[Murf_The_Surf]

Greg Murphy responds to Andy's replies:


Andy, if you regard yourself as nothing but a commentator, what was KFC all
about?

Did you or did you not write to Rep. Godshall (the leader of the squishy old guard) in an attempt to convey a message that the grass roots groups are ineffective? And did Rep. Godshall not fall into your trap and agree with you and then cc the entire Republican caucus that there is no grass roots?

Did you not forward this to your list where it was cross posted by your true believers elsewhere?

Rep. Godshall was probably telling the truth when he said that he only hears from the NRA. Schneider and Stolfer do not work with Godshall and other squishy so called pro-gun legislators who sometimes introduce gun control. They work with Metcalfe and other hard core leaders who are only attacked by the anti-gunners -- and by Andy.

You ask why Harry didn't sound an alert on HB 1744.

Harry Schneider never beats drums or sounds alerts as long as he, and fellow coalition members, can keep bad legislation bottled up in committee. When it gets out of committee then they send alerts. Harry and Kim Stolfer have credibility because their alerts contain accurate reasons for opposing the legislation.

The ACSL and the PSA are on record as opposing the original draft of HB 1744. Just before the Judiciary Committee vote, Kim Stolfer sent an email to each individual member of the Judiciary Committee who is not listed as anti, informing them that the PSA and ACSL continue to oppose the original bill and have not had time to analyze the new amendments and thus encourage a NO vote. Judiciary Committee passed the legislation anyway, apparently with NRA agreement, but - legislators indicated that they are concerned if the ACSL and PSA are concerned, so they did not schedule a quick vote to give time for analysis and reasoned discussion.

Schneider and Stolfer do not exclude anybody. You may recall that when Harry corrected your inaccurate analysis of legislation, he invited you and every other interested party to step forward and establish credibility in reading legislation and offering talking points and amendments.

If Schneider and Stolfer and the leaders of the other Coalition groups step down, that will leave only the NRA. Is that what you want?

Andy, are you offended that they can assemble the coalitions that KFC with your leadership could not? I seem to recall about eleven years ago, Act 17 Godfather Bob Godshall denouncing the PSA and FOAC on the floor of the House, but somehow forget to mention you and KFC.

Could it be that unlike the way you ran KFC, the PSA and FOAC and ACSL never hold secret Friday night meetings to determine the Saturday agenda?

Andy, come to think of it, now that I see that you are the gatekeeper on this secret Florida seminar you just announced, could it be that you have been working to undermine those who have been fighting gun control in Pennsylvania to fit an agenda? Is the passage of gun control necessary to destabilize things in Pennsylvania to pave the way for whatever secret agenda that you and your friends are hatching in the Florida seminar?

Will you perhaps resurrect your KFC with more secret meetings on Friday night and execute Delphi Technique actions on the gun groups who attend the official meetings on Saturday? Will it be that or will it be something new? Sounds like you aspire to be much more than a commentator again.

Maybe that’s what you meant back in August when you wrote: “Pay me a salary, rent me an office, and buy me some mailing lists, and watch what would happen.”

Andy, for three whole days last year the entire House debated dozens of gun control bills and each time they introduced one, Rep Daryl Metcalfe stood and read off the list of the entire coalition. The coalition stood united. NRA did nothing but join and be listed as number 4. All of the gun control proposals were defeated and you bashed Schneider, Stolfer and Metcalfe.

What is your agenda?

Andy, were you truly incapable of understanding the two short bills that your misinterpreted so badly, causing Schneider to correct you? Or where you so frustrated that gun control has not been passing, that you tried to create the false impression that it had?

Andy, you ask: Where has the power of a grassroots PA organization been demonstrated?

Answer: Committee of the Whole and the fact that exactly NONE of Rendell's flagship anti-gun proposals have passed, but Schneider and Stolfer have written and passed pro-gun legislation such as restoring the right of hunters to carry protection guns - something that was taken away long before they became involved.

Andy, lets review. The Allegheny County Sportsmen's League wrote a two page bill that will force the State Police to provide people with the information they need to get their gun rights back. You misread the legislation and falsely claimed that this pro-gun legislation was anti-gun legislation. Harry Schneider pointed out your error and you claimed that: "the law doesn't matter".

In fact, you often say that the law doesn't matter. When asked then why do you even care about legislation, you responded that the law DOES matter but is sometimes disregarded as in the case of the registry.

Well shucks Andy, Schneider and Stolfer know far more than you about the registry being illegal. It became illegal with Act 5, of 1997 - which they were insiders in passing and which came as a pleasant surprise to you - after the fact. The NRA didn't clean up Act 17 until the PSA and ACSL badgered the NRA and leadership to do so.

Andy, you call yourself a commentator. Your comments remind me of what Robert E. Lee wrote about commentators:

"It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers! In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers that these editor/geniuses plainly saw all my strategic defects from the start, yet failed to inform me until it was too late.

“Accordingly, I'm readily willing to yield my command to these obviously superior intellects, and I'll, in turn, do my best for the Cause by writing Editorials - after the fact." Robert E Lee 1863


Greg