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Fellow Gungeon Residents:
I just posted this as a reply in the GD discussion 'Can Obama Win in the South?' I figured it might have a place here as well...
I have no illusions that anyone from the Obama campaign is reading this or will follow my advice. BUT, as someone who likes Obama quite a lot on many issues (and also his compelling charisma), here goes:
Obama apparently has been pretty anti-2nd Amendment in his past (no, I don't have links, but I have read here in DU's Gungeon that he has favored a ban on handguns and all semi-automatic rifles: if true, that is a deal-breaker with every southern male, and at least half the southern females I know).
Now, none of these pro-2A southerners (myself included) will swallow a complete flip-flop on the gun issue, but a nuanced statement of change could be believable and help Obama a bunch. Like maybe he go to a shooting range with Governor Richardson (or Senator Webb, or some other pro-2A Dem), and after handling a Glock or a 1911 properly and safely (and hopefully putting a few holes on the paper) he could issue a statement that his past anti-2A statements were based on the extreme gang violence that has plagued Chicago for much of his life. But, now, as a national candidate for the highest office in the land, he understands his responsibility to protect all the rights enshrined in the Constitution, including the Second Amendment.
If he avoids all the poison phrases (like 'sensible gun regulation,' 'assault weapon ban,' etc.) while issuing such a statement, I think it could go a long way toward diverting the pro-2A tidal wave that will otherwise drown him in the South. Doing the above, plus asking Richardson to be his running mate would go even further. Would this stop the racist opposition to a black Pres? (and a Latino VP!) No. But if Obama could just peel a few gun-owning southerners away from his opposition, I think he could win more than a few southern states.
SO, the reason, I re-posted this here is to ask: Would southern/gungeon/pro-2A Dem's find a statement and set of actions such as these by Obama believable and palatable? I would, but maybe I am just too charmed by the guy's charisma and powerful speaking style. If the latter is true, feel free to burst my bubble.
-app
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