AFL-CIO Mailer Touts Obama On Guns, Jobs

The AFL-CIO is blasting out a new mailer to its members, trumpeting Barack Obama's credentials on a key issue of the day -- job creation -- and a potential perceived weakness, gun control.

The mailer quotes Mike Day, a union member, declaring: "I want to protect two things: my job and my gun. That's why I'm supporting Barack Obama." It also touts Obama's tax cuts for the middle class and his support for the Employee Free Choice Act, a top legislative priority for the labor movement. John McCain isn't mentioned.

The new communications blitz is aimed at a "microtargeted group of the hardest to reach union household voters -- gun owners, veterans and retirees," AFL-CIO spokesman Steve Smith said.

The mailer will begin arriving on Tuesday at the homes of 80,000 swing voters and gun owners in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It follows an eight-state mailing last week to veterans hammering McCain's record on veterans' health care.

Comments

[1will]

Who is Obama going to keep your guns safe from, George Soros, his fellow Democrats or those anti gun groups that donate large sums of money to the Democratic Party?

[Francis Parker Yockey]

To better understand the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution it is helpful to consider how almost every reasonable person would interpret this amendment if it did not involve something which is considered controversial or politically incorrect by some and idolized by others. Arms in the possession of ordinary citizens meet both criteria. Let's, for the sake of argument, suppose that the Second Amendment dealt with books, not arms or weapons, and read like this: "A well educated electorate, being necessary to the maintenance of a free State, the right of the people to own and read books, shall not be infringed." Does anyone really believe that liberals would claim that only people who were eligible to vote should be allowed to buy and read books? Or that a person should have to have voted in the last election before the government would permit him or her to buy a book? Would the importation of books be banned if they did not meet an "educational purpose" test? Would some States limit citizens to buying "one book a month"? Would inflammatory "assault books" be banned in California?

[politisophical]

i love guns.. but i agree that in cities with big population there should be more gun control.. its just too much of a problem..

[Francis Parker Yockey]

Actually it's the people who are the problem, not the guns. Guns can't act on their own, people can. Imagine just how peaceful our inner cities would be if instead of concentrating on gun control we switched to people control. Instead of making people pass a background check to buy a gun we'd do the same background check if they wanted to live there. How many violent street crimes do you think are committed by folks who'd pass the same background check you or I would have to pass just to buy a gun? People who failed the background check but were capable of rehabilitation might be allowed to live in the city on a temporary basis as long as they agreed to wear an electronic monitor 24/7 for a year. Ban thugs, not guns!

[BlackJAC]

I seem to remember someone saying that the NRA was originally formed to keep some people from getting guns...

[CanisLatrans]

Times like this I wish HuffPo had a forum for discussion rather than just the news-reply boxes. The gun control topics always spark discussion; I'm sure others are as impassioned about other topics.

Is there a way to petition for forums? Is there a Bastille to storm?

[Zingaro Zorro]

Today's American Bastille is the ubiquitous Deibold elctronic voting machine, owned and operated by the Bush Family Crime Syndicate.

[RepugsOut08]

My brother is an electrician working out of a local union, and also an avid gun collecter who votes for Democrats. During the Reagan years, construction work dried up for months, and many construction workers lost their homes, cars and, yes, their guns. They had to sell them to put food on the table. Now they all vote Democrat, because it was actually the Republican Reagan who took their guns away.
In today's financial chaos, how many wives with bills to pay and children to feed are eyeing their husband's gun case as a source of much needed income? If it's like it was for construction workers in the 80s, I'd say you'll see quite a few for sale pretty soon, and it will have been Bush and the Repubs who took their guns away.
If these gun lovers would only study the process for either adding or removing a Constitutional amendment, they'd realize that the Founding Fathers deliberately made the process extremely difficult to avoid fads and frivolous additions. The chances of any president or party getting the 2nd amendment removed are zero, zip, nada and fat chance. The NRA is just using these people.

[Zingaro Zorro]

At one time in my life I lived in western Wisconsin with men who worked in the construction industry. They always believed Democrats would take their guns because the NRA told them so. The blindly voited for Reagan based on the supposed reality that Democrats were just waiting for their chance to seize their deer-hunting rifles.

Actually, it was the County Sheriff who had the power of law to seize weapons used illegally. When white men can't comprehend the issues of the day and rely on the false claims of the NRA, America is doomed to have the deceitful Republican Party prove governement doesn't work, and should be permanently outsourced.

Ignorant gun owners who vote on single-issues are the real problem to the survival of our Republic with its democratic form of elections. Single issue white male gun owners despise the United States of America when they vote for a Republican because they believe Democrats will seize their hunting weapons.

[wanj]

I hate guns, but I 100% believe people have a right to keep their guns. I have no right to impose my believes on anyone... Good thing Union people and Obama understand it too!

Vote, vote vote! Take a friend with you Nov 4th!

