Jackbooted thugs
The person who put the two words together was Wayne LaPierre, the then (and current) Executive Vice President of the NRA. In 1995, in a fundraising letter, Mr. LaPierre referred to agents of the BATF and FBI as “jackbooted thugs.” The resulting uproar caused some NRA members to resign, most notably the first President Bush, who was an NRA Life Member.
Actually, no. LaPierre was quoting John Dingle (D – MI).
December 4th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Well, if the shoe, or in this case jackboot, fits then so be it, the Feds worked hard to earn the title and have been busy maintaining it.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Who wants to chip in to send first President Bush a copy of “The Gang”???
December 5th, 2007 at 12:09 am
Bush 41 only joined the NRA to get himself some credibility with gun-owning voters, i.e. to fool them. That he quit at the drop of a hat only verifies that he is, in fact, a Bush. I never doubted that he was a Bush, so his turning on a dime and running like a little girl in the middle of a barroom brawl proved nothing to me.
Hint to presidential hopefuls: If an honest, hard-working, principled American calls someone a thug, maybe there’s a teeny little bit of a reason for it. Maybe you should look into it instead of reacting against the messenger.
December 5th, 2007 at 12:39 am
I agree that the timing of Bush-41’s NRA membership was a bit suspect. However, it’s an over-simplification to suggest he quit at the drop of the hat. The NRA’s refusal to endorse his re-election, even against the guy who turned out to be the most anti-gun President in history, is a bit more serious than dropping a hat.
December 5th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
John Dingle said that…
Did he say it about the ATF/FBI guys? Or about any other Federal officers?
I don’t live in his U.S. Congressional District, but I live right next door. (Congressman Levin, in cahoots with his brother Senator Levin…gotta love it!). I stronly doubt that Dingle worries much about the activities of the ATF.