Mitt at the Gun Show

Mitt Romney, apparently a regular reader of this blog, made his appearance at a gun/outdoor show in Florida last Friday, a gesture most certainly in response to my aforementioned concerns regarding his position on the 2nd amendment. Thank you Mitt, and thanks to Rob for the link!

He made the usual remarks about supporting the individual's right to bear arms, somewhat in contradiction to his statement just a few years ago in favor of tough gun laws. The nay-sayers will almost certainly flaunt this as a flip flop (remember Kerry posing with a shotgun in 2004? what a croc!) yet I am optimistic he will be true to the constituencey that elects him president.

A politician is a human being just like everyone else, and, as such, ought to be capable of learning and gaining understanding as life's experience unfolds. While Kerry's exibition with the shotgun in 2004 was obviously to mask his truly rabid anti-gun position, Romney's remarks at the recent gunshow were, I believe, representative of his true beliefs and the position he will actually take as president. Most people change over time, often for the better; to allow ourselves to improve with time while denying politicians the same priviledge is hypocritical at best.

Romney's statements in his 1994 race against Senator Ted "bleedingest heart of them all" Kennedy, on gun control, gay rights, abortion, etc. were generally tailored to show his willingness to meet the desires of liberal Massachussetts without his personal beliefs interfering. While his political stance may have been more moderate then than now, I can't think of a single thinking person who feels exactly the same on every issue as they did back in '94. A lot has happened since then to change the political landscape, notably, many of us have seen the folly of "political correctness" and reliance on government for safety and economic security. We are going back to the core values that made America great to begin with, namely: fiscal responsibility, national security as opposed to social security, self reliance, and traditional families.