Election Analysis  by Tom Reynolds

As of Sunday night, in the Senate, the Republicans have 49 seats and the Democrats 50, with one Georgia election going to a runoff in December.

On Sunday night (11/14), in the House, the Republicans have 212 seats and need 6 more for a majority.

• In 2 Arizona races Republicans lead – but just barely

• In 1 Colorado race, Republican Boebert leads, but just barely

• In 1 NY race, the Republican leads by 4,000 with 94% in.

• In 1 Oregon race the Republican leads by 7,000 with 95% in.

• In 10 California races, Republicans are ahead in 6 but it is very early in vote counting

• In 1 Alaska race, it is going to a second round of ranked voting by adding 2nd choices to the 1st place votes.  Two Republicans have 7,000 more 1st choice votes than the Democrat but the 2nd choices are unknowable.  Heavily Republican Alaska could end up with a Democrat Congressperson

So, at best, the Senate ends in a tie with Kamala Harris breaking ties for the Democrats and Joe Manchin as a wild card on a few issues.  Kristi Sinema has been an occasional wild card but with Democrat Kelly’s win in Arizona, she will probably be less likely to be a wild card.

At best, the House ends with the Republicans holding a very small majority of only a few seats - and they could still end up in the minority.

The Red Wave didn’t happen.

                                                _____________

Stegosaurus had a brain that weighed only a few ounces; the smallest in proportion to total body weight of any animal.  It’s not much of an overstatement to say that Stegosaurus would have voted for John Fetterman in Pennsylvania’s Senatorial election.  Fetterman had a post-stroke mental impairment and, in a time when crime is spiking, Fetterman’s history and positions on crime and punishment make AO-C look conservative.  How was a Fetterman victory possible?  Why did the Red Wave disappear

According to both the Democrat and Republican Parties’ leadership, as well as the media, Donald Trump is responsible for the non-red wave in the election, since some Republican candidates he endorsed lost. Not mentioned are the Trump endorsements who won.  Also not mentioned are the number of candidates selected and funded by both parties’ leadership who also lost. 

Trump being the cause of the ‘non-red’ wave may surprise you since none of the pre-election polls and none of the exit polls named Trump’s endorsement as an issue.  Crime, inflation, abortion, immigration, etc. all were mentioned as major issues influencing voters but Trump’s endorsement was missing from that list.  Did anyone hear: “I was going to vote for the Republican candidate until Trump endorsed him/her?”

Obviously, the political parties’ leadership and the media pundits better understand why the voters voted the way voters did - than the voters themselves. 

Or are the leaders covering up their ineptitude by scapegoating Trump?

We are also hearing from Republican leadership that it was the primaries that led to the non-red wave; it’s the voters’ fault for voting for the wrong candidates in the primaries.  The voters should leave it to the old-fashioned way of the party leadership making the selection in smoke filled rooms.

Obviously, the Republican leadership does not subscribe to the management theory that, “The buck stops here.”

The ‘Senate Leadership Fund’ is a Republican super PAC that was established in 2015 by allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.  The group’s purpose is “to build a Republican Senate majority.” Its president served as McConnell’s chief of staff from 1991 to 1997. From 1998 to 2000, he served as executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The Senate Leadership Fund brought in over $200 million in this election cycle.  Mitch McConnell is the primary force in where the money goes. 

The ‘Congressional Leadership Fund’ is the House GOP super PAC aligned with Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.  In early October, it had $114 million on hand for the final weeks before the midterm elections,

It’s easy to second-guess and say McConnell and McCarthy should have put more into some losing races and less into races that the Republican won easily…because they should have.  They are the experts – self proclaimed.  In an election where the overwhelming number of issues favored Republicans, it can definitely be said that, in total, they made too many wrong decisions.

McConnell has been the Republican Senate leader for 16 years and in only 6 of them the Republicans held the majority. 

McCarthy has been House Minority Leader for 4 years.  His two predecessors were John Boehner and Paul Ryan, both of whom are widely regarded as two of the Republicans worst leaders, ever.

Will someone hand McConnell and McCarthy a sword on which they can fall!

New York Elections  by Tom Reynolds

Because of very slow reporting in a few key states, it’s too early to comment on national elections. Expectations were artificially high and there is disappointment, but the results may yet be positive.

Here in New York State…another statewide disaster for the 2^nd Amendment but some legislative district successes.

