Silence Is Consent

 

We know that President Trump relies heavily on the feedback he gets from MAGA rally crowds. If Second Amendment voters are keeping silent on gun control and just cheering at Trump’s rallies, he reasonably believes he has them on his side. So it is a great shame on every gun owner who showed up at the New Hampshire Trump reelection rally unprepared, with several friends, to start chanting “Keep Your Word!” That sound of silence was reasonably taken by President Trump as confirmation that he could talk his 2016 voters into any position he takes in 2019.

He was so cocky as to say “you have no choice but to vote for me.” The crowd should have chanted back “Romney, Romney, Romney, Keep Your Word, Keep Your Word, Keep Your Word.” They failed to push him back onto the rails, even though rally crowds have independently raised other chants.

Want to move him back to his campaign promises? Show up in numbers and start chanting “Keep Your Word! Keep Your Word! Keep Your Word!” while waving Gun Owners for Trump signs or ball caps with very bold “#2A” on them. Otherwise, he will be swayed to the New York yankee position, while making the terrible mistake of believing he has the voters with him, because the crowds are with him.

He just needs one or two good shocks to the system with large, audible chants. Unfortunately, the next scheduled MAGA rally may be too late, September 29, after he may have already destroyed his brand, believing he could sell us anything.

There is another avenue, immediately available: women gun owners must show up this week at the Women For Trump events and join with men who are gun owners to fill the MAGA Meetup and TVLI Training events in battleground states and made perfectly clear that they will not vote for President Trump again unless he strictly keeps his promises, as written in 2015.

His Twitter feed should be filled with #KeepYourWord #2A.

He has no excuse that “things have changed.” His clear, strong 2015 position was taken after: Columbine High School 1999, Virginia Tech 2007, and Sandy Hook Elementary School 2012. The Pulse Nightclub shooting was in 2016, before the Republican Convention. Yet Donald Trump did not back down on gun rights and the fraud of Democrats’ “background check” bills. In that context, and with a very tough election, Donald H. Trump put his name on the following promises on Second Amendment rights:

Defend The Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners

GUN AND MAGAZINE BANS. Gun and magazine bans are a total failure. That’s been proven every time it’s been tried. Opponents of gun rights try to come up with scary sounding phrases like “assault weapons”, “military-style weapons” and “high capacity magazines” to confuse people. What they’re really talking about are popular semi- automatic rifles and standard magazines that are owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own.

BACKGROUND CHECKS. There has been a national background check system in place since 1998. Every time a person buys a gun from a federally licensed gun dealer – which is the overwhelming majority of all gun purchases – they go through a federal background check. Study after study has shown that very few criminals are stupid enough to try and pass a background check – they get their guns from friends/family members or by stealing them. So the overwhelming majority of people who go through background checks are law-abiding gun owners. When the system was created, gun owners were promised that it would be instant, accurate and fair. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case today. Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system – and it should go without saying that a system’s only going to be as effective as the records that are put into it. What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.

President Trump needs immediate strong feedback, appealing directly to his “promises kept” brand, and reminding him of the terrible mistake President George H.W. Bush made in thinking he could talk his way out of breaking his “Read My Lips, No New Taxes!” promise. People like Tucker Carlson need to roll out reminders of how just threatening people with a left wing radical like Obama failed twice. They must further make the point that President Trump and his adult children really face being perp-walked if he loses. It is in Trump’s absolute self-interest to strictly live by his written promises, given in 2015.

President Trump must reread and reissue, without change, his 2015 position paper. Talking about appointing two Supreme Court justices cuts no ice if he backs bad legislation. And the legislation will be bad, just like the willful failure to repeal and replace Obamacare, and the continuous bipartisan obstruction of border wall funding. It is President Trump who must make a real reform speech, based in the claims of his 2015 paper, or he risks losing reelection and seeing his beloved adult children in handcuffs.

