Shakeup In Connecticut Race For Governor

Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-CT) is probably none too happy over Independent candidate Joe Visconti dropping out of the race for governor and endorsing Republican challenger Tom Foley. A recent Quinnipiac University poll had Foley and Malloy tied with Visconti pulling in 7 percent. However, if Visconti was out of the race, the Republican Foley moved into the lead.

Foley described Visconti's move and endorsement as a surprise.

"I wasn't expecting to hear from him, but I'm glad I did,'' Foley said at the sports bar. "I think an endorsement – bringing everybody together behind my candidacy [for] voting Gov. Malloy out of office for the record he has – is very important to me. [Visconti has] made a commitment to get a message to all his supporters to vote for me. He's already out on the Internet and social media, telling his supporters to vote for me.''

The Malloy campaign characterized the withdrawal and endorsement as further proof that Foley will double down on his promise to repeal the draconian post-Newtown laws. These laws were pushed and signed by Malloy.

"Tom Foley just doubled down on his plans to repeal Connecticut's strict smart gun law that has made our neighborhoods, our schools and our streets safer," Malloy spokesman Mark Bergman said. "Make no mistake, Tom Foley is in the pocket of the right wing extreme gun lobby, and today's announcement is further proof."

Foley had received the endorsement of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League.

David Codrea has written extensively on this race. He noted that many Connecticut gun rights activists wondered about Visconti's commitment to the Second Amendment and wonder if his being in the race wasn't just an effort to torpedo Tom Foley.

While it comes late in the campaign and with his name remaining on the ballot, Visconti's move may, just maybe, be enough to put Foley over the top. As it is, Mike Bloomberg has invested $1.7 million in getting Malloy re-elected. Malloy is right up there with John Hickenlooper on the list of Democratic governors I'd like to see defeated on Tuesday.




H/T David Codrea

Interesting Graphic

I came across this interesting graphic with an exploded drawing of an AK-47 this afternoon. I can't remember if I saw it first on Facebook or Tumblr. It is from a Russian site called Defending Russia.

Based on the camo, I'd say the guy holding the AK is with either the Spetnaz or the MVD Internal Troops.

by egorov.

An Unintended Allegory

An allegory is defined as a symbolical narrative. I saw the ad below this morning and was struck by how accurately it portrays the response of the left to anything they don't want to hear. The kid who states the obvious to the tour guide must be shut up.

While the ad people at Mars, Inc. probably didn't intend for this left-right Twix ad to be seen as anything other than an ad for their candy, it is the perfect allegory for how the left reacts. What they don't want to hear, they call "hate speech" or "offensive speech" which must be regulated or drowned out.

We in the gun rights community have seen this on a regular basis. A pro-gun ad is banned at the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Comcast and Google have banned ads for firearms and ammunition. The FDIC and Department of Justice's attempt to equate gun and ammo retailers with porn as seen in Operation Choke Point in nothing more than an extension of the left's moves against speech.

Trick Or Treat?

We consider ourselves the grinches of Halloween. We turn out the lights, go out for the evening, and don't give out candy to kids.

So we wake up to this on November 1st.

There has got to be an inch and  half to two inches of snow on the ground. It's not like we live in Fargo or International Falls or something like that. We live below the Mason-Dixon line for god sakes! I'll admit we live at about 2,100 feet above sea level but it is in the valley and not on the mountain top.

On November 5th, These Become Target Stands

If your neighborhood or town is like mine, you are seeing political yard signs everywhere. Some are for candidates you like, some are for those you despise. They are generally made of heavy paper or, if the candidate was really spending some money, a corrugated plastic. If you look closely at the two in the foreground, you can see the ribbing from the corrugation. These signs usually are attached to wire stands.

Now, in most places, it is illegal to take these signs before Election Day unless some schmuck puts it on your property without asking permission.

However, after the polls close on November 4th, all of these signs can have a new life as target stands. You can tack your paper targets on the face of these signs and shoot away. While they aren't at the height of many target stands, I think they'd do just fine for rimfire stands or for just plinking.

Think of it this way - the price is right, you are cleaning up the roadsides, you are "repurposing" them, and, if you hate the candidate in question, it will give you plenty of perverse pleasure in blowing away his or her sign.


UPDATE: I'm guessing this husband of a Delaware Democratic incumbent just wanted to get an early start on gathering some target stands.

I Got Me Them Hickenlooper Blues

Thanks to National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea and his co-writers Cyd Lantz and David Simpson we have the lyrics to The Hickenlooper Blues. They along with their producer Peter Gould have created this great parody of Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and his various excuses for bringing gun control to Colorado.

Share this with your friends. David suggests other places to share this video. This is an extremely close election - too close really - and Hick needs to be sent back to his brew pub.

Last Refuge Of A Liberal Scoundrel

If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, then accusations of racism must be the last refuge of a liberal scoundrel. Accusations can come in both overt and covert forms.

