Elite Eight?

Not Exactly

June 2nd, 2008 by Fat Charlie the Archangel @ 6:30 am| Posted @ iamtrex.com

[Above: Camp Curry, Yosemite National Park. Does this look like a place where you would need to pack heat to feel safe?]

Max Baucus, Montana.

Byron Dorgan, North Dakota.

Tim Johnson, South Dakota.

Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas.

Ben Nelson, Nebraska.

Mark Pryor, Arkansas.

Jon Tester, Montana.

Jim Webb, Virginia.

What do these eight Democratic Senators have in common?
On December 14, 2007, they were all insane.

That’s the day they joined 39 Republican Senators in signing a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, asking him to revise decades-old National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service regulations to allow the possession and carrying of concealed firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges by permit holders, to the same extent that the law of the state where the park is located would allow such persons to carry in state parks and wildlife refuges. Kempthorne, dutiful Bushie that he is, caused his department to issue proposed regulations on April 30 that would do just that.

This link will take you to the table of contents of the Federal Register for April 30; scroll down to “National Park Service” and you’ll find a link to the full text of the proposed regulation. You can find a copy of the letter here. You’ll note that, contrary to a number of new reports, including this one in last Friday’s Times, that say that 51 Senators, including nine Democrats, wrote to Kempthorne, there are only 47 signatures, including the Unholy Eight listed above.

Needless to say, the NRA thinks this is the greatest thing since cold beer. Other stakeholders, including the National Parks Conservation Association and the Association of National Park Rangers, think it’s not such a great idea. This article from the Portland Oregonian does, in my view, a pretty balanced job of laying out and assessing the arguments for and against.

My personal view is that the new rule is both unnecessary and goofy. But I got a problem that goes beyond the merits of this issue.

Look, we know that Republicans are going to pander to the NRA in an election year. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, Republicans gotta pander. But what we don’t need is Democrats playing along, giving this insanity a patina of respectability. WTF were these eight Democrats thinking?

BTW, the comment period on the proposed regulations runs until June 30. You can comment online by going here. Sure would be nice if MoveOn would get an email blast out to its members, asking them to comment.