The well oiled smear machine is gearing up, and this time it’s the “The National Rifle Association (who) is likely to spend "in the eight figure range" on radio and television advertisements in the next 42 days as part of its efforts to deter undecided voters from voting for Barack Obama, according to the Washington Post.
One ad stars former Marine and Iraq war veteran Kurt Rusch. "Like all the guys I fought with in Iraq, I was honored to defend my country and our freedom. But when I got back stateside, I learned that Barack Obama opposes my right to own a handgun for self-defense. It's ridiculous," Rusch says in the spot, adding later in it: "There's no way I'm voting for a president" who would take away "the freedoms that I fought for, that my friends died to defend."
Another ad, called "Hunter", stars Kurt's father, Karl Rusch. "I gotta tell you, with the high cost of gas and just about everything else, we're all feeling pinched," Rusch says. "And now I learn that Barack Obama supports a huge new tax on my guns and ammo. Where is this guy from? He's probably never been hunting a day in his life. You don't have to be bitter to know Barack Obama isn't the kind of change we need."
Washington Post's Fact Checker gave the spot three out of four Pinocchios for its claims that Obama would take away guns and ammunition used by hunters.
The Obama campaign notes the senator has no plan to raise taxes on guns or ammunition and did not vote to regulate the sale of hunting ammunition but instead on "armor piercing" or "cop killing" bullets. It also cites several votes Obama has cast in favor of legislation the NRA supported.
In Pennsylvania the group will target Joe Biden with an ad that states that Biden "wants you to believe he shares your values because he was born in Scranton. But Pennsylvania gun owners and hunters don't share his values. Joe Biden voted to ban ammunition used for hunting and self-defense.
Just a little note on John McCain and the NRA from CBS:
Though NRA officials made conciliatory statements concerning McCain, the Arizona senator has not always been a favorite of the gun lobby: He earned a C+ from the NRA in 2004 after backing legislation to close the so-called "gun show loophole," legislation that this 2003 NRA document claimed "is about eliminating gun shows." McCain is also the co-author of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation that the NRA saw as an unfair restriction on its free speech. McCain told Field And Stream that his position in favor of closing the gun show loophole is the issue most likely to cause friction between himself and sportsmen. "I think that gun shows are marvelous, and we now have the capability for instant background checks," he said.
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