For example, coming out and saying that Senator X is a racist or that some act that he or she committed was racist in intent would be an overt accusation. At least these accusations are forthright.

Covert accusations are much more insidious. They rely upon code words. Code words like Trayvon, Ferguson, and stand your ground.

So it is with the latest ad from Sen. Harry Reid's Senate Majority PAC. Listen to the radio ad that they are playing in North Carolina aimed at African-American voters. Pay attention to the segment starting at 0:24 to 0:30 as captured from the airwaves by well-known North Carolina conservative blogger Sister Toldjah.





You heard correctly. The ad says, "Tillis even led the effort to pass the type of stand your ground laws that caused the shooting death of Trayvon Martin." It doesn't matter that Florida's stand your ground law was not invoked in George Zimmerman's trial nor that they confuse passage of the castle doctrine with stand your ground laws. It is still using covert accusations of racism to encourage black voters to turn out for Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC).

And to be honest, Speaker Tillis did not lead the effort to pass HB 650. It was Rep. Mark Hilton (R-Catawba) and Sen. Buck Newton (R-Nash). The best you can say is that Tillis did not impede the efforts to pass this omnibus bill that reformed North Carolina's gun laws. Moreover, HB 650 was signed into law by Democrat Gov. Beverly Perdue.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) should repudiate this racist ad but we all know she won't. She needs the "black vote" and Harry Reid will go as low as he needs to in order to secure it for her.

North Carolina Judicial Races

North Carolina has a non-partisan electoral system for all levels of judges. Prior to 1996, judicial elections were partisan. Appellate level judgeships - Court of Appeals and Supreme Court - were the last to go non-partisan making the transition in 2002.

Given that, how can you figure out who is conservative and who is liberal? Or who is pro-gun and who is anti-gun. We recently saw what a difference it can make when Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens blatantly ignored the black letter law and allowed Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler (R-NC) to ban guns at the NC State Fair.

The State Board of Elections does put out a Judicial Voter Guide which includes a short statement from each candidate, gives their education and work history, and provides a link, if any, to their websites. To be frank, it is of little use other than to tell you some of their work history and educational background.

Fortunately, the candidates' websites tend to be of more value. For example, Judge Bill Southern, who is running for the NC Court of Appeals against Judge Lucy Inman, tells you he is a member of the NRA and is part of the conservative/libertarian John Locke Foundation's candidate development program. By contrast, Supreme Court Associate Justice Robin Hudson touts her endorsements from the Durham People's Alliance, NC chapter of NOW, and the NC AFL-CIO. You can be pretty much assured that she is not a conservative.

The North Carolina Republican Party has issued their endorsements at the state level as has the Grass Roots North Carolina Political Victory Fund. With the exception of the "Martin seat", they agree. The North Carolina Democratic Party also made endorsements which are 180 deg. from those below.

From the GOP:

Supreme Court Chief Justice
Judge Mark Martin

Supreme Court Justice (Martin seat)
Judge Bob Hunter

Supreme Court Justice (Hudson seat)
Judge Eric Levinson

Supreme Court Justice (Beasley seat)
Mike Robinson

Court of Appeals (Hunter seat)
Judge Bill Southern

Court of Appeals (Martin seat)
Judge John Tyson

Court of Appeals (Stroud seat)
Judge Donna Stroud (unopposed)

Court of Appeals (Davis seat)
Judge Paul Holcombe

Perhaps more important to gun owners is this list of endorsements from the GRNC PVF:

GRNC-PVF Judicial Candidate Recommendations:

Supreme Court (Chief Justice): Mark Martin
Supreme Court (Martin seat): Bob Hunter
Supreme Court (Hudson seat): Eric Levinson
Supreme Court (Beasley seat): Mike Robinson
Court of Appeals (Martin seat): Marion Warren
Court of Appeals (Hunter seat): Bill Southern
Court of Appeals (Stroud seat): Donna Stroud
Court of Appeals (Davis seat): Paul Holcombe

What is called the "Martin seat" is to fill the vacancy left open when Chief Judge John Martin retired. There are, believe it or not, 19 candidates for that open seat. In addition to the two people endorsed for this seat by the GOP and GRNC-PVF, Elizabeth Davenport Scott and Valerie Johnson Zachary are also worth a look. Both are Republicans. Zachary has been endorsed by Conservatives of Guilford County and touts herself a conservative. What makes her somewhat unusual is that she has a law degree from Harvard and practices in Yadkinville, pop. 2,818.

I did a blog post earlier this month regarding Judge Mark Davis who is seeking a full term on the Court of Appeals. Unless he is just a hired gun who will say anything to win a case, he is no friend of the Second Amendment. For that reason, Judge Paul Holcombe has my vote.

Early voting started on Thursday, October 23rd. To find out where you can vote early (assuming you are a registered NC voter), go here. The one thing to remember is that voting a straight ticket won't impact these races. You have to vote for each race and each judge.