Though John McCain's address to the NRA garnered a lot of press this week, along with accusations of the NRA being a pawn of the Republican Party, there was another story coming out of Louisville that was mostly overlooked.
U.S. Representative Dan Boren of Oklahoma was named as the latest member of the NRA Board of Directors. I am sure that if the story received more coverage liberal bloggers would also insinuate that he is merely a token figure, but that is far from the truth. Boren, elected to the House in 2004 and re-elected in 2006, is one of a growing number of Blue Dog Democrats. When the Democrats regained control of Congress it was seen as a sea change - a protest vote against George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. While this may be true, the Republicans that were ousted were mostly replaced by Blue Dogs. These centrist and conservative Democrats may indeed disagree with our current situation in the Middle East, but they are far from lock-step with the the far left in their party.
Boren, along with other prominent Blue Dogs such as Sen. Jim Webb (D-Virginia), are, and always have been staunch supporters of the Second Amendment. This is where the real sea change happened. While almost all Republican congressmen can be trusted to support our gun rights, it is no longer true that the vast majority of democrats will oppose them. The democratic party platform has even eased its gun control position in an attempt to make inroads in the West and avoid another loss like the 2000 Presidential race. Watching Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama affirm the individual right to bear arms and avoid questions on their previous anti-gun positions, even if it is lip service, is further evidence of this change.
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