Gun Owners Should Object More to Upton’s ‘Element’ than Greene’s

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “GOP Congressman Says the Republican Party is in ‘Troubled Waters’ Thanks to the Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Element’,” Mediaite reports. Michigan Rep. Fred Upton was discussing “the rising prevalence of firebrands” with host Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press.

The object here is for “The Swamp” to reclaim lost ground, to marginalize (and ultimately “cancel”) those challenging the political status quo, and to ensure the GOP is essentially Democrat-Lite. Or as a young Bill Clinton influencer, Georgetown University professor Carroll Quigley advocated:

“The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can ‘throw the rascals out’ at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy.”

By inviting Republicans like Upton on to the show, NBC News can pretend its coverage is unbiased. That feeds the created perception that those to the right of (acceptable) “moderates” are “extremists.” Come time for manipulating the electorate, the moderates are then presented as “uncompromising,” and “right-wing.” And the goalposts move again.

Greene has certainly initiated her share of controversy, and the object here is not to enter that debate. If you’re a Second Amendment advocate, and since it’s not about guns but freedom, the one issue that should take precedence over all others is the right to keep and bear arms. On that score, she has proven herself not only willing to defend it legislatively, but to proactively lead in both advancing it and in regaining lost ground:

So naturally, Democrat apparatchiks are trying to disenfranchise citizens from voting for her reelection. And naturally, “the usual suspects” within the GOP were happy to help their “friends across the aisle” by voting to strip Greene of her committee assignments, including (Surprise!) Fred Upton.

So, what’s Fred done for them to make gun owners favor empowering his “element” over hers? How, exactly, has he paid them back for that NRA “A” rating (reduced to “50%” in 2020, with GOA giving him a pathetic “15%”)? How has he honored his pledge that, in exchange for their votes, he’d be “Defending your Second Amendment rights”?

• He joined ultimate turncoat Debbie Dingell to introduce federal “red flag” confiscations.
• He supported “bipartisan” (Democrat-led and Republican useful idiot-followed) registration-enabling private sales prohibitions.
• He opposed emergency border security funding (and yes, that is definitely “single issue-related” no matter what some “gun rights influencers” would like you to believe for reasons of their own).
• CNN gives him publicity to decry “conservative hardliner tactics” as a “pain in the a**.”
• There’s plenty more.

Fortunately for Michigan gun owners, Upton will not be seeking reelection. But after 35 years in office and a career of serial betrayals, the question ought to be “Why did most put up with it?”

That and “With Republicans like these, who needs Democrats?”

Plenty of Upton-like “elements” still exists within the GOP. How does your Republican candidate stack up? How do primary challengers, assuming there are any?

About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.