2012 Presidential Campaign Issues : #2 : Fast and Furious
63Motivation: Due to both the passage of time and the sheer number of issues at stake during the 2012 Presidential election campaign, it's all too easy to "forget stuff". In this series, we hope to provide a set of reminder pages for handy reference in the runup to Election Day.
If you approve of a government that helps the Mexican drug cartels murder your neighbors, vote for Obama.
When veteran Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed during a dark-of-the-night shootout between the Patrol and drug running illegal immigrants in December of 2010, all Hell broke loose. Not "just" because one of our best lost his life...but because two (and possibly three) rifles were found at the scene which had "gone South" with the aid of Fast and Furious, one of the most poorly conceived "crime stopping" plans ever implemented.
Theoretically--that is, according to the BATF, the DOJ, and other involved miscreants--the idea was to "trace" guns from Arizona gun shop purchases to their eventual destinations in Mexico.
Huh?
Yeah, that's what we all said. Besides which, not one firearm "released" into Mexico through Fast and Furious was ever traced...unless or until it turned up at the scene of a violent crime. People with IQ levels above that of a soda cracker realize the obvious: If the gun-hating Democrats could point fingers at those nasty gun shops (which were pressured by the feds into making questionable sales), it would be easier to get gun control bills passed in Congress.
It didn't happen that way. Instead, Brian Terry made the ultimate sacrifce for his country--and in death, blew the whistle on the entire fiasco.
Politically, the most important question is: How long can Eric Holder and Barack Obama stave off the inevitable political consequences? Obama...probably until November, but you can bet more than a few votes on Election Day will be cast on the basis of our disbelief that he did not know about the Fast and Furious "gunwalking" operation. Some voters will hold him accountable and vote ABO (Anybody But Obama) for that reason alone.
Not that there's any "proof" the President knew. But voters don't always need "proof" to know the truth.
As for the Atttorney General, absolutely, there's hard evidence out there that at the latest, Eric Holder knew about Fast and Furious at least on the day Brian Terry died...after which he lied about having that knowledge. But knowing or not knowing...makes no difference in the end. If he knew, he's culpable. If he didn't, he's incompetent. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation.
Understandably, Brian Terry's parents are not exactly pleased to know the death of their son was at least partially enabled by our own government. So, as today's front page headline in The Arizona Star indicates, they're going after the feds in court. The Lone Wolf Trading Company, which sold the rifles found at the scene of the crime, is also--and logically-named in the suit.
Note #1: It's not technically a lawsuit quite yet, but a claim. Details, details.
Note #2: It's your tax dollars the government will have to cough up sooner or later for this egregious malfeasance by Eric Holder, the BATF, the DOJ, and the rest of that merry band of bandits.
Note #3: The federal government has so far done nothing in the way of changes in policy and procedure to ensure that this sort of thing won't happen again.
Recommendation: On Election Day, you might want to consider hitting the polls Fast and Furious, preferably with a carload of your friends and neighbors riding along to do the same.
Remember in November!
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No, Sis, you're not wrong. The feds never even ATTEMPTED to trace the guns as they were "walked" into Mexico and out of our nation's control. It's pretty obvious they EXPECTED the weapons to kill people IN MEXICO, maybe then get traced back to our AZ gun shops, and set up a hue and cry they could use politically.
But I seriously doubt they even thought of the possibility of the guns coming BACK INTO THE U.S. and killing not only U.S. citizens--but a veteran BP agent like Terry. In other words, my gut is saying it went like this:
1. "Hey, so a few of our southern neighbors get killed with these. So?"
2. "A--WHO? WHAT? A top BP agent...and the Agency is all over it? OH, S**T!!!"
Or words to that effect.
Every time I go over the facts we know about this fiasco, it becomes more and more bizarre to me. Why Holder is still in Washington is beyond me.
Thanks, Fred -- for taking the time to affirm what I thought was the deal. Seems to me there's stupid and then there's stupid -- and this whole thing ought to be in the dictionary under that word! Best, Sis
Fred - As you well know I am on Fast & Furious like stink is on doo-doo. I'm just wondering at what point Obama will consider Holder to be too much of a political liability and throw him under the bus with all the others he has thrown there to ensure his political survival.
The Frog
The day I first heard about this, I reached the same conclusion...it's yet another attempt by the left to attack the Second Amendment. Nothing else makes any sense.
BPop and Frog: Holder is still there because (a) he's Obama's ideological Soul mate and (b) Obama doesn't like to admit We the People can force him to do ANYTHING he doesn't want to do. I wouldn't even try to guess the time line for the AG's survival in office.
Sis: When Evil meets Stupid, their offspring is Bizarre.
Will: Agreed; there's just no other possible conclusion.