[jeanrenoir]

The Democrats were fools ever to lose a single election because of guns. The Second Amendment is an inconvenient truth that Obama, like other smart liberals, has faced up to now. If you can't defeat the NRA, beat 'em at their own game. It's insane for liberals to lose elections, with so much larger issues at stake (like war and peace, just for starters) because of liberal dislike of "guns." Be TOLERANT, liberals, and thrive for a change. I LOVE THIS AD! If you love Obama, don't honk, go out and hug a gun.

[Zingaro Zorro]

Better than that, lock and load one round for victory by the Dems in '08!

[BlackJAC]

In all seriousness, the real problem lies in the fetishing over guns, not guns themselves which are too deeply ingrained into the national cultural identity to ever eliminate. Case in point: the guy who author Lee Child uses as a firearms technical advisor turned his three-car garage into a weapons locker. Some of them are musuem pieces, such as 19th-century Colt revolvers, but why does anyone need five Tommy guns? When you've turned over a three-car garage to your gun collection, it's twelve-step program time.

[Bitsko]

I'm Senator 0bama's biggest fan, but I vote democratic because they are supposedly pro-gun control. Guess I'll just have to hold my nose on this one, once again, and try not to notice the bodies piling up in the streets..

[TrueIndy08]

guns don't kill people... people kill people!

[Francis Parker Yockey]

From the Wall Street Journal:

"Staring Down the Barrel: the Rise of Guns in China."
"In a Nation That Bans Guns and Celebrates Them, Armed Criminals and Hunters Pose New Problems for Authorities."

Brief quote: "Gun buffs can turn to Small Arms, a twice-monthly glossy magazine that claims 60,000 subscribers. The Beretta M9 semiautomatic pistol "is classic," said Zheng Zhoujian, an 18-year-old reader. 'I envy people in other countries where guns are legal.' "

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122394012224530655.html#video%3D%26articleTabs%3Darticle

[steamboat]

Thats my main issue, Sam. I want our SECOND AMENDMENT protected, also. I don't live in lilly-upper and upper- middle class neighborhoods like most of these liberals on this blog. I live in a lower-middle class blue-collar neighborhood on the far southside of Chicago and I have a right to defend myself, should a crisis occur.

[Shieldmaiden]

Most of us live in upper class neighborhoods? Really? I guess my crappy tiny apartment makes me upper class then.

[Bitsko]

You must be a member of a well-regulated militia.

[Zingaro Zorro]

How do you know where 'liberals on this blog' live unless you are stalking them?

How many homes do Cindy and John McCain own?

Who are the obvious eltists in American politics?

The issue seem to evade you the moment you declare where people live and what social status they have in your opinion.

[Helzapoppin]

I used to think the NRA, militia organizations and other gun nuts were crazy for pushing the virtually unspoken idea that they should have the right to own all kinds of weapons in the event they needed to defend against a (presumably left-wing) totalitarian takeover of government. But then came G W Bush. And now I can kinda see their point.

[CanisLatrans]

There are a lot of very, very ignorant comments here about guns, I note as I read on. How about I posit this question to the masses:

Is it wrong to blindly accept fear-mongering misinformation about Barak Obama without questioning the source? Isn't it better to seek enlightened viewpoints so one can better make an informed opinion?

If it is wrong to accept fear, and right to seek facts, then how about this:

Isn't it equally wrong to blindy accept fearful misinformation about guns, crime, and people who own guns? Isn't it better to question what you think you know, consider the potential for bias in anti-gun sources, and seek knowledge to make more informed opinions?

[Chavez08]

Keeping outdated laws on the books making legal gun ownership difficult doesn't keep the guns out of the hands of those who really wish to do harm to others.

Also, Americans should know better than to count on "Daddy" (Police State) to protect them. Especially when the last "Daddy" is physically and mentally abusing them for his own pleasure and profit.

The subject of gun ownership is one where I *strongly differ* from the status-quo Left.

[StevieNitro]

Hey buddy... I am a gun toting Liberal. Don't mess with my 357. LOL!

[CanisLatrans]

Even if Obama is anti-gun, I'm not going to hang the whole US out to dry with my vote because of that one issue. I'm a gun owner, a Democrat, a veteran, and an NRA life member. There is no reason why any of these things is incompatible with any other.

[crunchymiddle]

Considered switching your NRA membership to an AHSA membership?

"Senator Obama has clearly demonstrated his commitment to the 2nd Amendment by his vote in support of the Vitter amendment to HR 5441, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill of 2007. This amendment prevents the Government from confiscating guns in a time of crisis or emergency."

American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) in their statement endorsing Obama

[1will]

The AHSA is nothing but an anti gun group pretending to be pro gun. They make a few token statements about hunting yet openly support only Democratic candidates. If you look at their donations you will see they support Pelosi and the Brady Campaign (among others). This group was created as an alternative for uninformed gun owners that dislike the NRA.
Merely having "Hunting" and "Shooters" in the title does not make this group pro gun. I looked at their list of donations last year and could not find one donation to a Republican or pro gun Senator. All of their contributions seemed to go to the usual list of anti gunners.

