From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
Vol. 8, No. 5 2/2/01
SENATE CONFIRMS ASHCROFT AND NORTON
The partisan, special-interest led attacks on two of President Bush's
cabinet nominees fell well short of their objectives when Gale Norton was
confirmed as Secretary of the Interior on Tuesday, and John Ashcroft was
confirmed as Attorney General on Thursday. Ashcroft's confirmation was the
last one needed to complete Bush's cabinet. Norton withstood attacks from
radical "environmentalist" groups and the NAACP and AFL-CIO (a strange mix
of allies, whose only apparent unifying issue is they supported Al Gore's
losing bid for the Presidency), and was confirmed on a 75 - 24 vote. Those
voting against Norton were all Democrats.
The attacks on Ashcroft were far more public, and involved several
anti-gun extremist organizations, including HCI and the so-called
"Million" Mom March (MMM). These groups spent enormous amounts of money on
their failed attempt to defeat one of the most qualified candidates for
Attorney General this country has ever seen. One relatively obscure group,
the Violence Policy Center, even went to the outrageous length of
demanding Ashcroft resign his NRA membership. Apparently, VPC doesn't like
the idea of the nation's "Top Cop" belonging to an organization that
supports the nation's law enforcement community in word and deed.
And while there was little question regarding Ashcroft's qualifications to
be Attorney General, numerous Democratic Senators launched personal,
public attacks against his character during hearings, and then voted
against him. Some voted against confirmation, perhaps, because they are so
entangled with the extremist groups that opposed Ashcroft, and others
admitted they wanted to fire a "shot across the bow" of President Bush.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), one of HCI's biggest allies, tried
his best to paint the Ashcroft vote as something other than a crushing
defeat, warning it will "set the tone for many of the upcoming issues that
will face" the U.S. Senate. U.S. Senator Kit Bond (R-Mo.) was much closer
to the truth, noting that several Democrats explained they voted against
Ashcroft because they feared liberal groups would hurt them at the polls
if they did not.
All 50 Republican Senators deserve our thanks for voting to confirm
Ashcroft, but eight Democrats also deserve a special thanks for rising
above the partisan atmosphere that Democrats like Schumer seem committed
to preserving. Democrats voting to confirm Ashcroft were: John Breaux
(La.); Robert Byrd (W.Va.); Kent Conrad (N.D.); Christopher Dodd (Conn.);
Byron Dorgan (N.D.); Russ Feingold (Wisc.); Zell Miller (Ga.); and Ben
Nelson (Neb.). If you would like to thank these or any of the 50
Republican Senators for confirming an immensely qualified candidate for
Attorney General, rather than questioning his personal religious and
ideological beliefs, you can find contact information by using the "Write
Your Reps" (http://congress.nw.dc.us/nra/index.pl) tool at NRAILA.org
(http://www.nraila.org), or by calling the Grassroots Division at (800)
392-8683. Also be sure to let those who voted against Ashcroft know how
disappointed you are that they caved in to the pressure of the anti-gun
extremists. Remind them that you will remember their vote the next time
you go to the polls.
BRITISH FAX POLL AT IT AGAIN
The British company 21st Century Faxes Ltd. has fired up its fax machines
once again, and is harassing any American with a fax number it can find,
with another scam to line its pockets with your money. This is the same
company that regularly floods American fax machines with what it calls
"surveys," although the true goal is not to gauge public opinion. When
21st Century Faxes first came to the public's attention, it was the day
after the tragedy at Columbine High, when it shamelessly began
broadcasting one of its "surveys" on "gun control." The latest poll asks
"Should gun makers compensate victims of gun crime?" The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
have already investigated 21st Century Faxes, after both received numerous
complaints about these unsolicited messages, although we have yet to hear
of the results of these investigations.
If you receive one of these faxes, don't bother responding, as the British
company merely wants your money, not your opinion. To vote in this
"survey," you must fax your reply to a "900" number that, according to
fine print at the bottom of the message, costs $2.95 per minute. Rather
than respond, you may want to contact the FCC and the FTC to register a
complaint about this unsolicited fax. The FCC can be reached at (202)
418-0200, or found on the Internet at www.fcc.gov (http://www.fcc.gov),
and the FTC can be reached at (202) 326-2000, or found on the Internet at
www.ftc.gov (http://www.ftc.gov).
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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