First, Lee Zeldin needs to be thanked for his terrific run for governor. He left nothing on the field and threw a scare into the Democrat machine. We must all remember his challenge to Hochul for her to complete the sentence: New York leads the nation in outmigration because…? (Which she never answered.)

Mike Henry and Joe Pinion must also be thanked for lower visibility runs for Attorney General and U S Senator. They suffered from a lack of funding needed to get their name and message out.

Zeldin, Henry and Pinion all spoke at SCOPE meetings on several occasions.

The two most powerful 2^nd Amendment haters in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitita James, won their elections. Expect that both will take it as a confirmation of their unconstitutional policies and they’ll continue them or even double down on them.

Hochul’s laws are being challenged in court by various groups and individuals and, for the most part, the courts’ decisions have gone well for 2A. Judges have been very direct in ruling that Hochul’s laws have been openly unconstitutional and much of her Concealed Carry Improvement Act has been put on hold by the judges. That, of course, won’t stop her, since there is no punishment for passing unconstitutional laws, except at the ballot box.

Which brings us to Letitia James, who will be defending all of Hochul’s laws. No matter how certifiably unconstitutional the laws are and how frank the judges are in their rulings, James will continue to appeal the decisions - on the taxpayer’s dime.

James also has her own political agenda, which is to use her office against political opponents such as the NRA and Donald Trump. Those will undoubtably continue.

New York has 26 Congressional seats (down from 27…New York State leads the nation in outmigration because…) They have all been redistricted. As of Thursday, Republicans won 10, Democrats won 15 and 1 (the 22^nd in central NY) is undecided. In the 22^nd, the Republican has a 4,000 vote lead with an estimated 15,000 votes uncounted. Four of the other Republican victories are flips; this is a pickup for Republicans with national significance.

The most embarrassing House loss for the Democrats is 5 term Congressman Sean Murphy’s loss in the 17^th district, since he was chair of the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee.

Redistricting is worth mentioning. Since the Democrats control all the political levers in NY, they were confident they could redistrict Republicans out of existence in New York, no matter how unconstitutional. They simply went too far believing that NY’s judiciary, which is almost all Democrat appointees at the Appeals level, would rubber stamp it. Surprise. The Democrats’ redistricting was too much and a judge ended up redoing it, which resulted in a fairer district map. Since control of the House of Representatives may come down to one or two races, the Democrats hubris could cost them control of the House of Representatives.

The NY Assembly has 150 seats and is dominated by NY City. As of Thursday, there were 40 confirmed Republican victories and 13 races still undecided. Democrats predict they will have between 100 and 103 seats when finished; this would be a small pickup for Republicans. The Democrats will maintain their supermajority.

In the NY Senate, Democrats had 43 of 63 seats. They claim to have won 40 seats with 2 undecided. They need 42 for a supermajority.

Both legislatures need a supermajority to override a governor’s veto. With everything controlled by Democrats that is probably not a huge deal but it does give the Democrat legislature leverage when negotiating with the Democratic governor.

It’s Gonna Be A Great Week!  by Tom Reynolds

Yesterday and Today could turn out to be a bad day for Kathy Hochul and the gun grabbers in NY State.

Today

Please call or text or email a friend and remind them to get out to vote. If we get out every single like-minded New Yorker who is ready to get America and our state back on track, we win.

If we lose, we condemn ourselves to a future of darkness.

If you do not know where to vote, try this link.

https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/

Yesterday

Judge Suddaby issued decision  regarding the ‘Antonyuk v Hochul’ (formerly Antonyuk v Bruen) case about the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (“CCIA”).  NY State under Attorney General Letitia James were appealing an earlier decision that went against them.  They lost again.

Judge Suddaby found many of the provisions of the CCIA to be unconstitutional infringements of the Second Amendment. The Court then preliminarily enjoined the State defendants, including “their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys,” from enforcing many – but not all - provisions of the CCIA:

Further, Judge Suddaby denied the State’s request for a limitation on the scope or stay of his injunction, pending further appeal. Therefore, the following provisions are no longer in effect in New York - at least until the NY State defendants appeal and the Second Circuit addresses these issues.  (And James and Hochul will appeal, even if not justified, since, as SCOPE has previously pointed out, they work on the taxpayer’s dime.)