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  1. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    I can argue against every style item they say ban but “threaded barrel.” The reason is I don’t know what they are referring to and why, and I bet neither do they. Are they referring to threads at the chamber end of the barrel that enable the gun owner to screw on his barrel when he builds an AR and then swap it out if he needs to? Are they against owners swapping barrels, building guns, etc, or are they against the threads at the pointy end that enable attachments? Is their loathing of hearing protection, ie attachments that reduce noise, like silencers, attachments that reduce muzzle rise but are noisier? If so, why are they against reducing muzzle rise that adds to inaccuracies? Are they against flash suppressor “bird cages” that help prevent night blindness and reduce visible flash? Do you know? Pointy-end threads or barrel-end threads? Both? Do those idiot Dems know? I would love to see them questioned specifically and then watch them wallow in ignorant dissembling.

    • #1
  2. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    I know that Trump is betraying his original promise, but I don’t understand why? Is he getting unexpected pressure to change? Lindsey Graham? The Left? A desire to start to make peace with Democrats? He’s stood up for keeping his promises–what is going on now? How does he not see how much he has to lose?

    • #2
  3. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    I saw some people over in the comments at PJ Media on Sunday who normally are hard-core Trump supporters going wild not over this, but over Dick Cheney speaking at a Trump fundraiser tonight. You can discuss among yourselves why that would drive some Trump backers into making dire warnings to the president, but the main point to take from it is there are key things Trump can stumble on that will cause a lot of his backers to lose their support for him, and giving the Democrats significant concessions on the gun law reforms would be far more damaging, long-term, than having the former VP speak at a fundraiser.

    • #3
  4. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    If Democrats get the President to sign one bill, they will have done as much as Republicans during Trump’s tenure. If it is something as substantial as gun restrictions, Democrats will have accomplished the more lasting change. 

    Before Trump was elected, I surmised that as a process man (like a lawyer) and egotist, rather than an idealogue, he would work with whichever political side enabled him to produce effects for a memorable legacy. In the past few years, I have come to think he might be a true believer in some conservative values and Republican aims. We will find out. 

    Democrats paint him as the devil, so cooperation with Trump could easily be used by rival Democrats in local campaigns. But if they can get Trump to sign one thing, they will try another. 

    • #4
  5. DonG Coolidge
    DonG
    @DonG

    Trump generally goes for popular positions.  It allows him to get elected and re-elected.  I think that is better than a Leftist winning.

    Background checks are popular.  The GOP should embrace those for 100% of sales/transfers outside of close family.  Since it is a right, the govt. should do background checks free of charge or maybe at negative cost to the user.  A free box of ammo for ever background check you pass!

    This “voters are keeping silent and just cheering” is a confusing statement.

    • #5
  6. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    EHerring (View Comment):

    I can argue against every style item they say ban but “threaded barrel.” The reason is I don’t know what they are referring to and why, and I bet neither do they. Are they referring to threads at the chamber end of the barrel that enable the gun owner to screw on his barrel when he builds an AR and then swap it out if he needs to? Are they against owners swapping barrels, building guns, etc, or are they against the threads at the pointy end that enable attachments? Is their loathing of hearing protection, ie attachments that reduce noise, like silencers, attachments that reduce muzzle rise but are noisier? If so, why are they against reducing muzzle rise that adds to inaccuracies? Are they against flash suppressor “bird cages” that help prevent night blindness and reduce visible flash? Do you know? Pointy-end threads or barrel-end threads? Both? Do those idiot Dems know? I would love to see them questioned specifically and then watch them wallow in ignorant dissembling.

    The original AWB was specific in its prohibition on the muzzle-end, and it contained specific prohibitions on flash-hiding devices of all types, on “grenade launchers” (many nations used to launch grenades out of rifle barrels using blank cartridges and special adaptors), and bayonet mounts, but not (oddly enough, and if I recall correctly) on muzzle brakes.  The prohibitions were really weird, and basically treated almost all muzzle devices very weirdly.

    The AWB also had a points-system for the various items it restricted – you were allowed up to some low number of restricted features per rifle, so you could have that muzzle brake if you made sure you had no pistol grip or removable magazine.

