By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—Politics: Campaign news; Tomorrow is election day; Bloomberg gives Harris $50 million; Giffords spends heavily on NY-17; Newspapers deny Harris’s endorsement; Las Vegas paper endorses Trump; Montana: US Senate Campaign—misinformation about Sheehy
Politics
Endorsements and Contributions
Tomorrow is election day – VOTE TRUMP
On Oct. 30, the White House’s X (formerly known as Twitter) account posted a three-word graphic on an orange background: BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS. This message is also on the Harris-Walz web page. This is an absurd and almost impossible concept to promote. A press release from NSSF dated Jan. 11, 2024, summarized ATF’s account of firearms in the US:
- The estimated total number of firearms in civilian possession from 1990-2021 is 473.2 million, according to data in reports such as ATF Firearms Commerce in the United States, ATF Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation Reports and Congressional Research Service and including the collective ATF Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation Report (AFMER) reports up to the 2021 edition.
- Total domestic firearm production reported in the 2021 AFMER was 12,521,614 – an increase of 28.6 percent over 2020 reported figures.
- Data indicates that 28,144,000 Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) are in circulation since 1990.
Yes, you read that right! There are 473.2 million privately owned firearms, of which 28.1 million are so-called “assault rifles.”
Political Spending on the 2024 Election: Last week’s report mentioned this article on The Reload discussing political fundraising among anti-gun. This week, Fortune magazine published an article about billionaires and their support of candidates. The headline summarizes it well: Michael Bloomberg Gives Harris $50 Million, Report Says. However, the details explain how Bloomberg was able to skirt campaign finance reporting laws:
“The former New York City mayor gave $50 million to Future Forward USA Action, the so-called dark money arm of the pro-Harris Future Forward super PAC that, as a nonprofit, is not required to report its donors, The New York Times reported Monday, citing four unnamed sources with knowledge of the donation.
“Prior to the nonprofit donation, Bloomberg had given $47 million in federally disclosed political contributions this election cycle, according to the Times, including $19 million to President Joe Biden’s main super PAC, which Harris took over, and $10 million to House.”
The article further goes on to say that Bill Gates also made an identical $50 million donation to the same nonprofit. It concludes that only 52 billionaires have donated to Trump, while Harris has received backing from 82.
Giffords: Giffords attacks Rep Mike Lawlor (R-NY) for accepting a campaign contribution from NSSF of $1,000 while at the same time bragging about their help to his opponent: “Last month, GIFFORDS PAC announced a $1 million investment in the race to represent New York’s 17th Congressional District as part of its $15 million commitment to electing and supporting gun safety champions in 2024,” their release stated. “The NY-17 effort includes cable and digital ads in support of former Rep. Mondaire Jones and in opposition to Rep. Mike Lawler.”
Newspapers deny Harris’s endorsement
Las Vegas paper endorses Trump
The shock wave of the non-endorsement of Kamala Harris by the reliably left-leaning Washington Post has caused several problems at the Jeff Bezos-owned corporation. CNN ran this headline on Oct. 28:
Three Washington Post editorial board members step down amid wave of canceled subscriptions over non-endorsement.
In the body of the article, CNN reported that three members of the editorial board of the paper had resigned from the editorial board but were still working for the Post. In contrast, journalist Robert Kagan resigned his position as a Post columnist.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal: In a significant development, the former president has been endorsed in the critical swing state of Nevada.
Montana U. S. Senate election
The campaign for U.S. Senator from Montana pits current Democrat Senator Jon Tester against Republican candidate Tim Sheehy. The race has been very close since the beginning. Sheehy should be the odds-on favorite, as Montana voters have voted for Republicans to be president since 2000. But several polls have shown it to be a nail-biter. AP news on Oct. 20 repeated an unsubstantiated allegation about a gunshot wound that Sheehy received while in Glacier National Park. NSSF, the Firearm Industry Trade Association, made a statement on October 28, 2024, to set the record straight about the firearm Sheehy was allegedly carrying in 2015, the time of the incident.
“We believe the allegation, as reported by the media, that Tim Sheehy’s single-action Colt .45 revolver discharged when it fell or was dropped, striking him in his arm, is false and inaccurate.”