• the provision requiring an applicant to prove he/she has “good moral character” in order to be issued a carry permit or have one renewed; 
  
  

• the provision requiring the disclosure of “names and contact information for the applicant’s current spouse, or domestic partner, any other adults residing in the applicant’s home, including any adult children of the applicant, and whether or not there are minors residing, full time or part time, in the applicant’s home” in order to complete the license application; 
  
  
• the provision requiring a “list of former and current social media accounts of the applicant from the past three years” to complete the license application; 
  
  
• the provision requiring “such other information required by review of the licensing application that is reasonably necessary and related to the review of the licensing application”;
  
  
• the prohibition of carrying a concealed firearm in the following “sensitive locations”:

Tuesday!  by Tom Reynolds Years ago, there was a hit move called Network.  The theme was, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”  Gun owners and anyone who honors our Constitution need to get mad as hell. Kathy Hochul and the NY City controlled NY legislatures have all but declared NY State as a Sanctuary State from the U S Constitution, especially when it comes to the 2nd Amendment and the 1st and the 4th and the 5th  and the…well, you get the picture. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has clearly and unambiguously stated that the Constitution protects our right to self-defense. And it spoke at exactly the right time, since crime is running amok and we have more need than ever to protect ourselves. On the opposite side from SCOTUS, Kathy Hochul has an insatiable appetite for taking guns out of civilian hands and leaving those civilians (us) defenseless. Joe Biden has been criticized for wanting to do away with fossil fuels - without having a replacement ready.  The same could be said of the Democrat’s defund the police, no cash bail, close prisons movements.  More social workers, 87,000 new IRS agents and new gun laws that punish legal gun owners “aint gonna cut it”! Hochul’s opponent, Lee Zeldin, clearly understands the need for the 2nd Amendment.  He has said, “The Second Amendment and the right to self-defense are not reserved for only the elite few deemed worthy by government officials. To address rising crime, we need to support law enforcement more, not less, reverse cashless bail, keep qualified immunity, and enact a Law Enforcement Bill of Rights. Unilaterally imposing more restrictions on law-abiding citizens' ability to defend themselves is not the answer,”  And as to stopping crime, Zeldin has a running mate, Allison Esposito, who is a career NY City cop and available to keep him on course. Hochul’s running mate, Anthony Delgado, enjoyed a career in the music industry which focused on hip hop and, as a congressman, voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, including voting for an anti-law enforcement bill, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. And if you thought Kathy Hochul was anti 2A, NY Attorney General Letitia James said, “Hold my beer.” The NY Post says, “James may be the most partisan Democratic prosecutor in the country” As reported by SCOPE in our October 3rd email, not only did she abuse her power in going after the NRA and Donald Trump for political purposes, she has never met a back door gun control plan she didn’t like and epitomizes the weak-on-crime prosecutor.   The NY City Police Conference is backing her opponent, Michael Henry.  The NY Post reported that, “Frustrated public safety reps…don’t see James…as a friend of law enforcement during these troubling times.”  NYC Detectives Endowment president Paul DiGiacomo said she is, “no help whatsoever to the women and men who daily put themselves in harm’s way. Keeping New Yorkers safe from criminals is not her priority…She sued the NYPD on pattern and practices after the George Floyd riots, but said nothing about the rioters total disregard for public safety and for public and private property.” National NYCPD 10-13 Organization endorsed Henry.  Its President, Michael Fahy, said “We are supporting you (Henry) because you have demonstrated your concern for the safety and security of the citizens of New York. New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association President Tom Mungeer said: “The NYSTPBA is urging all of its members, along with their family members and friends, as well as all members of the law enforcement community, to vote for Michael Henry for New York State Attorney General.” James is the only statewide incumbent who wouldn’t agree to a televised debate.  With her record and the non-support of police, it’s no wonder. Mike Henry, like Zeldin, has a connection to law enforcement; Henry’s father was a detective.  Henry is a career attorney, not a politician, and one of his stated goals is to restore professionalism to the office of the Attorney General.  (he’s gonna need a backhoe to clean it out.) Henry has twice spoken to the SCOPE Members’ Meeting. And for United States Senator, Chuck Schumer is running for reelection.  ‘Nuff said! SCOPE explored this race on this past Friday.  Pinion is strongly 2nd Amendment and demonstrated in their recent debate that he has a strong, conservative grasp of the issues.  But frankly, if he only ran on “I’m not Chuck Schumer” that would be enough for many voters. The choice for gun owners could not be clearer.  The question is, are those gun owners “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore” by voting on Tuesday?