    I mention all that detail for those here who maybe weren’t into shooting during the AWB, and because many gun advocates will tout using the AWB as a starting point for their new wish list of prohibitions, while conceding (at least tacitly) that the actual AWB restrictions were mostly cosmetic.

    • #6
  7. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    DonG (View Comment):

    Trump generally goes for popular positions. It allows him to get elected and re-elected. I think that is better than a Leftist winning.

    Background checks are popular. The GOP should embrace those for 100% of sales/transfers outside of close family. Since it is a right, the govt. should do background checks free of charge or maybe at negative cost to the user. A free box of ammo for ever background check you pass!

    This “voters are keeping silent and just cheering” is a confusing statement.

    “Background Checks” are popular only as a concept, and break down the moment you start to get into the nitty-gritty.

    If I were the NRA, I’d be slamming Youtube with some adverts showing do-gooders arresting grandfathers for “transferring” a rifle to their grandkids, or one guy loaning a friend his pistol on the range, or loaning his hunting rifle.  Maybe run some darker ones where background checks morph into de-facto registrations later used by states like California or New York as checklists for when they later ban previously legal firearms.  Or (as is usually the case), have some scripted vids showing how straw buyers evade the current system, how people with clean records don’t get tagged, etc.

    • #7
  8. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    Jon1979 (View Comment):

    I saw some people over in the comments at PJ Media on Sunday who normally are hard-core Trump supporters going wild not over this, but over Dick Cheney speaking at a Trump fundraiser tonight. You can discuss among yourselves why that would drive some Trump backers into making dire warnings to the president, but the main point to take from it is there are key things Trump can stumble on that will cause a lot of his backers to lose their support for him, and giving the Democrats significant concessions on the gun law reforms would be far more damaging, long-term, than having the former VP speak at a fundraiser.

    I think this goes to who Trump’s wormtongues are.

    I think majority Trump supporters recognize that whatever Trump’s policies are going to be, they are influenced by who he surrounds himself with.

    Trump is trying to play politics. I’m not certain how strong he is at it, but Cheney being a spokesman screams “wrong people!” To his supporters.

    Fix the wormtongues and the policy stuff works it’s way out. I think that is the thinking.

    Don’t forget that GVRO has a lot of Republican think tank support. It has no political support whatsoever, but I think it’s been obvious for some time now that Rs suck at politics and use think tanks like a crutch.

    • #8
  9. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    TSkipSul (View Comment):

    EHerring (View Comment):

    I can argue against every style item they say ban but “threaded barrel.” The reason is I don’t know what they are referring to and why, and I bet neither do they. Are they referring to threads at the chamber end of the barrel that enable the gun owner to screw on his barrel when he builds an AR and then swap it out if he needs to? Are they against owners swapping barrels, building guns, etc, or are they against the threads at the pointy end that enable attachments? Is their loathing of hearing protection, ie attachments that reduce noise, like silencers, attachments that reduce muzzle rise but are noisier? If so, why are they against reducing muzzle rise that adds to inaccuracies? Are they against flash suppressor “bird cages” that help prevent night blindness and reduce visible flash? Do you know? Pointy-end threads or barrel-end threads? Both? Do those idiot Dems know? I would love to see them questioned specifically and then watch them wallow in ignorant dissembling.

    The original AWB was specific in its prohibition on the muzzle-end, and it contained specific prohibitions on flash-hiding devices of all types, on “grenade launchers” (many nations used to launch grenades out of rifle barrels using blank cartridges and special adaptors), and bayonet mounts, but not (oddly enough, and if I recall correctly) on muzzle brakes. The prohibitions were really weird, and basically treated almost all muzzle devices very weirdly.

    The AWB also had a points-system for the various items it restricted – you were allowed up to some low number of restricted features per rifle, so you could have that muzzle brake if you made sure you had no pistol grip or removable magazine.

