Continuing to parrot every potential Republican sound bite they can think of, Hillary Clinton's PR people have just sent out a mailer accusing Barack Obama of being insufficiently supportive of gun rights
But as Ben Smith describes in Politico, when Clinton's PR people created the display, they used a $2200 German rifle, "The Mauser 66, released in 1966 and no longer manufactured...a high-end hunting rifle that found military use as a sniper rifle." And then they flipped and Photoshopped it to create an image that would never exist in reality.
We've just finished seven years of a President who won on the politics of distortion--character attacks, manufactured wedge issues, and divisive ies,. Clinton seems Hell-bent on following this path, from "NAFTAGATE" to condemning the closing of a Valpraiso Indiana defense contractor that her husband in fact had helped sell to China. This is just one more example, but in this case executed so over-slickly that it may end up backfiring.
".....Sen. Hillary Clinton's mailing attacking Sen. Barack Obama's record on guns appears to include a striking visual gaffe: The image of the gun pictured on the face of the mailing is reversed, making it a nonexistent left-handed model of the Mauser 66 rifle.
To make matters worse, a prominent gun dealer said, it's an expensive German gun with customized features that make it clearly European.
"The gun in the photo does not exist," said Val Forgett III, resident of Navy Arms in Martinsburg, W.Va. Forgett's company was Mauser's agent in the United States when the gun was released, and it sold Mauser guns here again in the 1990s. "The bolt is facing to the left side of the receiver, making it a left-handed bolt action rifle, indicating whoever constructed and approved the mailer did not recognize the image has been reversed."
Forgett said the error would be obvious to sportsmen.
'I find it laughable on its face,' he said. "It's like a picture of Babe Ruth hitting right-handed.'"
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Meanwhile, Hilllry voted against Special Amendment 4615 to H.R. 5441: "To prohibit the confiscation of a firearm during an emergency or major disaster if the possession of such firearm is not prohibited under Federal or State law."
Yep, gun-friend and toter Hillary voted to allow disarming of citizens who own /legal/ weapons... and Obama? Take a wild guess. (www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00202)
Ummm First it was the republicans. now it's the republicans and HRC supporters (ie., at least half of all dem voters).
Gee. that doesn't leave very many Obama Kultists left for a general election, does it?
Ummm. Faulty logic. The Republicans are either going to go with Obama or McCain. And when Obama is the nominee, the Clinton supporters can choose. The dumb ones will go with McCain against their own best interests. You must be a Hill supporter, huh? Start thinking for yourself. Believe me, you'll be sorry if you let the Clintons do your thinking for you.
Not as sorry as if I got my thinking straight from Obama Kool aid. An Obama Kultist lecturing on independent thought = irony defined. How precious. :)
The days are getting shorter to the day Hillary Clinton has to give up and get out! She has no shame left and she does not care what she says or does in order to put her feet back in the White House. What a tragedy that would be for every American. She is beginning to really worry me as she is speaking but not wisely and out of her mouth comes anything whether it makes sense or not that she thinks will get her elected.
Wake up everybody before it's too late. The world is watching and her 'sideshow' does not merit the kind of attention she is getting. I see what is happening with the Media, they all have to follow in line behind whatever the higher ups who control the media want to happen. Wonder how they will try to shut up Keith O. on MSNBC as he tells it like it is? I should include Lawrence O'Donnell in this also as he is taken to task for speaking up on what is the truth. Truth, faith and justice for all was always an important part of all our lives here in America and it seems to be eroding.
I am white, female worried what direction Hillary will take as she merrily takes the low road she's on to hurt the Dems in November. I now believe her intention is, if she does not get nomination, she wants Republicans to win so she can run in 2012!.
What kind of nonsense is this. Have you noticed, right before a primary. HRC sends out some bogus flyer trying to discredit OBama. Why isn't the DNC dong something to stop this? It bothers me that the stuff HRC has done the entire campaign is not even being mentioned on FIX or CNN or ABC or some MSNBC stations. How is she allowed to get away with this stuff. Thw DNC needs to be ashamed of themselves. I just called the DNC headquarters to complain and they referred me to Clinton headquarters. I'm so sick and tiredof the DNC, their lack of leadership, etc. No mention of none of the stugff she has been involved in and the media seems to be letting her continue. Then you wonder why we have so many problems as a nation. DNC do your job and stop the Drama.
Did anybody notice that Obama was endorsed by the Americn Hunters and Shooters Association? His actual voting record in regards to gun control is better than Clinton's. Enough with the complaining back and forth based on opinion and trivial crap. Could we maybe do a little more homework and a little less whining?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ray-schoenke/hunters-and-shooters-supp_b_97028.html
Wha-? Homework?