Pinion versus Schumer  by Tom Reynolds

Chuck Schumer is running for reelection as a U.S. Senator for New York.  He’s favored and his cohorts in the press have done all they can to keep the race out of the news to insure Schumer’s win over a less well-known opponent, Joe Pinion.  Schumer did agree to one debate that was not widely televised or publicized; that’s good for Schumer because his opponent more than held his own.

Many of Pinion’s answers centered around his description of Schumer as, “The best politician but a failed Senator.”

Schumer bragged about throwing money at every issue and avoided talking about results.

Foremost on voters’ minds is inflation and the Federal Reserve is fighting it by trying to reduce the money supply.  In opposition, both the federal and NY State governments want to increase the money supply; they’re working against the Federal Reserve, a battle which should prolong inflation.  

When questioned about inflation, Schumer repeatedly boasted about his work on the Inflation Reduction Act, That act featured sweeping climate and health care spending that will increase the money supply and fuel inflation – not reduce it.  Pinion correctly responded, “…(it) is going to explode inflation. It is not going to reduce the inflation…COVID did not cause the inflation…The response to COVID caused the inflation - the printing of money, $6 trillion worth." 

Schumer lauded reducing student loans as another answer to inflation but it, too, will have the opposite effect by increasing the money supply and fueling inflation.

Schumer uses inflation as a reason to tax corporations.  Pinion wants to cut taxes on individuals.

When questioned about Covid, Schumer punted; he wants to defer to medical experts.  (Perhaps he has forgotten that one of his ‘medical experts’ is the Secretary of Human Services Xavier Bacerra, who is a lawyer and career politician but not a doctor.  And let’s not forget Dr. Fauci’s contributions to medical expertise!)

What Schumer the politician forgets is that leaders get information from many sources – including medical experts - but the leader is the one who has to use wisdom and decide the correct decision.  Apparently, the buck doesn’t stop with Schumer.

Pinion is against mask mandates and stressed that we need 2022 answers to Covid not 2020 answers, as we know a lot more, now.

The two disagreed on bringing back the nation’s assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, as it was ineffective.  Schumer supports a ban and Pinion emphatically said ‘No’.  Pinion wants to get the guns out of criminals’ hands, which, he said, is not Schumer’s priority.

Schumer bragged about beating the left’s favorite boogeyman, the NRA, and passing so-called gun safety laws.  Given the increased level of violence, the Schumer’ laws have apparently not worked.

Schumer focused on legislation Democrats have passed since he became Senate majority leader and President Biden took office in 2021.  All of them involved throwing money at problems without getting results.  For example, Schumer boasted about all the money he has thrown at anti-poverty programs while Pinion pointed out that Schumer was spending more money with less results.

Schumer also highlighted his work on the opioid/ fentanyl problem, which was to spend more money.  (Note: You may have noticed we still have those problems.) 

Pinion’s first step in dealing with illegal immigration would be to secure the border and that we also need more immigration agents and not 87,000 IRS agents.  

Schumer blamed Republicans for the illegal immigrant invasion of our southern border because Republicans would not pass ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’.  Schumer did not mention that his program would involve legalizing illegal aliens and a path to citizenship for those that broke the law as reasons that Republicans opposed it.

Pinion also pointed out that Biden has been encouraging illegals to come. 

And as to immigration funding for NY City, Pinion believes we need to solve the problem before we encourage more illegals by increasing their funding.  (A novel approach; solve the problem instead of funding it.)

Both differed on Climate Change and Schumer wanted to blame Donald Trump because he pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord, while Pinion labelled the Paris Accord as toothless. 

Pinion wants to focus on the countries that are the major polluters, and punish China. 

“I believe that we need to start taxing the pollution that occurs from beyond our borders.”  Schumer, on the other hand, wants to punish America by seriously considering a carbon tax on his own country. 

Schumer believes his programs will reduce HVAC expenses by up to $1,800 by 2030.  (It’s rumored that he also believes in Santa Claus.)

The Supreme Court has ruled that abortion is a state and not a federal issue.  Schumer wants it to be a federal issue.  Pinion countered, "I do not support a national ban because the Supreme Court just said it was a matter for the states.  I don't think we should have patience for politicians who pass legislation knowing it violates that law." 

Schumer also dodged the question about parental consent for a minor having an abortion.

