CEO of Cooper Arms supports Barack Obama:
Dan Cooper, a proud member of the National Rifle Association, hasbacked Republicans for most of his life. He's the chief executive of Cooper Arms, a small Montana company that makes hunting rifles.
I have no personal animosity toward Mr. Cooper for his decision and, in fact, support his right to support whatever candidate he chooses; freedom means that we are free not only to make good decisions, but are equally free to sometimes make bad ones.
But potential customers of Mr. Cooper may want to follow the lead of some other bloggers and gun owners by exercising their freedom of speech. Mr. Cooper should probably be made aware that his support for the Obamassiah may not be in the best interests of his industry or his company.
[Update]: Cooper Arms offers a weak defense:
Nine months ago Dan Cooper (personally) made an online donation to the campaign in an effort to help defeat Hillary Clinton and in protest of American plant closures and the shipping of jobs overseas. Three months ago he made yet another donation to the McCain campaign and the RNC totaling over twice that given to Obama campaign.
Sebastian digs deeper:
There’s one problem with this claim, the USA Today article was an interview. Dan Cooper was quoted as supporting Senator Obama.
...
But what about the other claims? Fortunatly, John McCain keeps his entire donor list online...
[/Update]
[Update 2]
More info here
[/Update 2]
- The Obama/Biden ticket has shown itself to be generally unfriendly to gun rights.
- The McCain/Palin ticket is unfriendly to most other rights and freedoms, education, the economy, taxes, healthcare, and our troops, among many other topics.
That said, the current SCOTUS isn't going anywhere soon, I'm told Obama wouldn't likely replace the Heller majority anyway, and as such--and with the ongoing work of. VCDL, JPFO, the NRA, and other advocacy groups--I don't feel the Dem ticket poses a serious threat to firearms right.
On the other hand, I believe the GOP ticket would be one of the worst electoral selections made in this country in decades--gun rights aside, and I can't vote, in good conscience and for the good of the country, based on a single issue.
You know, for a fact, that I, or anyone else, is voting based upon a single issue?
How, exactly, did you come to this revelation into the hearts of man?
At the end of Barack's first term, should he be elected, the two oldest Justices, Stevens and Ginsburg will be 92 and 79 respectively. Of course they both dissented in the Heller case.
Both Scalia (who wrote the decision) and Kennedy (who concurred), will, however, be 76. Hardly spring chickens. Yet you know for a fact that neither of them will decide to retire or develop medical conditions that necessitate retirement in the next four years?
You must have a high level source of information.
And further, you contend that, should their posts (or any others) become vacant, that Obama, out of the goodness of his heart, with a (presumably) democrat majority in the Senate, will nominate... what... conservatives?... moderates?... Second Amendment Supporters?... for the vacant seats?
I'm afraid I'm not buying what you're selling my friend.
Far be it from me to try to tell you who to vote for, that's a matter for your own conscience...but it seems the title of this post is even more sadly apropos than I intended.
A friend older and more politically studied than I had this to say in an earlier conversation elsewhere:
As for Heller, I don't believe that gun control will be a litmus test for Obama. His statement and positions on RKBA, while not NRA, aren't Brady either. It is entirely possible, perhaps even likely, that an Obama-appointed Justice would respect stare decisis on the issue, simply as a matter of legal principle. I also highly suspect, based on the age, health, and attitudes of the Justices, that Obama is unlikely to replace any of the Heller Majority.
If he is incorrect in his assumptions (excepting stare decisis, which sounds eminently plausible) then that portion of my argument may be flawed--but I don't believe my perception of the general leaning of the ALERT/blog to one-issue-voting is incorrect.
Just as we saw during the Abortion Rights heyday, supporting a candidate for a single issue, can have terrible consequences. Many of the Republicans who have rubber-stamped everything Bush wanted and by doing so have trashed our Constitution, were put into office by people who liked their stand on Abortion. Who would have anticipated that so many of these "family values" types would turn around and do all that they could to destroy our individual LIBERTY?
If VCDL members can't stomach OBAMA, then at least do not reward a Republican ticket that has offered nothing but more of the same of a Bush-style Administration. Many Republicans are voting for alternative parties this time around.
The Republicans who I know are already hoping to see some bright libertarian-Republicans move to leadership positions in 2012. Until then, we should understand that business people, even those who manufacture firearms, could find numerous economic and social reasons to support the Obama team; perhaps Cooper is like Powell, simply just bowing to the inevitable.
After the Obama victory next week, let us all unite as Americans and work to make the next four years a success for America: we surely need to turn things around, especially with regard to our economy!
I would think that it would be pretty obvious that a gun rights organization, when contemplating political candidates, would focus on...you know...gun rights.
And, since this IS a gun rights organization blog...I will continue to focus on that issue, even though it is not the ONLY issue I personally care about.
If you are evaluating Obama based on his current statements, then I can understand you and your friend's confusion. But anyone who judges a politician strictly by his election year rhetoric and ignores his past record is being dangerously naive.
Obama served on the Board of the Joyce Foundation. The Joyce Foundation is a major source of funds for the Brady Campaign, the Violence Policy Center, The Freedom State's alliance, etc etc etc. Looking at the Joyce Foundation's grant recipient list is like looking up "anti-gun organizations" in the yellow pages.
Obama has consistently supported anti-gun causes and legislation. He supported Chicago's gun ban and he publicly voiced support for DC's gun ban until just after it was overturned, at which point he decided he was against it all along.
He stated opposition to concealed carry, even with permits. He supported the misnamed "assault weapon ban", he supported bans on all semi-automatic firearms, he supported bans on "armor piercing" ammunition, which, whether by accident or by design, absolutely would have banned virtually all commonly used hunting ammo.
He supported city laws that stripped its citizens of the right to own firearms in the home for self defense, he supports creating special restrictions on sales at gun shows that do not apply anywhere else. He opposed the elimination of frivolous lawsuits against law abiding gun dealers. The list goes on and on.
The ONLY even vaguely pro-gun position that any Obama supporter I've spoken to has ever been able to support with more than election year rhetoric is the fact that he voted for the bill that would prevent government entities from confiscating guns during natural disasters.
That's a pretty safe one for him, since, if he had his way, no one would have guns to confiscate anyway.
Basically, if you are unaware of these things, then you have not researched Obama's "positions" on gun control...you are simply buying into election year propaganda. That does not bode well for making informed decisions.
As far as your friend's take on SCOTUS appointments, that is pure conjecture on his part. It is his opinion.
In my opinion, he's wrong. My opinion is just as valid as his and is based upon equally compelling evidence: It's what I think MIGHT happen.
And, finally: No, McCain is not my candidate of choice. But I simply don't see the percentage in "punishing" the Republicans by allowing the unmitigated disaster that I believe an Obama presidency would bring to this nation. That's not punishing the Republicans...that's punishing my grandchildren.
At any rate, again, it is not my place to try to tell anyone how to vote. My only role here as a VCDL blogger is to point out where the candidates stand on the issue that this organization was formed to address: The Second Amendment.
Other than that, all I can say is that we truly do get the Government that we deserve.
God help us all.