A Major Endorsement

As you drive into the village of Bland these days, you'll see two campaign signs. One reads "Deeds Country" and the other "Sportsmen for Deeds." I chuckle when I see them. Somebody's wishful thinking.

Creigh Deeds doesn't have a prayer of winning Bland County in November. And he knows it.

There is only one thing that we value more than our freedom here in Bland, and that's our free and unfettered right to own firearms. Because we know that our owning weapons secures all our other rights - and our freedom.

And when a politician comes along - especially a Democrat politician - and tries to restrict that right, we take it very seriously.

Creigh Deeds was, not long ago, one of us. But he decided that it was more important that he be a Democrat. So he started pushing the gun-banners' agenda. That silly gun show loophole legislation. Because of that, he's received the liberals' endorsement to represent them in the gubernatorial election this year.

But he'll never get our votes. Not in this lifetime.

NRA Backs McDonnell
By Rosalind Helderman, writing in the Washington Post

What a difference four years makes.

When Creigh Deeds and Bob McDonnell ran against each other for attorney general in 2005, the National Rifle Association's political action committee took the unusual step of endorsing Deeds, the rural Democrat, over McDonnell.

Not this year.

Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist, announced this afternoon that the group has endorsed McDonnell for governor and will urge the NRA's 120,000 Virginia members to vote for the Republican.

Cox told reporters in a conference call that the group was impressed by an amicus brief McDonnell filed in 2008 along with 30 other state attorney generals urging the Supreme Court to strike down Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban. He also praised McDonnell for standing against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has contended that criminals buy guns in Virginia because of its less restrictive laws and take them to New York.

Cox, meanwhile, declared that NRA members have been "shocked and disappointed" at Deeds because of his support in recent years for closing the so-called gun show loophole, which allows private individuals to sell weapons at shows without conducting the background checks required of weapons dealers. Deeds once opposed changing the law but has changed his position, he says in response to requests from family members of victims of the Virginia Tech shooting. [link]

So Deeds loses the backing of the most powerful voter-turnout group in Virginia. As he should have.

Here's to Bob McDonnell. A man who understands what the words Constitution, Bill of Rights and liberty mean. He understands that our freedoms aren't sacrificed at the request of family members of shooting victims or anyone else.