Schumer wants to see the political rhetoric / temperature lowered.  Pinion charged that Schumer should lower his own rhetoric, referencing the senator's warning to conservative justices on the Supreme Court that they would reap the whirlwind if they overturn Roe v. Wade. “You are the one who had that rhetoric and do you apologize to Justice Kavanagh, Pinion challenged."  Schumer responded, without apologizing, "The words I used that day were probably the wrong choice of words."

Schumer spoke of “horrible MAGA judges” and also said he was open to the idea of expanding the number of Supreme Court justices, an idea that Pinion rejected.

Schumer has been in Congress or the Senate since 1981 and often appeared smug, knowing his weak performance would not be seen by many voters.  Pinion was not at all intimidated to be in the presence of a DC Swamp denizen.

Vote to Save the Constitution  by Tom Reynolds

Some say this election is between Democrats and Republicans.

Others say it’s between the crazies and the sane – and offer gender identity policies as proof.

This election is really between those that believe in the U.S. Constitution and those that would destroy it.

The leadership of the left would destroy it.   

Early in his career, NY Assemblyman David DiPietro asked why an obviously unconstitutional bill was passed. The answer: it will take a $1 million lawsuit and 5 years to have it declared unconstitutional.

The successful 2^nd Amendment case, NYSRPA v Bruen, cost the NRA $1 million.

Now you know why NY Attorney General Letitia James wants to destroy the NRA; they are one of the few with the money to oppose unconstitutional laws. 

James is running for reelection.

After NYSRPA v Bruen, Kathy Hochul and the Democrat legislature passed a bill that contradicted the Supreme Court and numerous lawsuits have been filed against Hochul.  James defends Hochul using taxpayers’ money.  Early decisions found Hochul’s law unconstitutional. 

Hochul is running for reelection. 

Galileo's theorized that the Earth rotated daily and revolved around the sun.  It was condemned by the Catholic Church as ‘foolish’ and ‘absurd’.  (Misinformation?)  Galileo was later forced to recant and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.  (Worse than being banned from Twitter.)

Galileo died in 1642.  The Church admitted its error in 1992.  A little longer than DiPietro’s 5 years.

Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition is being condemned by the left’s leadership. He would allow viewpoints, such as Galileo’s, that contradict what the left leadership calls established science.  The left would have banned Galileo. 

Hitler, Mao and Stalin had numerous things in common - besides killing millions of innocent people - and foremost were banning dissent and firearms.  Our Founding Fathers understood this when they wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 

Tyrants are desperate to stop dissent since the free flow of information is essential to a free society.  Washington endured his Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, who paid a State Department employee to publish anti-Washington stories.  (Like Biden’s Justice Department leaks of anti-Trump information?)

U.S. Senators take an oath to “faithfully discharge the duties of the office”, which includes “support and defend the Constitution of the United States”.

Chuck Schumer wants power centralized at the federal level, making it easier to control, in direct conflict with the Constitution and especially the 10^th Amendment.  His American Rescue Plan would indirectly forbid states from using their 10^th Amendment power to lower taxes. 

Was Schumer unaware of that constitutional idea of separation of powers when he threatened, “I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price." 

The Supreme Court’s Chief Justice refused to participate in Schumer’s unconstitutional 2^nd impeachment of Donald Trump.

Schumer wants a federal takeover of election laws, in direct conflict with the Constitution.

Schumer is running for reelection.

Bond Proposal on the Ballot  by Tom Reynolds

On November 8^th, New York voters will decide whether the state will borrow more money.  A $4.2 billion bond act is the only statewide proposal on the (back side of the) ballot this year. The specific wording of the proposal is:

“To address and combat the impact of climate change and damage to the environment, the ‘Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022’ authorizes the sale of state bonds up to four billion two hundred million dollars to fund environmental protection, natural restoration, resiliency, and clean energy projects. Shall the Environmental Bond Act of 2022 be approved?”

The state Legislature has already approved the plan. But the catch is that the state has to get approval from voters to borrow the $4.2 billion.  The money is supposed to be used on big-ticket, long-term projects.

Who could possibly oppose something labelled the ‘Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022’?  Even though the federal ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ wasn’t about reducing inflation, we can trust that politicians have correctly labelled this one.

