Obama’s War on Guns, New Battlefield = SCOTUS

from the Fox Forum

Obama Declares War on America’s Gun Owners With Supreme Court Pick

By Ken Blackwell
Senior Fellow, American Civil Rights Union/Family Research Council

President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor is a declaration of war against America’s gun owners and the Second Amendment to our Constitution. If gun owners mobilize and unite, it’s possible (though unlikely) to stop this radical nominee.

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According to Judge Sotomayor, if your state or city bans all guns the way Washington, D.C. did, that’s okay under the Constitution.

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Last year the Supreme Court handed down the landmark decision in D.C. v. Heller, holding that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applies to individual citizens in their private lives. The ruling marked a turning point in gun rights in this country.

In the past year, the biggest question courts now face is whether the Second Amendment applies to the states. That may sound crazy, but the reality is that the Bill of Rights only controls the federal government, it doesn’t apply directly to states or cities. Only the parts of the Bill of Rights that are “incorporated” through the Fourteenth Amendment apply to the states.

Since the Heller decision, only two federal appeals courts have written on the Second Amendment. That’s six judges out of about 170. Of those six, three said the Second Amendment does apply to the states. And those judges were out of the liberal Ninth Circuit in California, and included a judge appointed by Bill Clinton and another appointed by Jimmy Carter. — Even leftist judges can get this.

But not Judge Sonia Sotomayor. She is one of only three federal appellate judges in America to issue a court opinion saying that the Second Amendment does not apply to states. The case was Maloney v. Cuomo, and it came down this past January.

That means if Chicago, or even the state of Illinois or New York, wants to ban you from owning any guns at all, even in your own house, that’s okay with her. According to Judge Sotomayor, if your state or city bans all guns the way Washington, D.C. did, that’s okay under the Constitution.

…More

MRC Endorses Blackwell for RNC Chair

#TCOT #diggcons

The Media Research Center has endorsed Ken Blackwell for RNC Chair.  You can read Mr. Blackwell’s conservative columns on Townhall.com and see his planned fundamental changes for RNC strategy at his website.

The following is the email I received from MRC announcing their endorsement.

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A Personal Message from L. Brent Bozell III John, The Republican Party needs to be rebuilt. It needs to be reconnected to the conservative principles that made it the majority Party in Washington. And we have at this important moment a genuine opportunity to affect the direction the Party will take in the years to come. The election of the next Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair will take place at their meeting at the end of this month. Who they choose will determine the future of the Party, and for conservatives and our country this decision could not be more important. Last Friday, conservative leaders representing some forty different organizations met. These leaders represent a broad cross-section of the conservative movement. One attendee, Virginia Republican National Committeeman Morton Blackwell, had prepared and distributed a list of questions for the RNC Chair candidates to help determine who would be best suited to move the Party forward. (The 37 questions and the six candidates’ answers can be found at Townhall.com.) All of the candidates responded to the questions, and all made an effort to promote the conservative cause. Each would be a fine choice to lead the important RNC rebuilding effort. But after our review of the candidates’ answers and a discussion of their other qualifications, my colleagues and I announced our support of Ken Blackwell — and urged the 168 members of the RNC to elect him at their late-January meeting. We face many challenges in the weeks, months and years ahead. We need a strong, focused, conservative Republican Party engaged in the fight. I think Ken Blackwell is the person to lead this charge. Ken Blackwell has been a principled Reagan Republican his entire life and career. He ran and successfully served the people of Ohio in multiple capacities as an unquestioned and unapologetic conservative. He has long been a leader in the conservative movement, both nationally and in growing it from the ground up with his involvement with state level organizations throughout the country. He has been a tremendously successful entrepreneur, and is a stalwart champion of the free market. He is a man of unquestioned integrity. He will be an outstanding RNC Chair. You are an important fighter for the conservative values we hold dear and that have made this country great. I remain tremendously heartened and grateful that there are so many people like you who still hold fast to America’s great traditions, and resolute in their defense and preservation. I wanted to write and let you know of our decision to support Ken Blackwell for RNC Chair. And urge you to join with us. Contact your state Chair and your National Committeeman and Woman and let them know that Ken Blackwell deserves their votes for RNC Chair: http://www.mrcaction.org/r.asp?U=14945&RID=19073574 L. Brent Bozell, III

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I previously endorsed Mr. Blackwell here and you can read his endorsements by others here.

