With the Democratic National Convention entering full swing as everyone begins to jump head first into the upcoming events, there seems to be little else to discuss. This, however, needs to be explored. Top McCain Aide Randy Scheunemann seems to have pushed for Gun Rights for suspected Terrorists.
Follow me after the fold
According to Newsweek:
Sen. John McCain portrays himself as a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights. But does that extend to gun rights for suspected terrorists? His campaign won't say where he stands on a bill to eliminate a gun-control loophole that even the Bush administration wants closed: a gap in federal law that inhibits the government from stopping people on terrorist watch lists from buying guns. The bill was inspired by an official audit covering a five-month period in 2004 which found that, because of the loophole, the Feds had to greenlight 35 out of 44 cases where a gun buyer was on a terrorist watch list. One group opposed to closing the loophole is the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a gun manufacturers' trade association. Until this spring, one of its congressional lobbyists was Randy Scheunemann, now a top McCain campaign adviser on foreign policy.
Registration documents filed by Scheunemann’s company, Orion Strategies, list the terror-gap bill as one of its specific lobbying objectives, and the registrations listed Scheunemann as a lobbyist until he took a leave.
So, as John McCain and Co. try to relive the 60s with David Ayers ads, his own campaign aides undermine his entire argument of judgment towards national secuirty. There are so many problems that this brings to the forefront. If Obama's campaign highlights the hypocrisy portrayed in Scheunemann's actions, McCain is going to be hard pressed to paint Obama as weak on national security, soft on crime, as well as associating with those of questionable character.
Think Progress just reported this, and hits the McCain camp hard as it shows McCain's response to the allegations:
In response, the McCain campaign "declined to say if Scheunemann had ever lobbied McCain on gun-control bills." McCain spokesperson Jill Hazelbaker said that Scheunemann is a "foreign-policy adviser." In March, however, Scheunemann told National Journal that "he has weighed in with advice on Second Amendment and firearms issues" in advising McCain:
Officially the top foreign policy and national security adviser to McCain’s campaign, Scheunemann told National Journal in March he has weighed in with advice on Second Amendment and firearms issues. He said he had stopped lobbying for all his clients early this year, and his lobbying registration forms show that the NRA work ended at the end of 2007.
After McCain spoke to the NRA national convention in May, "Scheunemann spent most of his time at the event backstage — where McCain had a brief meeting with NRA leaders."
Hinting at yet another conflict of interest, the McCain campaign "refused to answer questions about whether the senator supports or opposes the White House plan to close the loophole" giving expanded gun rights to terrorists, reports Newsweek.
So, what the story? Does John McCain really belive that national security is the most important issue in today's campaign? And if so, why won't he comment?