As you might imagine, supporters include environmental groups and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who are giddy over the proposal to give them a $4.2 billion slush fund. Yes, it’s a slush fund.  You see, there’s not a specific list of projects; that will come later in the process.  There are general allocations, not mentioned on the ballot and the biggest general allocation is $1.5 billion for climate change.  What a shock.  Climate change finds its way into the bond issue!

$1.5 billion (35% of the total funds) must be spent in disadvantaged communities. 

Opponents have raised concerns about the costs.  Let’s take a more in-depth look at that.

Gerard Kassar, the NYS Conservative Party’s chair summed it up, “We fear New York State’s reputation for unchecked spending will result in the possibility of the State Legislature spending the entirety of the $4.2 billion on projects that should be paid with existing authorized debt, new federal sources, and pay as you go where possible."

“Unchecked spending?”  In New York State?  Impossible!

“New federal sources?” State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli unintentionally explained that when he commented on the NY State budget, “The American Rescue Plan (ARP), signed by President Joseph Biden in March, will provide $12.6 billion in direct fiscal relief to New York State...” 

Couldn’t some of that $12.6 billion have been redirected to this instead of incurring new borrowing?

“Existing authorized debt?”  The state budget is around $212 billion.  $4.2 billion is 2% of that total.  Couldn’t Hochul and friends have found $4.2 billion in the budget for something they view as important as this – and not added more debt?

Kassara expanded on ‘Existing Authorized Debt.’  “…there is money remaining from projects that were authorized but never conducted or completed from earlier environmental-oriented bond acts, so that money remains to be used first.”

And timing is everything.  Kassar also added that the, “resulting debt service…will be issued at the highest interest rates New Yorkers have seen in decades."

State Sen. George Borrello, R-Jamestown, reiterated some of these issues: "The problem is, this is a very large bonding act and it's very vague as to how the money is going to be spent…“

As to the $1.5 billion slated to go to green energy initiatives, of which he would not be in favor, Borrello said, "I think those should be separate and away from infrastructure projects, because we've already spent way too many taxpayer dollars on these ridiculous boondoggle green energy projects."

What?  Ask Green Energy projects to stand on their own in front of the voters.  Environmental heresy! 

‘World Population Review’ says, “States borrow money for education, defense, health care, and welfare expenses and cover budget gaps, unfunded pension commitments, and outstanding bonds. Debts have increased in the states due to spending habits or a decrease in income from taxes and other sources…New York has the highest debt of any state, with total debt of over $203.77 billion.”

 What’s another $4.2 billion when you are already $203 billion in the hole? 

Shouldn’t some of that $203 billion have been spent on these pressing issues?  It causes one to question our political leaders’ judgement and past decisions.

Business executives and everyday people know that we must constantly make financial trade-offs; we forego buying something in order to buy something else.  Albany’s politicians have no idea what that concept is. 

Even if next year’s Governors’ name is Zeldin, judgement and financial wisdom have to be imposed onto Albany’s legislature.

Pre-Election Gun Control in D.C.  by Tom Reynolds

With record numbers of new gun owners and gun sales - as a protection against rising crimes and violence - one would think that Democrats would back off of their gun control platform…at least until after the election.  Nope!  Could it be they have little else to run on?

Here are some recent statements.

Two weeks before the midterm elections, in a tweet, the House Judiciary Committee Democrats renewed their war on “high powered assault weapons”.  They tweeted, “It’s time we banned these weapons of war.”

And Joe Biden continues to struggle with firearm facts.

In a recent interview, Biden was asked what is he currently doing to limit high-capacity magazines.  Biden said he is going to push to ban ‘assault weapons’ after the midterm elections and urged people to vote for Democrats in order to secure the ban.  He added, “My legislation says there can be no more than eight bullets in a round.”

SCOPE Prediction: A Biden success!  Eight bullet rounds will not be available.

To scare the ill-informed, Biden also claimed that AR-15 bullets “travel five times the speed of an ordinary bullet.”

SCOPE note: The AR 15 uses various size bullets with various muzzle lengths and they average around 3,000 feet per second.  Biden has a bullet that flies 15,000 feet per second?  (The .223 Valkyrie and the .220 Swift are advertised as the fastest bullets at 4,000 feet per second.  They are not ordinary bullets.) 

Biden also said AR-15 rifles are made for one thing, “to kill people,” and said he can “find no rational reason why ‘assault weapons’ should be sold, period.”

