Manchester Republican Committee cancels machine gun shoot in order to not rock the boat and offend the liberals:
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=GOP+gun+fundraiser+may+be+shot+down&articleId=22ca9889-e9ce-41a5-8ba8-c525d82030b6
GOP gun fundraiser may be shot down
By SCOTT BROOKS
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
5 hours, 48 minutes ago
MANCHESTER – A follow-up to the controversial "machine gun" fundraiser that drew hundreds of area Republicans to a local firing range last summer is in danger of being cancelled.
The Manchester Republican Committee's executive board recently voted to "table" plans to bring the event back for a second year, committee Chairman John Castelot said. Two people active in the party said the event has already been nixed, purportedly because the board worried it would put "undue pressure" on Republican candidates on the ballot this November.
Castelot denied those characterizations, saying the board is still considering whether to go forward with the fundraiser. He said the board may even broaden the event to include shotguns, muskets and other types of guns.
"We did not cancel it altogether," Castelot said, "and we hope to put together an event that shows our support for Second Amendment rights and allows for greater participation from the many recreational gun enthusiasts throughout New Hampshire."
Castelot had a different explanation earlier this month, according to two Republicans active in the committee. Former city GOP chairman Jerry Thibodeau and Ward 5 Chairman Rick Olson said Castelot himself told them the event was off because of "political considerations."
"He just said they weren't having it this year, that it had been tabled and that they wanted to have it in 2009," Thibodeau said.
"They were getting a lot of heat from different people in the party," Olson said, "because they didn't feel it was an event their candidate could go to."
Last year's fundraiser at the Pelham Fish and Game Club offered donors a chance to shoot a variety of automatic and semi-automatic weapons, including Uzis and AK-47s. The event drew about 350 people and raised an estimated $2,000 for the city Republican committee. Thibodeau, then the committee chairman, said he hoped it would become an annual tradition.
The idea was less popular with city Democrats and some liberal commentators, including MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, who slammed Thibodeau in a segment called "Worst Person in the World."
Republican presidential candidates were invited to the fundraiser but did not show up. Neither did most candidates for local office.
Jean Esslinger, the committee's second vice chairman, said she does not believe the board will find time to put together the fundraiser this year.
"We just had a huge agenda, a lot of things we had to accomplish," she said. "It was just not something (we) could focus on this summer."
Castelot said he would characterize the event as "still in the concept stage." He said the board voted to "table" the plan because "it was just not something we thought we could get off the ground in the way we wanted to do it."
The vote was unanimous, he said. Other board members could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Olson, who is president of the Londonderry Fish and Game Club, said he had already been planning for this year's shoot and was forced to cancel an order for 25,000 rounds of 9-millimeter and 5.56-millimeter ammunition.
Olson said he was so disappointed in the board's vote that he decided to give up his seat as Ward 5 chairman.
"By cancelling the event, you are letting the Democratic Party set the course of the dialogue," he said.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=GOP+gun+fundraiser+may+be+shot+down&articleId=22ca9889-e9ce-41a5-8ba8-c525d82030b6
GOP gun fundraiser may be shot down
By SCOTT BROOKS
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
5 hours, 48 minutes ago
MANCHESTER – A follow-up to the controversial "machine gun" fundraiser that drew hundreds of area Republicans to a local firing range last summer is in danger of being cancelled.
The Manchester Republican Committee's executive board recently voted to "table" plans to bring the event back for a second year, committee Chairman John Castelot said. Two people active in the party said the event has already been nixed, purportedly because the board worried it would put "undue pressure" on Republican candidates on the ballot this November.
Castelot denied those characterizations, saying the board is still considering whether to go forward with the fundraiser. He said the board may even broaden the event to include shotguns, muskets and other types of guns.
"We did not cancel it altogether," Castelot said, "and we hope to put together an event that shows our support for Second Amendment rights and allows for greater participation from the many recreational gun enthusiasts throughout New Hampshire."
Castelot had a different explanation earlier this month, according to two Republicans active in the committee. Former city GOP chairman Jerry Thibodeau and Ward 5 Chairman Rick Olson said Castelot himself told them the event was off because of "political considerations."
"He just said they weren't having it this year, that it had been tabled and that they wanted to have it in 2009," Thibodeau said.
"They were getting a lot of heat from different people in the party," Olson said, "because they didn't feel it was an event their candidate could go to."
Last year's fundraiser at the Pelham Fish and Game Club offered donors a chance to shoot a variety of automatic and semi-automatic weapons, including Uzis and AK-47s. The event drew about 350 people and raised an estimated $2,000 for the city Republican committee. Thibodeau, then the committee chairman, said he hoped it would become an annual tradition.
The idea was less popular with city Democrats and some liberal commentators, including MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, who slammed Thibodeau in a segment called "Worst Person in the World."
Republican presidential candidates were invited to the fundraiser but did not show up. Neither did most candidates for local office.
Jean Esslinger, the committee's second vice chairman, said she does not believe the board will find time to put together the fundraiser this year.
"We just had a huge agenda, a lot of things we had to accomplish," she said. "It was just not something (we) could focus on this summer."
Castelot said he would characterize the event as "still in the concept stage." He said the board voted to "table" the plan because "it was just not something we thought we could get off the ground in the way we wanted to do it."
The vote was unanimous, he said. Other board members could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Olson, who is president of the Londonderry Fish and Game Club, said he had already been planning for this year's shoot and was forced to cancel an order for 25,000 rounds of 9-millimeter and 5.56-millimeter ammunition.
Olson said he was so disappointed in the board's vote that he decided to give up his seat as Ward 5 chairman.
"By cancelling the event, you are letting the Democratic Party set the course of the dialogue," he said.
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