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"Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist"
I've been reading Richard Feldman's book by that title. If you took it by its reviews, sample here, it's supposed to be violently anti-NRA and antigun.
It isn't. He plainly thought the world of Harlon Carter (as do I), feels that gun laws do harm rather than good, and that NRA's objectives are correct. He plainly dislikes Wayne and former ILA head Jim Baker, and their financial decisions, and dislikes Neal Knox. There's some bias there, since Jim Baker got him essentially fired. But the dislikes take up maybe ten pages of the book -- it's just that the reviewers, who hate the progun cause, focus on quotes from those pages.
I think the book will actually help the firearms rights cause. Given the reviews, there will probably be a lot of people buying it who are antigun. But to find the ten pages of criticism, they will have to read about 280 pages on why gun laws (including assault weapons bans) are nonsense, Harlon's brilliance in creating the modern NRA, how sleazy or foolish antigun politicians are sleazy or dumb (priceless case: NY governor Mario Cuomo tries to defuse tension during a meeting with Feldman and others, by intentionally sitting on a whoopee cushion and then showing it to them), how pro-gunners are honest and decent, etc., etc.. The author does say that they were sometimes too uncompromising, but even that criticism tends to be on pragmatic grounds, i.e., it impaired their mission, rather than on policy. If it didn't have some salacious bites, it wouldn't have gotten reviewed by NPR, US News and World Distort, etc., etc. As it is, I expect there will be a lot of antigunners reading it, who will at least be exposed to a lot of pro-gun positions and information.
Samples: "The Brady Campaign sought simplistic, even counterproductive answers to complex criminal justice and civil liberties problems." "Feminists, I noted, cited the empowerment of gun ownership. To me, this could be summed up by the slogan, ''You can't rape a .38'" "Criminologists and and sociologists had long debunked this 'instrumentality theory' that widespread availability of guns cause crime." "Michael Bellesiles was riding high. The only problem was that his research was a fraud, bogus... The documents he claimed to have relied upon did not exist. Other data he claimed to have entered in his computer had disappeared -- stolen, he claimed, by hackers. No one bought the professor's dog-ate-my-homework alibi."
I have a certain bias here, since I know just about ever nonpolitician in the book. At my first wedding, to my late wife Frances, Wayne was best man, Jim Baker in the wedding party. The book ends with the dedication of Harlon Carter's bronze bust. I was there, and shook hands with the author, and with John Aquilino and others mentioned. Yes, the fact that Harlon's family invited the author to the memorial ceremony should suggest something about his viewpoint.
BTW, here's the Gun Week review of the book.
· NRA
Comments
I met WLP once at a huge gun show. Of course, as usual, I was dressed like a homeless person, but he was still pretty gracious. I still have his business card taped to the wall in my office.
Posted by: Letalis Maximus, Esq. at December 18, 2007 05:42 PM
I have found that the people who are gracious to what looks like a homeless person usually are just gracious people and not trying to buy your vote (unless they laft leaning liberals :)
rich
Posted by: Rich at December 19, 2007 11:11 AM
I heard Mr. Feldman on Gun Talk about a month ago before the NY Crimes and Washington Compost picked up the book. He said on Gun Talk he is still very much an NRA member. I guess his taking aim at Wayne LaPierre was one way to sell books. Like the other folks who commented, I have had the opportunity to be in the presence of Mr. LaPierre on several occasions and he has always been nothing but gracious. Does NRA go overboard on its fundraising mail - no question. Is it necessary - no question - if we don't constantly remind folks how tedious our grip on our rights is, they will soon forget as do most Americans about anything of great importance after six months.
Posted by: David Adams at December 19, 2007 01:19 PM
More proof that when pro-Second Amendment people agree to disagree they don't threaten to shoot or kill each other--as the liberals tend to do, such as was done by that anti-gun buffoon in Illinois who threatened to "take out" (and not in the dating sense) a gun shop owner.
I see no harm here.
I'll just funnel more money to the GOA.
:)
Posted by: Tarn Helm at December 19, 2007 04:11 PM