Try self-defense as a rational reason.  In his ruling on the GOA lawsuit against Hochul’s latest laws, Judge Suddaby said, "The very act of using a firearm in self-defense against another person necessarily involves threatening, if not actually causing, danger to that other person."

During another interview Biden asked, “What in God’s name do you need an assault weapon for?”  But then he continued, “It’s an assault weapon designed to kill people, to defend America, to defend people.”

Well…yes.  The Center for Security Policy’s Kyle Shideler reacted to Biden’s admission by tweeting, “Biden accidentally stumbles into the meaning of the 2nd amendment.”

SCOPE note: Use a firearm to defend people!  To defend America!  Where did he get such quaint ideas? 

Unfortunately, many of the people for gun-control are not really familiar with guns and they believe what the President of the United States says.

Not to be left out, gun control activists are chiming in.

If Republicans take back one or both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections there will be no chance of new gun control laws passing.  The Violence Policy Center’s Kristen Rand (and a lot of other gun control activists) want to use the D.C. Swamp bureaucrats (specifically the ATF) to broadly reclassify semi-automatic firearms, such as Glocks, as machine guns.  If they can’t get their goals the old-fashioned way (using constitutional methods) they resort to the Swamp.

 I suppose it’s good that the left is keeping gun control in the spotlight before the election.  Perhaps it will motivate some gun owners to vote.  It should also warn us that, if the left is successful in being reelected into power, they will take it as they’re invincible, no matter how unsuccessful their policies are, and they will redouble their gun control efforts as well as their efforts on inflation, gas and food prices, gender identity, and other far left policy “successes”.

Issues  by Tom Reynolds

SCOPE wrote how the Democrats are trying to distract voters from the Democrat’s record.  Here is some straight talk on the major issues:

Recession.  The Wall Street Journal’s survey of economists found that the probability of a recession in the next 12 months is 63 percent. An economic model run by Bloomberg Economics registered the probability of a recession at 100 percent. The Conference Board's leading economic indicators point to a recession by the end of this year.

Biden seems to agree.  Republican control of Congress cannot happen until January but Biden is already blaming them for the coming recession.  He said: “…you need to know this Republican leadership in Congress has made it clear they will crash the economy next year.” 

Inflation is running at a level not seen in 40 years. Interest rates are soaring. Democrats falsely claim inflation started with Trump and, truthfully, that it is a worldwide issue. 

Other issues do contribute to the problem but the main cause is printing trillions of dollars in order to buy votes (economic stimulus) and fund the “Green New Deal”.

Central Banks are trying to hold down inflation by tightening the money supply (raising interest rates and not rebuying government bonds as they mature).  The opposite policy is pushed by leftist politicians who want to expand the money supply with more economic stimulus (to buy votes). 

Democrat Stacey Abrams has a unique solution.  She stated that abortion is the answer to bringing down inflation!  (Honestly, she did say that.) 

Forgiveness of Student Loans buys votes but it may be illegal, it is being contested in court and it will contribute to inflation! 

People that worked their way through college or have paid off their student loans won’t be happy about this nor will those that never went to college, since the loans are being shifted to them from those that borrowed the money.  (Who knew we co-signed loans for people we never met.) 

Why more economic stimulus in the face of inflation?  Answer: college grads tend to vote Democrat in greater numbers.

Climate Change.  Democrats argue actions are necessary to save the world from rising oceans.  But Barack Obama keeps buying ocean front property!

Energy costs are skyrocketing.  God put enormous amounts of raw energy beneath our feet and capitalism gave us the technology to extract it.  The left opposes God, fossil fuels and capitalism.

The left’s real aim is to raise fossil fuel costs up to the higher level of green energy.  Are they surprised that energy consumers are unhappy at the increased costs and might vote to throw them from office?   

Government subsidies are the only thing keeping green energy in business and ‘you aint seen nothing yet.”  They have only just begun to subsidize!    

Abortion is supposed to motivate Democrats after Roe v Wade was overturned.  But the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision did not outlaw abortion; SCOTUS said abortion was a state issue and the federal government did not have the power to regulate it.  This threatens the left, which believes power should be consolidated, where they can easily control it, at the federal level. 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also justifies abortion as an antidote for a recession: “I believe that eliminating the rights of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy…” 

Crime.  Democrats claim the answer to rising crime is more gun control. 

Criticize their policies and you are a racist since the big cities they control - and where crime is rampant - are ‘diverse’. 