[jaslyn]

He's not anti gun, and has repeatedly said that. Why do people still not hear? How many times does he have to say it. OBAMA WILL LET YOU KEEP YOUR GUN. He's just not for assault weapons. But you can keep your handgun, shotgun and rifle.

[Francis Parker Yockey]

NO!
Obama will not "let" you keep your gun.
The Second Amendment to the United States constitution recognizes (not creates) a PRE-EXISTING right to KEEP & BEAR arms!

[1will]

Perhaps people are having a hard time believing Obama because he 1) Has always been anti gun until he needed the votes of gun owners in this upcoming election and 2) He lies, flip flops and spins the truth about every subject that may cost him a vote.

[1will]

I find it interesting that most of the posters on this column blindly believe that Obama is pro gun. He isn't. His anti gun record goes back even before he became a politiician. Barack Obama was a director at the Joyce Foundation before running for office. While in office he has consistently voted for every anti gun proposal that came his way. He has supported the gun bans in Chicago and DC and believes cities should be able to ban firearms if they believe that is necessary to fight crime. Of course it seems he has never seen the crime stats for these gun banning cities.
So......now that Obama is running for the White House he "Believes" in the 2nd Amendment and is pro gun. That's all it takes to erase all of his anti gun speeches and votes? According to www.factcheck.org it is.
Obama still believes that cities should be able to ban guns as a crime fighting tool. My question is how pro gun or even pro Constitution are you when you believe a Mayor or City Council can strip away Constitutional rights with the stroke of a pen?
There are clear differences between Obama and McCain. If you support Obama then that's your right. Just don't lie to yourselves and others about his real beliefs. No candidate is perfect on all of the issues all of the time.

[alenaspoppa]

"Obama still believes that cities should be able to ban guns as a crime fighting tool. "

As well he should. Couple that with an increased police presence and video surveillance in high crime areas, and you've got a winning strategy. I have to read every day about innocent people, many of them children, being shot and killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time when some idiot gang-banger felt the need to release his aggression. I ride the L through the West Side of Chicago every day, but never after 7 p.m. if I can help it. I would fully support a gun ban in the city.

[1will]

Banning guns hasn't seemed to work in DC or Chicago. Will gang bangers obey a gun ban or do these laws only affect law abiding citizens? Somehow I doubt a "Gang Banger" that is planning a murder will decide not to kill because of a gun law.
It's unfortunate that you live in such fear that you cannot travel after 7pm. Perhaps one day you will have the means and courage to find the ability to be able to protect yourself.

[mom2sons]

Last Friday, my 20 y.o son and several friends went to Philly for a state fraternity meeting which was to take place the next day. They were staying with one of the frat brothers mother. The young man wanted to visit the grandmother and went to do so. While they were in the neighborhood, there was a driveby shooting and the his friend was shot in the shoulder. My son is in his 3rd year in college and just like a child is lost through a drunk driver hitting them, what I realized is that my son, with all the good things that my family and his mentors have poured into him, can be taken in the blink of an eye. What made me really sad and heartbroken, is not only would I want to die, if anything happened to my son, but my 11 y.o who is very close to him, would be devastated. Also, the first thing that came to my mind, was what kind of neighborhood do they live in? It doesn't matter, it could be just like mine, a tree-lined mixed city neighborhood. It can happen anywhere nowadays. I just thank God that he is OK. But city gun control should be different. We have lost too many. I'll be joining other women across the city on Saturday to walk against violence. I was going before the incident with my son, now I have more than enough reason to attend. Thanks for listening

[Chavez08]

Finally, - the right message!!!!

...it only took Democrats 30 years to get it but, hey!....

[rosiebond007]

While gun owners may feel more macho keeping their guns - please support the ban on AK-47's.
Not only do they end up in the wrong hands, but why on this earth do you need one in your home?
We just don't need those on the street today.

[Francis Parker Yockey]

I bet you have things in your home that you do not "need", unless of course you live in a log cabin with no running water, electricity, heat and A/C and are posting from a computer in a public library.
And we don't "need" cars with 400 horse power motors that will go 150 MPH plus on the street either.

[USA1776]

Hopefully, they are sending these into West Virginia, too. According to news reports the Union guys there are taking on the NRA directly. Management let an NRA film crew into a WV mine to try to get footage of members speaking about Republilcans and the NRA for commercials. The Union guys wouldn't talk to them and went on strike for one day to protest management letting the crew onto the grounds.
Jobs, baby, jobs!

[justafarmer]

excellent point! I was so proud of the miners did that. Just another overlooked example of how lots of us in Appalachia are really paying attention to ALL of the issues instead of relying on unsubstantiated viral emails and "talking points" that prey on fears.
I really believe November 4 is going to be a stunning day in more ways than one.