpose - taking human lives - as many as possible, as quickly as possible.

It's my hope the responsible gun owners in this country will stand up and speak with a collective voice to drown out the insanity of the lunatics (yes, lunatics) currently speaking loudest in this national debate.  There is a platform for responsible gun ownership that includes a ban on assault weapons.  The time is now and the leadership of the National Rifle Association needs to realize it.

And the Winner Is...Part II

This evening the Nation had its first and only opportunity to see Vice President Joe Biden go head to head with Congressman Paul Ryan.  This event was certainly a departure from last week's Presidential debate.  Many individuals, myself included, felt Governor Romney took full advantage of the opportunity afforded the challenger in these debates and walked away a "winner".  Tonight was different.  Vice President Biden didn't allow Paul Ryan to play the cards Governor Romney did.  Basically, the incumbent candidate did not spend the entire evening defending four years of public record while the challenger sold a platform of cherry picked  policy positions that poll well with the public, carefully selected from legislation passed during the last four years.  This game plan worked very well for Romney last week.  He was successful at keeping President Obama on the defensive while he presented a revised policy platform that benefited from the flexibility afforded the challenger.  This flexibility included an adoption of the positions most popular with the electorate as "part of my plan" with no additional details.  Brilliant!  We learned Romney now supports everything the majority of Americans like, is against the things that happened in the last four years that America didn't like, and the rest of the details - well that can wait.  You'll find that out once Romney becomes President.

Tonight was different.  Every time Ryan tried to run last week's game plan, Biden ran his defense and went immediately onto the offense.  Ryan was challenged by both the moderator - who was exceptional I may add - and by Biden's commitment to doubling down on the facts.  Every vague policy statement from Congressman Ryan was tempered by the challenge to present details. Congressman Ryan was big on the usual platitudes - American values, peace through strength, and a commitment to prosperity for all.  Ryan and Romney constantly describe the America they want to create, but provide little to no detail on how we are going to get there.  The reality is, the domestic conditions that we currently face in this country will not change on day one, week one, or month one of a new administration.  Without providing the details of "the plan" it's nice of Romney and Ryan to provide their aspirations but that's not a public policy platform - it's a description of an objective without a strategy to get there.

So, yeah - Biden evened the score this evening.  We'll wait to see what happens next week when the Presidential candidates debate foreign policy.  Based on Romney's failed attempts this summer to demonstrate competency on the international stage, I'm pretty confident we'll see what true leadership looks like.