Conservatives believe the problems aren’t racism and gun control but are, instead: bail reform laws; soft on crime D A’s; unchecked illegal immigration; gun laws disarming law-abiding citizens; defund the police; and the leftist culture that blames society instead of the criminal.   

Defund the Police.  Democrats now claim it was only a small minority of Democrats that called for defunding the police.  They also claim it was mostly peaceful protests that destroyed inner cities.

Police unions are endorsing a Republican, Lee Zeldin, for NY Governor, which is previously unheard of in New York State.

Racism.  Disagree with a Democrat and you are labelled a racist.  It could backfire as people do not like being labelled as racist just because they used their 1^st Amendment rights.  But the left sees racism charges as the path to silencing any criticism of their policies. 

Propaganda in schools.  Home schooling during Covid exposed the leftist agenda being taught in schools.  Parents then objected and were labelled terrorists. Democrats believe parents should not have a say in their children’s education.

Major issues that are being promoted against parents’ will are gender identity, Critical Race Theory and rewriting American history as all due to racism. 

Boys competing in girls’ sports and boys using girls’ locker rooms are also big issues.

Gun Control.  SCOTUS reaffirmed our 2^nd Amendment rights and Democrats reacted by basically saying SCOTUS decisions and the Constitution do not apply in New York State.

Military. The military services are falling well short of their recruitment goals. 

Why put your life on the line for the racist country that the left paints?  Join the military and be brainwashed by the left’s propaganda is not a good recruitment ad.  Lives are in danger when the top military officers are more politician than warfighter and confuse diversity with lethality.

Politicizing the Justice Department.  The Justice Department and its FBI are denizens of the D C Swamp, not the impartial arbiters of justice that they are supposed to be.  We now know why our founders were afraid of a national police force.

Foreign Policy. It’s been said that Joe Biden has been on the wrong side of history in every foreign policy decision.  Nothing has changed.

Donald Trump.  Trump has not been president for almost two years but he still lives rent free in Democrats’ heads.  They want to energize those that hate him and keep him from running again for president, all the while distracting voters from the above issues.

Miscellaneous Items  by Tom Reynolds

Chicago…Chicago…That’s Some Kind of Town

We constantly hear about the shootings in Chicago, which has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the country.  Our friends at GOA-NY sent the attached link which brings home just how bad the situation is in Chicago.

Chicago Crime, Murder & Mayhem | Criminal Infographics | HeyJackass!

It’s worth a few minutes of your time.

ICE Strikes But Not Enough

From August 20 to September 30, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency carried out a nationwide sting operation that arrested 175 illegal aliens, all with multiple drunk driving convictions and some even in the sanctuary states of California and New York.  Other illegal aliens had prior convictions for vehicular homicide, hit-and-run, assault, child abuse, weapons violations, domestic violence, and fraud.

Illegal immigrant “encounters” by the border patrol have been numbering 200,000 per month.  It’s estimated that 600,000 more have avoided any ‘encounter’, yearly. 

Drug overdose deaths far outnumber shooting deaths.  Could an open southern border be facilitating drug smuggling?

Money Can’t Buy Happiness

The highest team payrolls in Major League Baseball in 2022 were the LA Dodgers ($261 million), the NY Mets ($259 million) and the NY Yankees ($251 million).

All of them will be watching the World Series at home.

Quotes to Vote

Getting gun owners to vote is always a major task.  The most recent New York State Rifle and Pistol Association’s magazine posted some quotes.  If those quotes won’t inspire people to vote, nothing will.

Not voting is not a protest.  It is a surrender.  Keith Ellison

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.  Plato 

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who don’t vote.  George Nathan

Every election is determined by the people who show up.  Larry Sabato  (As someone else said, “80% of success is just showing up.”)

And NYSRPA President Tom King added an important thought when he declared a “Second Amendment Emergency” and wrote, “…as much as I dislike Republicans In Name Only, we must support them.  Remember, a RINO in office is much better than a Democrat…”

Along those same lines from SCOPE - It’s an imperfect world and politics is filled with imperfect candidates - and many are just plain bad.  When you don’t vote you are saying, “I surrender to the bad.  Do what you will with my country and me.”  And rest assured, Schumer, Biden, Pelosi, Hochul, and Letitia James won’t hesitate to take control and destroy America, starting with the Constitution that many of us took an oath to defend.  That oath did not have an expiration date.