    I mention all that detail for those here who maybe weren’t into shooting during the AWB, and because many gun advocates will tout using the AWB as a starting point for their new wish list of prohibitions, while conceding (at least tacitly) that the actual AWB restrictions were mostly cosmetic.

    Thank you. Seems asinine to me. Defensive rifle users don’t want the bright flash and cops using night vision devices should prefer bad guys use flash suppressors. “Cosmetic” usually means safety device. Pistol grip just means you hold it with your right hand just like a handgun. Besides, how else will you hold an AR? The top of the stock aligns with the   BCG and holds the buffer spring. You can’t wrap your right hand around it like other rifles. Shortening the 12” stock by 1 2/3” on a rifle doesn’t. Make it easier to conceal. Dems are such idiots.

    • #9
  10. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    DonG (View Comment):

    Trump generally goes for popular positions. It allows him to get elected and re-elected. I think that is better than a Leftist winning.

    Background checks are popular. The GOP should embrace those for 100% of sales/transfers outside of close family. Since it is a right, the govt. should do background checks free of charge or maybe at negative cost to the user. A free box of ammo for ever background check you pass!

    This “voters are keeping silent and just cheering” is a confusing statement.

    “Background Checks” are popular only as a concept, and break down the moment you start to get into the nitty-gritty.

    If I were the NRA, I’d be slamming Youtube with some adverts showing do-gooders arresting grandfathers for “transferring” a rifle to their grandkids, or one guy loaning a friend his pistol on the range, or loaning his hunting rifle. Maybe run some darker ones where background checks morph into de-facto registrations later used by states like California or New York as checklists for when they later ban previously legal firearms. Or (as is usually the case), have some scripted vids showing how straw buyers evade the current system, how people with clean records don’t get tagged, etc.

    Yes, And. I remember the “I am the NRA” campaign. It is time for real grassroots feedback from gun owners to the president and Congress, not waiting for NRA talking points. Just keep pointing to the 2015 promises and Trump’s “Promises Made, Promises Kept” branding. Rinse and repeat: “#2A #KeepYourWord.”

    • #10
  11. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    DonG (View Comment):

    This “voters are keeping silent and just cheering” is a confusing statement.

    Thanks, I’ve edited the sentence to clarify: “If Second Amendment voters are keeping silent on gun control and just cheering at Trump’s rallies, he reasonably believes he has them on his side. “

    • #11
  12. DonG Coolidge
    DonG
    @DonG

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    DonG (View Comment):

    Trump generally goes for popular positions. It allows him to get elected and re-elected. I think that is better than a Leftist winning.

    Background checks are popular. The GOP should embrace those for 100% of sales/transfers outside of close family. Since it is a right, the govt. should do background checks free of charge or maybe at negative cost to the user. A free box of ammo for ever background check you pass!

    “Background Checks” are popular only as a concept, and break down the moment you start to get into the nitty-gritty.

    If I were the NRA, I’d be slamming Youtube with some adverts showing do-gooders arresting grandfathers for “transferring” a rifle to their grandkids, or one guy loaning a friend his pistol on the range, or loaning his hunting rifle. Maybe run some darker ones where background checks morph into de-facto registrations later used by states like California or New York as checklists for when they later ban previously legal firearms. Or (as is usually the case), have some scripted vids showing how straw buyers evade the current system, how people with clean records don’t get tagged, etc.

    Most people don’t care about registration anymore.   Between Google, Facebook and the Patriot Act, Americans have given up on privacy.  Any campaign that tries to killing school kids is a price to pay for privacy is doomed to failure.  Sometimes you have to give up some things to win on other things. 

    • #12
  13. Unsk Member
    Unsk
    @Unsk

    DonG:

    Trump generally goes for popular positions. It allows him to get elected and re-elected. I think that is better than a Leftist winning.

    Background checks are popular. The GOP should embrace those for 100% of sales/transfers outside of close family. Since it is a right, the govt. should do background checks free of charge or maybe at negative cost to the user. A free box of ammo for ever background check you pass!”