Pshhh... what an 'elitist' thing to say... What do you think this is? Important? It's almost like you think this is like a Presidential election or something... HA!
"they used a high-end $2200 German sniper rifle almost never used for hunting."
This is a hunting rifle - and under no circumstances could be this ever be construed as a contemporary 'sniper rifle'. Every feature is wrong - and the money is spent on features that are prohibited on 'sniper rifles'. The action itself may have been used as a basis for a military grade weapon. but not the barrel, stock, trigger or scope.
Not Even Close.
The quote from the original article:
"The Mauser 66, released in 1966 and no longer manufactured, is a high-end hunting rifle that found military use as a sniper rifle."
I think the reference to "German sniper rifle almost never used for hunting" part of this article was a misunderstanding of the previous line from Smith's article.
Making a photo of a gun an issue just goes to show you HOW DESPERATE OBAMA IS RIGHT NOW. He is losing ground like crazy and Hillary is running up the hill and over the mountain and soon into the valley for a cool refreshing drink after the win.
I have to give Hillary supporters credit for belief in miracles and blind faith. Because the delegate math surely does not show Hillary anywhere near a win. Remember Eight Belles and brace yourselves for a let-down.
Desparate for some honesty.
ummm. Who's winning? Who has no chance in you-know-what unless she buys support. Ummm, yeah. The same candidate who is recklessly decrying China, Iran and OPEC. What will it take for Hillary supporters to see reason? It's really unbelievable. But then, so is 8 years of W. "I see dumb people."
It is funny to see people who do not know anything about guns writing about guns. First of all, that gun retails for about $1400, not $2200 -- pricey, yes, but you are still off by about $800. Second of all, those guns are custom made and could very well be ordered for a left-handed person -- I don't know who this "expert" is, but to say the gun "doesn't exist" is just foolish -- we've just established it retails for at least $1,400, so the gun does exist, and could very well be one designed for a lefty. Finally, is this really an issue? Aren't there more important things we should be discussing?
Wow, it constantly amazes me; the absurd lengths that you Obamabots will go to to say something negative about Hillary. This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry and George were writing a show about nothing.
Nothing is exactly what you have here. Well, except for a few chuckles about how someone actually took the time to write a column about something so ridiculous.
Something I am curious about, your source for the gun price. The first place I looked on the net ( link attached )had it going at $2299.99. Did you make your numbers up? Personally I dont care the specifics of the cost of the gun, but since you made it your first issue with the article,
http://www.gunsinternational.com/results.cfm?cid=489
Oh, so you admit the gun exists? good to know.
Glad to see someone's reading the entire article and it's source before posting.
Here's the expert you didn't care to look up:
Val Forgett III, president of Navy Arms in Martinsburg, W.Va. Forgett's company was Mauser"s agent in the United States, and it sold Mauser guns here again in the 1990s.
He's the one who said it's a $2200 gun... not the author...
Amazing what a click of the mouse can show you.
Hillary and her people are nothing more than dingbats.
Obviously a leftist rifle. Darned those gun-toting leftists. Probably all went to Wellesley, Yale, or Harvard. Maybe even Princeton. Pack of elitist lawyers, if you ask me.
Every day now, Hillary Clinton and her campaign illustrate the urgency of Obama's nomination: Unless we elect a president who will push to change our politics, we will continue to get government based on lies. Why would anyone expect President Hillary Clinton to be less deceptive in her methods of governing that she is in her methods of campaigning? Would you marry someone who had consistently deceived you during your engagement?
The Clinton campaign's ethics have collapsed, and with it, in all likelihood, the willingness of superdelegates to cooperate with her apparent plan to manipulate the party's rules to seat Florida and Michigan delegates, "won" in primaries where her opponent, obeying the rules, did not compete.
Thanks, Paul Loeb, for another valuable post...
That's an ELITIST GUN!
There was a link to a sporting web-site on Daily Kos with a lot of snarky comments. But what troubled me most was the number of posts stating they'd never vote for a Democrat in November but several planned to vote for Hillary in the primary in Indiana. Several had the "Operation Chaos" logo.
It's pretty easy to see when you lie and pretend to know anything about hunting. Didn't that gun-slinging, bullet-dodging Annie Oakley spot this obvious error?
I don't know anything about hunting, but even I can see that that gun's too fancy-shmancy to take hunting.
Posted May 4, 2008 | 10:38 PM (EST)