U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “This is all about winning elections in order to stop the Radical Left maniacs from destroying our Country,” Donald Trump declared Saturday in his “Endorsement of Dr. Oz.” “Dr. Oz is Pro-Life, very strong on Crime, the Border, Election Fraud, our Great Military, and our Vets, Tax Cuts, and will always fight for and support our under-siege Second Amendment.”
A skeptical reaction by the Fletcher character from The Outlaw Josie Wales comes to mind. As does a nagging suspicion about being played.
Hey, someone’s gotta say it.
Regular readers of this column will remember the documentation of Oz’s stances on guns before he was running for office, including hosting “This Is Our Lane: Doctors Speak about Gun Violence,” endorsing infringements “including the banning of semiautomatic firearms” under the guise of “public health,” and further using his mass media platform to “sell” due process-denying “red flag laws” to his low-information audience.
The Gun Feed provided further irrefutable evidence of where Oz’s sympathies lie, including his call for fans to contact Congress to get the CDC back into the anti-gun advocacy through junk science business, and his Moms Demand Action-promoted hosting of anti-gun Rep. Lucy McBath.
“If the former president backs him that will tell all but the most self-deluded ‘3D chess’ apologists all they need to know,” I noted at the time.
Not quite. The guy made a name for himself on TV by firing people. Perhaps if he was better at picking them in the first place, he wouldn’t need to end up angrily attacking so many he had nothing but high praise for in the beginning.
Consider all the wonderful things he said about William Barr, Christopher Wray, Jeff Sessions, Mike Pence, Anthony Scaramucci, “Mad Dog” Mattis, Mark Milley, and more.
Then consider how he described them and their qualifications after their fallings out, respectively: Barr; Wray; Sessions; Pence; Scaramucci; Mattis; Milley…
That’s not to say Trump was wrong in his final assessments, but we’re talking about his initial ones here. And noting he’s a man who puts the highest priority on being perceived as a winner, we see the reason he has nothing but superlatives in his latest endorsement:
“Perhaps most importantly, I believe that Mehmet Oz will be the one most able to win the General Election against a Radical Left Democrat looking to do unthinkable harm to our Country.”
How electing someone the smart money says will be a leader in future Republican “compromises” on guns will be a “win” (for anyone who cares about the right to keep and bear arms) is left unstated. But it’s bigger than that, though, right? We need a Republican Senate majority so we can stop dangerous Biden appointments, like the recently confirmed Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, pushed over the top by two other Trump endorsees Susan Collins, and Mitt Romney.
Speaking of that process, it’s on Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans to explain why they didn’t even try to deny a quorum and prevent the vote from coming to the floor. It’s also on each of the national “gun rights groups” that did not urge their members to pressure them, and are now using the existential threat Jackson represents to solicit donations. There was no chance? How would they know without a committed fight, and how would that fight, and its risks, compare against the ones their members will now be forced into?
Now, in Pennsylvania, gun owners will once more be forced into a “lesser of two evils” decision, and one that can’t be resolved in the primary. Trump’s first choice, Sean Parnell, appeared to be on track with key “conservative” issues, including guns and immigration but suspended his campaign after being accused of abuse by his estranged wife. The other alternative is globalist “Bush Republican” David McCormick who throws gun owners this bone while wearing the obligatory orange vest and cap:
“Protecting our 2nd Amendment Rights – Dave grew up hunting on his family’s farm in Bloomsburg and remains a hunter to this day. He is a strong believer in our Second Amendment rights and will stand up against the extreme left who want to abolish our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”
An identical testimonial, equally as weasel-worded and meaningless, could have been offered up by Fudds for Biden. This is the best that Pennsylvania Republicans can offer, and the most that Pennsylvania gun owners have the clout to demand? Over the years acceptance of oath-breaking lumps like Tom Ridge, Arlen Specter, and Pat Toomey have convinced the establishment that they can get away with serial betrayals and never pay a price at the polls.
Left unaddressed is what the effects of taking fire out of bellies will have on voter turnout. Won‘t everyone be surprised, including Donald Trump considering his prospects for a 2024 comeback, if their best-laid schemes result in John Fetterman, Malcolm Kenyatta, or Conor Lamb taking home the prize?
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
For all of Trumps supposed education he missed out on civics and U S history, he ought to study the Constitution and Federalist papers because he has proven him self clueless.
He had so many bad picks it was laughable and Dr.Oz is yet another in a growing list. Dr.Oz is a Anti,no thanks.
Oz would be yet another RINO, we do NOT want or need him.
BAD endorsement Mr.Trump, bad endorsement.
As a resident of PA and one who has been involved in 2A activism for a long time I can tell you that the government and the political parties, both of the major ones, are totally corrupt. Th government in this state needs to be burned to the ground (figuratively, of course), and rebuilt from scratch. I don’t think anything short of that will work.
Basic strategy is to support the most ___ who can win. Fill in the blank with the topic or issue that concerns you most.
I don’t know much about PA politics. Perhaps Oz is the best choice. I have my doubts. Perhaps Trump can better explain his reasoning behind this endorsement
However, before deciding to run as a Republican, Trump was a mainstream east coast limousine liberal and he governed as the most conservative, pro-American president in my lifetime. For the record, that includes Reagan.
No Mention of a True Constitutional Conservative like Carla Sands, who will get my vote in the Primary. If OZ were to win, I would write in someone else in November.
Trump sold out gun owners when he signed the bump stock ban and fix NICS . He is just another politician with a R in front of his name now after he did that. The R stand for RINO now not Republican .Just look at Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell and the list goes on of RINOs who have sold gun owners out . A R does not guarantee they are second amendment supporters . Becoming a politician does guarentee they are corrupt and will not support the means to remove them all from office !
It’s been some time since I voted FOR a person to become president, but I always find one to vote AGAINST. I’d like to see no one win without a majority of the votes cast. If no one wins a majority, hold another election. If the loser gets 40% of the votes and the winner gets 45%, then most of the people wanted somebody else!
Attention everyone, few people seem to be aware, why the CCR Bill ( national concealed carry reciprocity ) is not now law.
It was passed by House and Senate; Scalise brought it to Trumps office for signature: Trump responded: “your bill is going nowhere”, and refused to sign it into law !
There is actually a hard to find video of this.
Inform everyone you know !
I will NEVER vote for Trump again. He had his chance and his narcissism failed us every step of the way. His anti 2A crap was more than enough but his record when endorsing and hiring people is atrocious. He is so crappy at chosing people who are nothing more than RINO’s that if he endorses someone we need to run as far from that endorsement as we can get. What is the point of bringing him back? no one will work with him, we don’t need 4 more years of nothing, we cannot afford it…. I don’t know if… Read more »
A subject is now part of our country’s history Trump withdraws from UN arms treaty Obama and John Kerry sent the arms treaty to the united nations without the support of senate. Obama clearly over reached his oath of office undermining the senate and the American people. The US signed the treaty in 2013 but never ratified it. Trump , we will never surrender American sovereignty to anyone. We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your second amendment freedom. I’m officially announcing today that the United States will be revoking the effect of America’s signature from this badly… Read more »