Well, Fred, you are still working with the knee jerk Republicans rather than the Independents. Why are you dissing the guy that took kick-backs from the banks, hmm? Do you still believe that our country does not exist to pander to the outrageous desires of derivative Bankers? I can't survive on a decent paycheck. Who, might I ask, is to blame? Fred, you know I love you , right? So, you will allow me to say that politics is a second tier consideration, and that Bankers rule all. I have removed my money from my bank, after they willfully ran an errant check thru five times in one day, for a payday of 125.00. I deal in cash. How does our country deal?
And now, I will hit you with my neighbor's observance that the electorial votes are tallied BEFORE all of Alaska and Puerto Rico has voted. How is that? Our votes don't count??? Four hours before our polls close, a winner is decided. How can our vote truly count, then? Fred, you are looking at the ground, when you should be looking at the sky. Love to you and Pam.... lily
Good job of keeping important issues alive and easily referenced.
Two points Ghost;
1 - If the federal government were really serious about tracking the whereabouts of the guns, why were no GPS systems covertly installed in the rifles. I do believe the technology to do so is currently available.
2 - Brian Terry was single and died in the line of duty. His parents are suing for 25 million.
Jose Guerena was horrifically killed in his own home by representatives of the government. His wife and youngest son were witness to him bleeding to death. They are suing for 20 million.
Lily: Love you back--and now, allow me to present my "defense", such as it is.
I "look at the ground" because that's where the votes are. You're smack on target about what's up there in the sky...to some degree, at least. But when it comes to the ground game, the federal govt. doesn't always get it wrong. Nearly so, but not always.
I can't imagine our bank running an errant check through 5 times in one day--that sounds truly horrific. But some years back, they DID switch their debit card rules so that if you tried to use more than was in the account, they PAID it...and then hammered you with overdraft charges, which got as high as $32 per overcharge, recycled every 5 days. The "worst" this got us was in October of 2006, when I'd realized I absolutely had to "un-retire" and go back to working for a living....but suddenly we were $210 overdrawn without a dime to call our own and big trouble in River City.
My sisters bailed me out short-term, until I could get a loan with our car as collateral (it was worth more then)...FROM THE SAME BANK, no less.
But the feds did "fix" that problem by outlawing the practice of treating debit cards like credit cards, and now we just get "declined", not "overdrawn". Which is actually better, or at least safer.
But I don't agree that politics is second tier to the first tier bankers. It CAN be...but political will can also come out on top.
And yes, I'm aware you're not likely to believe THAT one till the day we actually dump the Federal Reserve, thank you Ron Paul.
I do understand the frustration of having your vote "seem" to "not count"--have seen that happen a number of time, even though I've not lived in Hawaii or Alaska. Don't have a good answer for that one. Having elections "simultaneously timed" might work in one sense--but then again not, because (a) somebody would end up having to vote in the middle of the night, and (b) with just one shot at a Presidential candidate, even more Obama slicksters would (most likely) slip through un-vetted.
ALSO: I "work with the knee jerk Republicans", not in order to broaden the base of my appeal (which I consider pretty much impossible to do in any case) but to remind those who think like I do that we need to be CHARGING HARD toward (and into) November. That is, reminding myself and others that (a) these are the issues, and (b) when we're feeling tired and lazy or somebody's asking questions, THIS is why we need to fight now, sleep later.
Elenin: You're right, of course. My belief is that they didn't WANT them traced back to the Fast and Furious program AT ALL--but ONLY to the gun shops that sold them, as grist for the anti-gun lobby's political mill.
The differences in the Terry and Guerena lawsuits:
1. Different lawyers.
2. In Terry's case, the defendants are the feds and a local gun shop. In the Guerena case, it's county (and some city) law enforcement only. Best guess is, each lawyer eyeballed the practical aspects of the case in told the client(s), "This amount is what I believe gives us our best shot at winning with even a moderately sympathetic jury if the judge is not in somebody's pocket."
This all reminds me of the old TV show "The Rockford Files" where PI Rockford runs up against on federal agency chasing another around. Dumbfounded Rockford says something like"You mean you guys get paid to dream up stuff like this?"
Used to absolutely love Rockford. With that line, you just reminded me why.
Angela Blair Level 7 Commenter 3 months ago
Right on, Fred. You nailed this cluster and it needs to be reiterated again and again and again. Guess I'm too dumb to understand how they planned to trace those guns BEFORE a crime was committed with them in the first place? Do we know the "plan"? I've honestly not kept up with this but common sense tells me once the guns were put in the hands of criminals -- crime being the source word there -- there's no other way to trace except after they're used for criminal activity. Am I wrong or just behind on the news? Excellent Hub and voted up. Best, Sis