GOP meeting eyed for top post hopefuls

by Ralph Z. Hallow at The Washington Times

A power struggle that will determine the future leadership of the Republican Party has broken into the open as dissatisfied Republican leaders pushed for a meeting early next month that they hope will be the first step toward ending Washington-based control of the party.

In a move seen as a backlash against years of control of the Republican National Committee (RNC) by allies of President Bush and their District-based consulting firms, several senior members of the party’s governing body are working to call an extra meeting to hear from all candidates for national chairman three weeks before the election for the post is scheduled.

The effort is seen by party insiders as an attempt to allow all six candidates for chairman to have an equal shot at the job, rather than giving an edge to the incumbent chairman, Robert M. “Mike” Duncan.

…(Read full article)

Endorsement of Ken Blackwell for RNC Chair

I’ve held off publicly endorsing any of the candidates for RNC chair, but I believe now is the time for conservative Republicans to join forces and support Ken Blackwell.

Ken Blackwell

Yesterday, Mr. Blackwell published his plan to reinvigorate the GOP on his website.  Read the plan and you will see that Mr. Blackwell understands the need to completely overhaul strategic and tactical operations in the party.  He plans to implement a strategy of working closely with state RNC members and helping empower those members to engage and assist Republican activists county by county and precinct by precinct.  He will put more RNC funds in use at the county and precinct levels, thereby completely revamping the tactical operations of the RNC.

For too long, RNC strategy has been to focus on races it believed it could win.  We have to believe we can win every race.  In my home state of Arkansas, we didn’t even have a GOP candidate for the Senate seat of Blanche Lincoln, D-AR.  This is intolerable.  Senator Lincoln’s only challenger was Rebekah Kennedy, a Green Party candidate, who received 20% of the vote.  This in an extremely conservative state.  A Republican candidate would have had a real shot, but the RNC wrote this seat off.  This must change, we must make it our strategy to compete with the intent to win in every district, in every state.

Mr. Blackwell will host quarterly conference calls between himself and state RNC members to “stay in the loop.”  The divide that currently separates GOP voters and RNC leadership will be bridged.  This strategic change is designed to identify current needs of members at the state level and how the RNC can fill those needs.  With the support of the RNC, this will lead to more effective tactics at the local level.

Mr. Blackwell’s conservative principles are not in question.  Many think the crushing defeat in November indicates we must abandon conservativism to be competitive in the future.  They couldn’t be more wrong.  Our problems have arisen from not adhering to those principles in the past few years.  With Republicans in control of the White House and both Houses of Congress, we expanded government and spent money like drunken sailors.  Our GOP elected officials have pandered to liberals because there’s been a disconnect between the RNC leadership and voters who elect Republican candidates.

His columns, available at Townhall.com, are evidence of his deep-rooted conservative philosophy.  He recognizes, in his column GOP Strength Rests in Its Core Beliefs, that conservative values correspond to most Americans’ values.  Our problems do not stem from our message, but rather from our inability to communicate that message.

Mr. Blackwell has also endorsed Rebuild the Party‘s 10-point plan to bring the RNC into the 21st century–techologically.   He is participates on the social networking sites Rebuild the Party, Facebook, and Twitter, interacting with grassroots activists dedicated to a common goal–reinvigorating the Republican Party.

For these reasons, I will be contacting the Republican National Committee members in Arkansas to encourage them to vote for Ken Blackwell in the RNC Chairman’s race.

God Bless and Merry Christmas,

John Allison, III

A guide to the RNC chairman race

By ALEXANDER BURNS at Politico

The six contenders for Republican National Committee chair are rolling out every gimmick, plan and endorsement in the hopes of gaining an edge — any edge — in the tight contest for the GOP’s top job.

…(Read full article)