"Attack On Second Amendment" 

As expected, yesterday's meeting between Vice President Joe Biden and the National Rifle Association was little more than a photo op. Leaders of the NRA emerged to say it was not a two-way discussion. Following the meeting, the NRA released a blistering statement accusing the White House of planning to "attack" the Second Amendment. Here is an excerpt: 

Yesterday the Washington Post reported that the White House was "working with its allies on a well-financed campaign … to shift public opinion toward stricter gun laws and provide political cover to lawmakers who end up voting for … restrictions on firearms." What might this campaign look like? 

Attorney General Eric Holder has a few ideas. He once suggested that a massive PR campaign was needed to shame gun owners like smokers. Holder said the campaign needs to "really brainwash people to think about guns in a vastly different way."

Listen To The People 

After the Newtown shootings, the political left and its media allies predictably demanded more restrictions on your Second Amendment rights. I wrote Wednesday that subsequent polling indicated that the liberals were out-of-touch with public opinion. For example, a December 2012 poll by the Washington Post found that only 32% of respondents favored "passing stricter gun-control laws," while 49% preferred "stricter enforcement of existing laws." 

The NRA also put forth a solution -- armed guards in schools. As the NRA's Executive Director Wayne LaPierre succinctly stated:
 

"We care about our money, so we protect our banks with armed guards. …We care about the President, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents. Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by armed Capitol Police officers. Yet when it comes to the most beloved, innocent and vulnerable members of the American family -- our children -- we as a society leave them utterly defenseless."

But Big Media elites mocked the idea. They said, "The solution to guns in schools is not more guns." Once again, it's the elites who are out of touch, unable to distinguish between the good guys with guns and the bad guys with guns. 

Last month, a Gallup poll found that new gun control legislation ranked fourth on a list of ideas to prevent school shootings. "Increasing the police presence at schools" was the most popular idea. 

Yesterday the Associated Press reported that parents in Newtown, Connecticut, as well as some school administrators strongly favor maintaining the police presence at area schools. 

Let's hope the politicians in Washington can stop pontificating and plotting against the Second Amendment and start listening to the American people. 

Taxpayers Lose With Lew 

Senator Lindsey Graham described the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense as a petty, "in your face" move. Some are describing the nomination of Jack Lew to head the Treasury Department the same way. 

John Carney, a senior editor of CNBC.com, has a posted a very revealing article about the "pointed message" that is being sent with Lew's appointment. Lew's nomination can only be seen as intentionally antagonistic, and part of the White House's effort to "pick fights with Congress." 

Lew is a liberal loyalist who does not get along at all with congressional Republicans. The reason why Joe Biden was called in to cut a deal on the fiscal cliff negotiations was that Sen. Mitch McConnell could not work with Lew anymore. In prior negotiations on the debt limit, Lew repeatedly insisted on raising taxes at every opportunity. Even when he was open to Republican ideas on spending cuts, he would never accept them without tax hikes. 

When Lew's name was announced, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) unleashed an uncharacteristic broadside, saying, "Jack Lew must never be Secretary of Treasury." What would cause Sen. Sessions to make such an emphatic statement? Two years ago, as White House Budget Director, Lew testified that the president's budget "will get us … to the point where we can look the American people in the eye and say we're not adding to the debt anymore." 

Keep in mind, friends, that this administration has run trillion-dollar deficits every year, and the national debt has increased from $10 trillion to more than $16 trillion in the past four years. In fact, the government has just hit its debt limit again because recent budgets HAVE NOT gotten us anywhere near the point of not adding to the debt.