Wayne LaPierre (NRA) endorses Bernie Sanders in 1990 correlating with his first Congressional victory
For the graphic above to make sense, we have to step back to 1988 — Bernie’s first run for Congress.
1988 — Running for Congress
In 1988, Bernie was the 4-term mayor of Burlington, VT and was in a 3-way race with Vermont Governor Peter Smith (R) and Vermont State House Majority Leader Paul Poirier (D) for the sole Vermont Congressional seat.
The NRA actively campaigned against Bernie and for Smith and for Poirier.
Smith Peter Republican 98,937 41.20%
Sanders Bernard Independent 90,026 37.49
Poirier Paul N. Democratic 45,330 18.88
Hedbor Jim Libertarian 3,110 1.30
Diamondstone Peter Liberty Union 1,455 0.61
Earle Morris Independent 1,070 0.45
Write-In 203 0.08
Total: 240,131
Gov. Smith won the election to Congress 41.2% to 37.5%.
Bernie, on multiple occasions attributed his loss to Smith due to his support for banning assault-weapons:
One of many quotes where he felt that his opposition to assault weapons cost him an election in 1988.
After that election, both Smith and Poirier signed the NRA pledge to not support “additional restrictive firearms legislation.”
1989 — Stockton, CA
In January 1989, Patrick Edward Purdy shot and killed five children with an AK-47.
After this, called the Cleveland Elementary School Shooting, Congressman Smith (R) now supports a ban on semiautomatic rifles. The NRA is displeased. The Rutland Herald documents the debate in Vermont:
By the next election, something had changed 180° ...
1990 — Owes Congressional win to NRA
"Bernie Sanders is a more honorable choice for Vermont sportsmen than Peter Smith," said the NRA's Wayne LaPierre at the time. "It is about integrity in politics." Though the NRA's backing did not single-handedly put Sanders in office, one exit poll showed that more than a third of his 1990 voters were influenced by the gun issue.
In 1990, Bernie beat Smith by >16%. 1) The NRA was now unhappy with Smith for supporting a ban on semiautomatic rifles, and 2) the NRA was now endorsing Bernie.
It’s clear that Bernie’s NRA support changed his appeal to Vermont voters. In a year where turnout dropped, his vote increased from a 3.7% loss to a 16.5% win. Not to mention the exit polling. There were approximately the same number of votes between himself and Congressman Smith, but now divided up much differently. And 1990 was not a Presidential year, as seen by the lower turnout.
Sanders Bernard Independent 117,522 56.00%
Smith Peter Republican 82,938 39.52
Sandoval Delores Democratic 6,315 3.01
Diamondstone Peter Liberty Union 1,965 0.94
Write-In 1,116 0.53
Total: 209,856
Did his mind change from 1988 to 1990, or did he change his position to get elected?
1991 & 1993 — Against the Brady Bill
The Brady Handgun Violence and Protection Act was designed to slow down the purchasers of guns with background checks and waiting periods, particularly to keep guns out of the hands of people that should not have them.
Governor Martin O’Malley had it right in this ad — in 1991 and 1993, Bernie voted a total of five (5) times against the Brady Bill. He also tried to add an amendment for instant background checks instead — a technology which did not exist at the time.
H.R.1025 — Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act ultimately passes, is presented to and signed by Bill Clinton in the same day on 11/30/1993 despite Bernie voting against it.
2005 — PLCAA
The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) is a United States law which protects firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products. It had Bernie’s support when it was introduced in 2003 and through 2005 when it was passed.
From Slate:
The PLCAA was the No. 1 legislative priority of the National Rifle Association for years, because it shields gun makers and dealers from most liability when their firearms are used criminally. It is one of the most noxious pieces of pro-gun legislation ever passed. And Bernie Sanders voted for it.
…
Remarkably, the act wiped out gun liability laws in all 50 states, rendering them invalid except for a handful of narrow exceptions. (So much for states’ rights.) Thanks to the law, victims of mass shootings are barred from suing the companies that produced a wartime weapon that no civilian could ever need.
The NRA was overjoyed.
But no. Bernie says it’s about mental health.
2006 — Jeffords retires. Hello Senator Sanders
The 2006 race against Richard Tarrant was a very expensive race: Tarrant spent over $7M and Bernie $6.7M. One key issue in that race was Bernie’s vote against Amber Alert, because he “disagreed with the sentencing guidelines.”
