As a former professional football player, I always knew winning was much more fun. And, Tuesday’s election result was the most fun I’ve had in awhile.
First, I owe a big thanks to Plutonium Page for the post, The Left to Bear Arms, about guns and Democrats on Sunday. That post was spot on.
I don’t like to sit on the sidelines or in the stands. I always want to be in the game. And, this year, because the Obama campaign took outreach to gun owners and sportsmen seriously, we had to play in this game. The Obama campaign knew it had to work hard to get gun owners to listen and they were prepared to do the work. We had organized our team at the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) and we were ready when they called. I really want to congratulate my fellow members of "Sportsmen for Obama." The campaign not only supported us, but they listened, which was very important.
The campaign sent me to Ohio three times. I also went to Minnesota, Colorado and Florida. The campaign staffers in those states knew exactly what needed to be done and I’m honored to have worked with them. And, I’m even happier that those key states went to Obama.
Obama’s campaign staff left no stone unturned when it came to outreach to gun owners. In the key battleground states, they ran a radio ad – and did multiple mailings -- with me talking to gun owners. It worked. I kept talking to people who saw the mail or heard the ad. The message was clear: You can trust Obama on guns. Once that was understood – and it was understood -- gun owners were willing to look at other issues, like the economy. The success of the messaging is devastating to the NRA.
I’ve been saying for years that Democrats shouldn’t cede the gun vote to the NRA. There are over 80 million gun owners in the U.S. fewer than 3 million belong to that group. They do not speak for all of us – especially those of us who are Democrats, progressives and conservationists. That’s why I started the American Hunters and Shooters Association and why I’m ecstatic that Obama won.
Unions fought back too. I know. There were union people at just about every stop I did. But, that was especially true in Ohio where I got to work with members from the United Mine Workers, Building Trades. Plumbers and Pipefitters, the Teamsters and Sheetmetal workers. They didn’t cede their members to the NRA and it worked:
Guy Molyneux, a partner with Hart Research, noted that white men who are union members supported Mr. Obama over Mr. McCain by a margin of 18 percentage points, while for all white men, exit polls found they backed Mr. McCain by a 16 percent margin.
As for gun owners who belong to unions, he said they backed Mr. Obama by a 12 percent margin, while gun owners in the general public favored Mr. McCain by a 25 percentage points.
The leaders of the NRA launched vicious attacks on Obama, spending over $40 million. They thought they’d have a good opportunity to damage Obama’s campaign. But, they didn’t. Their ads were widely panned as misleading and dishonest. That’s their standard operating procedure – and this time, it failed. Their candidate lost. They didn’t deliver. I also took my fair share of incoming hits from the NRA and their toadies at the RNC. But, that was all just noise to me. In this game, if you’re going to talk it, you better be able to walk it.
But, I wasn’t listening to the attacks. I was playing to win because that is what matters. And, our team won!