Mike Huckabee jokes about Sen. Obama being shot at

Mike Huckabee’s so-called joke about Sen. Obama being shot at is not only outrageous, it is also nonsensical. Here’s the quote, via PoliticalWire.com:

“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he’s getting ready to speak. Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.”

— Mike Huckabee, quoted by CNN at the National Rifle Association convention, referring to “an unexpected offstage noise.”

First of all, it’s not funny to joke about the assassination of the first potential African-American president, given our nation’s history. Second, the joke is nonsensical because jumping out of the way when a gun is aimed at one seems like a perfectly reasonable reaction, and it is certainly a lot smarter than just standing there as a static target.

What the hell was Huckabee even thinking about when he made such a stupid comment? Of course, he was speaking before the NRA, a solidly republican audience, and thus appealing to the base of the party, so there’s that to explain Huckabee’s asinine attempt at humor.

A Progressive Rifle Association

Over at Dailykos.com I was asked:

What would be the difference between a Liberal gun group and the NRA?

And here’s how I responded:

I presume that the differences would be substantial, at least in terms of the new organization’s politics and issue advocacy.

The biggest difference I suppose, as you suggest, is that a progressive rifle association would not be absolutist when it comes to sensible gun regulation. I mean, just as we progressives have been made to accept that in rural areas some people “need” to carry weapons for whatever reason; well, people in those rural areas should understand that in our metropolitan centers it makes sense to more strictly regulate the owner ship of hand guns and larger caliber automatic weapons.

Now, in terms of their recreational and sports activities, I suppose that the two organizations would not be all that different. Now, I don’t know what the recreational activities the NRA provides, but I would presume that any progressive rifle association would conduct the following:

• Fire arms safety
• Conservation programs
• Target practice
• Fire arms collection

And many other activities that progressive fire arms enthusiasts would enjoy.

The biggest gain from something like this, aside from the opportunity for progressive gun enthusiast to come together, is that such an organization would throw a wrench in the Republican grassroots machinery, by potentially obscuring — if not out right taking away — the gun issue away from Republicans.