The furor over Obama's small town bitterness comments regarding Pennsylvania have apparently reminded Hillary Clinton that people in rural areas often like their guns. Never one to miss an opportunity, she immediately propped up her bona fides with the second amendment crowd during a campaign stop in Indiana.
“You know, my dad took me out behind the cottage that my grandfather built on a little lake called Lake Winola outside of Scranton and taught me how to shoot when I was a little girl,” she said.
“You know, some people now continue to teach their children and their grandchildren. It’s part of culture. It’s part of a way of life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it’s an important part of who they are. Not because they are bitter.”
Fabulous. It really sells with that target audience she's seeking in Pennsylbama right now, doesn't it? Unfortunately there was somebody in the audience who was rude enough to remind her that Democrats are supposed to be in favor of gun control.
Minutes later, in a slightly awkward moment, Clinton faced a question from a woman in the audience whose son had been paralyzed by a gunshot. The woman asked Clinton what she would do about gun control as president.
Clinton touted her husband's record on gun control during his administration, and said "there is not a contradiction between protecting Second Amendment rights" and the effort to reduce crime.
The sad part is that I agree with Hillary on that point. I'm another person who has no problem with reasonable restrictions and controls on gun ownership and feel that it can be done without threatening our basic right to keep and bear arms. Unfortunately, this doesn't sell well with the base. Putting loaded weapons in the hands of "a little girl" is a concept which might be a bit more than even the most gun tolerant Democrats are willing to swallow. I came from one of those bitter, rural areas, the son of an ex-military man with a huge arsenal in the closet, and I didn't fire my first rifle until I was thirteen.
If she's very lucky, nobody will notice this amidst all the sound and fury surrounding Obama's comments. Then again, see here for why I predict this "gaffe" will pass by without leaving much of a mark on the Obama campaign.