    I agree:

    A. Trump is trying to get elected and appears to be softening his position relative to gun control.  I also agree that is perhaps ill-advised. However in a earlier post by Clifford, he pointed out some clarifications in the existing background check process could improve public safety and not really infringe further on gun rights. That course of action would be much preferable where it would show how the President is “doing something” about the mass killing, while not giving in to the Left aim to take away our guns. 

    B. On a similar  issue of the Trade Talks, Trumps seemed to soften his rhetoric and let some sanctions slide while laying off the Hong Kong issue in the hope a reasonable deal with the ChiComs was possible. However the ChiComs quickly threw those concessions back in his face, and so Trump reversed field and is now applying pressure on Hong Kong and is ramping up the tariffs again. 

    The ChiComs are not that dissimilar to the Democrats. Neither one can be trusted and a pursuing a “reasonable” deal with either one is likely a fools errand.  I am glad it appears that Trump has come to his senses on Trade and Hong Kong with the ChiComs; hopefully he will do the same on any new  Gun Control measures. 

    • #13
  14. Unsk Member
    Unsk
    @Unsk

    From Brodney Etal:

    (Trump) “He’s started to move on,” a White House official conceded, adding that they haven’t heard the president discussing the topic in recent days with the same urgency or frequency that punctuated the immediate aftermath of the high-profile shootings. “If it were up to the president, he’d do background checks today. But that’s not how it works, and he loses patience [quickly].”…

    “There is nothing happening,” one Senate Democratic aide, who asked to be referred to as a “severely depressed staffer who has been through too many of these,” said of the current state of negotiations. “This is all Trump. It is all in his hands. No one is talking to Republicans or their offices. If the president says, ‘Yes I wanna do it,’ it gets 85 votes. If he doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

    So far, the president has not said he wants to “do it.” There have been no conversations with Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.)—the chief Democratic co-sponsor on the most bipartisan piece of background check legislation—since the two talked early last week. White House staff have not had substantive follow up conversations with Senate staff since they convened to discuss the Manchin-Pat Toomey legislation, aides say. And a senior Democratic House aide confirmed that there was not “much movement” on their end of the Capitol either.

    Looks like Trump is backing away which is a very good sign. 

    • #14
  15. Bill Nelson Inactive
    Bill Nelson
    @BillNelson

    Clifford A. Brown: after he may have already destroyed his brand, believing he could sell us anything.

    I am quite sure that Pres. Trump does believe he can do anything and keep his support. He has stated as much.

    You know what else they say about my people? The polls, they say I have the most loyal people. Did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? It’s like incredible,

    Trump is a holder of a rare concealed carry permit from new York. So he does know guns somewhat.

    But Trump will do whatever Trump wants to do, and the Constitution is not an issue for him. Be prepared to be disappointed (but quite a few other republicans are also going to disappoint).

     

    • #15
  16. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Unsk (View Comment):

    From Brodney Etal:

    (Trump) “He’s started to move on,” a White House official conceded, adding that they haven’t heard the president discussing the topic in recent days with the same urgency or frequency that punctuated the immediate aftermath of the high-profile shootings. “If it were up to the president, he’d do background checks today. But that’s not how it works, and he loses patience [quickly].”…

    “There is nothing happening,” one Senate Democratic aide, who asked to be referred to as a “severely depressed staffer who has been through too many of these,” said of the current state of negotiations. “This is all Trump. It is all in his hands. No one is talking to Republicans or their offices. If the president says, ‘Yes I wanna do it,’ it gets 85 votes. If he doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

    So far, the president has not said he wants to “do it.” There have been no conversations with Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.)—the chief Democratic co-sponsor on the most bipartisan piece of background check legislation—since the two talked early last week. White House staff have not had substantive follow up conversations with Senate staff since they convened to discuss the Manchin-Pat Toomey legislation, aides say. And a senior Democratic House aide confirmed that there was not “much movement” on their end of the Capitol either.

    Looks like Trump is backing away which is a very good sign.