Sanders was one of only 14 House members to vote against the bill, which passed the Senate 98-0, with U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. -- a Sanders supporter -- voting in favor.
2007 — No aid to countries who restrict US guns
Vote number
2007-321 prohibiting foreign & UN aid that restricts US gun ownership on Sep 6, 2007 regarding bill
S.Amdt. 2774 to H.R. 2764 Vitter Amendment to State Dept. Appropriations Bill
Results: Agreed to, 81-10
Bernie votes yea.
2009 — Allow guns in checked baggage on Amtrak
Vote number 2009-S145 allowing firearms in checked baggage on Amtrak trains on Apr 2, 2009 regarding bill S.Amdt.798 to S.Con.Res.13 Wicker Amendment
Results: Passed 63-35
Bernie votes yea.
2012 — Sandy Hook
On December 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Adam Lanza kills 20 first graders and six school employees before turning a gun on himself. Earlier that day, he killed his mother at the home they shared.
In fact they average over 2 bullets each victim, and these are high velocity bullets causing extreme damage all the way through.
“I don't owe Sandy Hook victims' families an apology.”
–TheHill
This is beyond disgusting.
History.com:
In November 2013, the Connecticut State’s Attorney released a report noting that Lanza had “significant mental health issues that affected his ability to live a normal life and to interact with others.” However, mental-health professionals who had worked with him “did not see anything that would have predicted his future behavior,” according to the report.
In 2012, Bernie earned a D- from the NRA. There is no excuse for a Democrat to earn anything other than an F.
2015 — Dylann Roof murders nine in a church
In the January 17, 2016 debate with Hillary Clinton, she observed that he voted for the “Charleston Loophole.” This is the means by which Dylann Roof was able to purchase a handgun and avoid the three-day waiting period from the hamstrung Brady Bill by providing an incorrect agency address as to where he was previously arrested on drug charges. Bernie voted against a version of the Brady Bill that reinstated a five-day period. With the exception of his amendment, he voted against every version of the bill. This loophole was directly implicated in Roof’s ability to get a handgun and thus kill nine African Americans in their Church.
2016 — Still Defending PLCAA
April 14, 2016.
Bernie Sanders was booed loudly during the Democratic presidential debate Thursday night when he refused to apologize to the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre for his stance on gun control.
…
Blitzer said to Sanders, "The daughter of the Sandy Hook elementary school principal who was killed back in the 2012 mass shooting says you owe her and the other victims' families an apology. Do you?"
Interestingly, his position changed under pressure from Rep. Adam Schiff and Sen. Richard Blumenthal:
Note, that this press release is dated January 16th, 2016, and he’s defending PLCAA on January 17th, 2017 in a debate with Hillary Clinton
What’s even more interesting is that this Press Release has been scrubbed from his website, apparently in 2019.
2020 — It was a “bad vote”
NYTimes:
Blocks from where nine people were killed in a mass shooting at a historic Charleston, S.C., black church in 2015, the Democratic presidential front-runner, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, was confronted on Tuesday night about his past support for a law that gave immunity to gun manufacturers in wrongful death lawsuits.
...
[Biden] zeroed in on Mr. Sanders’s vote to approve the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005, saying that the law has undermined efforts to hold gun manufacturers accountable after a spate of mass shootings.
...
“I’ve cast thousands of votes, including bad votes,” Mr. Sanders said. “That was a bad vote.”
A bad vote?
No, it was who Bernie is. In 1990 he embraced support from the NRA and to get elected. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Adam Schiff, Richard Blumenthal, and any number of Democrats have called him on it.
A simple question
Let’s come back to where we started, in his own words:
A) Does Bernie actually believe that assault rifles are a bad thing, and his statement about losing the 1988 election? (This was the same day he defended his vote against the Brady Bill in a debate with Hillary Clinton.)
B) Did he not actually support the NRA but used them to gain a Congressional Seat and then later a Senatoral Seat? And do their bidding along the way.
What do you believe in? And if I can’t take your word for this, particularly with all of the innocent blood on your hands, what can I believe?
D-
C) Another possibility has been brought up in the comments — even though Bernie got elected in 1990 after the NRA went after his opponent for SPONSORING an assault weapons ban, he was really in favor of an assault weapons ban the whole time, irrespective of his Brady and PLCAA votes. To believe this, one has to assume that he was (implicitly or explicitly) lying in 1990 to the NRA and people of Vermont.
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