Let’s Kick Bloomberg While He’s Down: Colorado Victory - Proof and Opportunity

by Jeff Knox

Colorado Senate President John Morse and State Senator Angela Giron are both out of a job as of September 10 when vote-counts showed that recall elections against the pair were successful. Morse lost in a close race, while Giron was effectively trounced. The recall effort was initiated by angry GunVoters after the legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a gun control bill which requires almost all private firearm transfers to go through a licensed dealer for background checks, requires gun buyers to pay a fee to the dealer for processing the paperwork, and limits new magazines to no more than 15-rounds.

We were told by Mike Bloomberg and his crew at Mayors Against Illegal Guns that this election was going to prove once and for all that the "gun lobby's" power is a myth, that politicians who fear the wrath of GunVoters have been conned, and that if politicians will step out in support of gun control, the voters will reward them. Bloomberg wrote a personal check for $350,000 to back up that statement and helped recruit other deep-pockets donors like California gazillionaire, Eli Broad, who kicked in another $200,000, and major DC fundraising fronts that chipped in several hundred thousand more. All told, these individuals and groups contributed the lion's share of some $3,000,000 the campaigns spent trying to save Morse and Giron – at least 5 times more than the approximately half-million dollars spent by those trying to fire the pair.

Now that the election is over, we hear that the results are relatively meaningless – "just symbolic" – that the only thing proven is that, this time, Republicans succeeded in suppressing the vote, even though more Democrats cast ballots than Republicans did, that Morse and Giron ran poor campaigns, and that the real reason the recalls succeeded was that Colorado voters just don't like Mike Bloomberg and his money. His $350,000 check is being portrayed as a ham-handed attempt to buy the election, and this isn't the first time such complaints have been made.

Bloomberg also suffered a serious political loss the same day in an election in his own hometown. His chosen successor came in third in the Democrat Primary for the NYC Mayor's race. The reason reported for that loss was, again, voter dislike of Bloomberg. After three terms of Hizzonner, and his policies of restricting soda cup sizes, banning trans-fats, and subjecting people walking down the street – particularly people of color – to searches, groping, and ID checks, it seems the people of New York are pretty fed up with Bloomberg and his pals.

So right now, Bloomberg is in something of a crisis, and if we learned anything from Barack Obama and his henchman Rahm Emanuel, we should never let a good crisis go to waste.

The Firearms Coalition was already in the planning stages of a national assault on Bloomberg and his misleadingly named organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns. We want to help states become MAIG Free, by either getting mayors to resign from the group or firing them. We like the current "blame Bloomberg" meme, and I say kick the man while he's down. With some luck, and a few more missteps from Bloomberg, we might not only weaken his organization, but could possibly make a pariah of Bloomberg and drive MAIG right out of existence. It's a lofty goal to be sure, but not impossible with your help, and that of your local gun club and grassroots organizations.

As for the defeat of Morse and Giron, it is interesting to note that media and politicians alike are still quoting polls claiming that some 85% of Colorado residents support "universal" background checks – which was, after all, the main issue in this election – and trying to suggest that the NRA or the "gun lobby" somehow slipped one over on the overwhelming majority. This is what psychologists call "cognitive dissonance," belief in something that all of the evidence says isn't true. Not only was this election proof that the claims of the demise of the "gun lobby" are totally unfounded, and that politicians' fear of angering GunVoters is extremely prudent, it also demonstrates the unreliability of opinion polls, and the bias of the media.

Democrats still control the Colorado Senate, but now only by one vote, and a number of the Democrats in both houses will be anxious to adjust their voting records prior to next year's election. Consequently, there's a chance that a repeal of the new law could be passed in the next legislative session. We will do our best to make sure a repeal bill is offered and voted on. If it doesn't pass, it will provide more ammunition with which to shift the balance of power come November. I predict this law will be dead and gone by July of 2015 at the latest.

In the meantime, if you and your local club or organization would like to join The Firearms Coalition in our campaign to mute Bloomberg and stomp out MAIG, drop me a note.

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