    President Trump’s August 18th remarks before boarding Air Force One, seem to be steering back to his 2015 paper position:

    Q What about gun control, Mr. President? Where does that stand?

    THE PRESIDENT: So, Congress is working on that. They have bipartisan committees working on background checks and various other things. And we’ll see. I don’t want people to forget that this is a mental health problem. I don’t want them to forget that, because it is. It’s a mental health problem. And as I say — and I said the other night in New Hampshire; we had an incredible evening — I said: It’s the people that pull the trigger. It’s not the gun that pulls the trigger.

    So we have a very, very big mental health problem, and Congress is working on various things, and I’ll be looking at it. We’re very much involved. We’re very much involved in looking at what they’re studying.

    Q Mr. President, the Dayton shooter had a 100-round-capacity magazine. Would you support banning high-capacity magazines?

    THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re going to look at a whole list of things, and I’ll make a determination then. But I will say, Congress is now, as you know, meeting in a bipartisan way. We’ll see what happens. A lot of things are happening on the gun level. A lot of things are happening.

    But you have to remember, also, it’s a big mental — I was talking about mental institutions. They closed so many — like 92 percent — of the mental institutions around this country over the years, for budgetary reasons. These are people that have to be in institutions for help. I’m not talking about as a form of a prison. I’m saying for help. And I think it’s something we have to really look at — the whole concept for mental institutions.

    I remember, growing up, we had mental institutions. Then they were closed — in New York, I’m talking about. They were — many of them were closed. A lot of them were closed. And all of those people were put out on the streets. And I said — even as a young guy, I said, “How does that work? That’s not a good thing.” And it’s not a good thing. So I think the concept of mental institution has to be looked at.

    […]

    Q Could just be a little clearer on the gun — your gun position? I don’t —

    THE PRESIDENT: Which one?

    Q Your position on background checks and guns. What would you support exactly?

    THE PRESIDENT: So, Congress is looking at it very strongly. Bipartisan. I put in certain parameters, which you somewhat know about. I’m also very, very concerned with the Second Amendment, more so than most Presidents would be. People don’t realize we have very strong background checks right now.

    If you go in to buy a gun, you have to sign up. There are a lot of background checks that have been approved over the years. So I’ll have to see what it is.

    But Congress is meeting. Bipartisan. A lot of people want to see something happen. But just remember this: Big mental problem, and we do have a lot of background checks right now.

    Q But you’re not willing to support universal background checks right now?

    THE PRESIDENT: I’m not saying anything. I’m saying Congress is going to be reporting back to me with ideas. And they’ll come in from Democrats and Republicans. And I’ll look at it very strongly. But just remember, we already have a lot of background checks. Okay? Thank you.

    • #16
  17. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    I know there are issues with institutions for the mentally unstable, but I’m leaning far closer to in the main, they are better than what we are doing now – for everyone. You’ll have the occassional case where it is a disaster, but overall institutions are a better use of taxes than a great deal of other things we do.

    And it may help alleviate the costs of infrastructure in a myriad of other places.

    • #17
  18. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Evidence is mounting that President Trump is sticking closer to his 2015 pledges:

    The Atlantic tries stirring Trump family trouble by characterizing Ivanka as bending her father’s ear and seeking to manipulate him into supporting gun-grabbing. RedState seeks similar stirring by posing Donald Jr. as the one bending daddy’s ear to support gun rights. Both publications are operating from ignorance, but both offer some basic truth.

    As The Atlantic concludes:

    But sources close to this president told me that Trump’s eventual siding with the NRA was never in question. “Trump always knew where he had to end up,” a GOP operative in constant contact with the White House told me.

    As RedState notes:

    While Trump has manifest weaknesses, one he doesn’t have, and one which ran riot inside the Bush White House, is a willingness to sell out his supporters to try to curry favor with people who will always hate him.

    We know that President Trump values his adult children’s advice, and that he wants conflicting voices around him to inform his eventual decisions. Sounds like it is working out that way, again. Sounds like he may actually press the Congress on the mental health crisis.

    • #18
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