Much more polite than I am

Thirdpower is. A thoughtful, honorable man, Thirdpower is quite capable of genteel civility. Me? Not so much. Where he says that "Ray Schoenke Flip Flops," I am happy to be the kind of jerk who will come out and say that Schoenke is a flat-out liar.

Specifically, this is in reference to Schoenke's audacious (the Obamatrons are, of course, real big on "Audacity") claim that AHSA opposes a renewed AWB

We're opposed to reinstating the semi-auto assault weapons ban.

Third goes on to catalog some of the ways in which AHSA's "opposition" has manifested itself.

Yet in 2006 he claimed:

"No one needs an assault weapon," Schoenke said.

and their "Who We Are" page got changed from:

According to a 2003 Field & Stream National Hunting Survey, sportsmen overwhelmingly support reasonable gun safety proposals. Moreover, an overwhelming majority of hunters support proposals like background checks to purchase guns, keeping military style assault weapons off our streets and the elimination of cop killer bullets."

That's right--a "pro-gun" group that not only defended banning so-called "assault weapons," but helped perpetuate the myth of the "cop killer bullet."

Perhaps I am being unfair, though. Organizations change positions, after all, just as people change their minds. So let's see what evidence we can find of AHSA "opposing" renewal of the ban. If you go to their website, and under "Issues," click on "Gun Rights," you see . . . not a word about so-called "assault weapons." A renewed AWB is, I would argue, probably the most immediate threat to gun rights on the national level, and this "gun rights group" says nothing about it? On that page of their website, by the way, you can find a link to their page advocating banning .50 caliber rifles--certainly an . . . interesting approach to gun rights advocacy.

AHSA is also heavily involved in trying to seduce gullible gun owners into voting for Obama. Obama is, of course, very openly in favor of a new AWB, and his running mate boasts of having written the last one inflicted on the U.S. I dunno--maybe I'm not bright enough to see how touting the pro-gun rights credentials of leading proponents of a renewed AWB can be seen as opposition to . . . a renewed AWB.

This is the group that presumes to advise gun owners on how best to vote in defense of gun rights. And they're liars.