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3 Responses to “Barack Obama, Gun Rights, and Gang Rights”

1. Barack Obama, Gun Rights, and Gang Rights
   April 28th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

   

   [...] brianinmo wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMeanwhile, Illinois Reason is viciously attacking Ann Leary for viciously attacking Barack Obama. Leary argues that Obama encouraged gang violence when he voted against extending the death penalty to cover gang murders. … [...]

2. Rob_N
   April 28th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

   

   Amorality is as amorality does, Mike…. I call it like I see it.

   I never said there are no “public presidential implications to the recent gang violence in Chicago”.

   I elaborated on my strong belief that exploiting said violence in some partisan attempt to link an opponent vis a vis red herrings like guilt-by-association and six-degrees-of-grasping-at-straws is amoral and disgusting. Floyd Brown and Anne Leary are not talking about the presidential implications of the recent violence — they are exploiting that violence for partisan gain. Quite a difference.

   Quite simply, not only did Ms. Leary go too far but the entire premise of the conservative partisans’ recent attack — from Floyd “Willie Horton” Brown on down — is flawed and poisonous to rational debate in this country (or “goes too far” or however you want to put it).

   For one, the attempt to apply the propagandist technique of transferance as a partisan attack on Obama should give one pause because it is a Potemkin strategy. Brown (and, by extension, Leary, et al) are simply hoping that if they say the words “Obama” plus “violence” (and “gangs” and “radicals”, etc.) often enough together that it will seep into the public consciousness much the same as many Americans still think Al Gore said he “invented the Internet” (he never actually said that) or believe that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11 (it didn’t).

   For another, if my friends on the conservative side of the aisle want to debate the death penalty then fine, let’s discuss it. It’ll be a short discussion because it does not work; the death penalty does not deter crime (what criminal expects to get caught and would thus be concerned about the death penalty? …and clearly Chicago is still bearing the brunt of murders despite the current statewide moratorium).

   To declare that Sen. Obama, years after the fact, is only just now responsible for the current rash of gun violence in the city because he voted against an extension of the death penalty as possible punishment (not against the death penalty itself, but against an extension of it) is the height of irresponsibility.

   Sen. Obama is not nor has he ever been Mayor of Chicago. Sen. Obama is not nor has he ever been Governor of Illinois. He’s had no direct control over police policy, crime prevention, safety on CTA vehicles, Chicago Public School policy, etc.

   That Ms. Leary and her comrades dismiss and mock those who would point out these things says quite a bit about their character, or lack thereof, and the utter fragility of their weak, unprincipled canards.

   Thank you for bringing up your points in a reasonable manner and for allowing me the opportunity to clarify your statement about what I originally wrote.

3. Obama » Barack Obama, Gun Rights, and Gang Rights
   April 28th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

   

   [...] Mike Van Winkle wrote an interesting post today on Barack Obama, Gun Rights, and Gang RightsHere’s a quick excerptMeanwhile, Illinois Reason is viciously attacking Ann Leary for viciously attacking Barack Obama. Leary argues that Obama encouraged gang violence when he voted against extending the death penalty to cover gang murders. … [...]