Gun Lobby Says Dole Probably Won't Get Endorsement

NEW YORK (AllPolitics, July 18) -- Angered by Bob Dole's comments on the assault weapons ban, the National Rifle Association will likely vote against endorsing Bob Dole for president, an NRA representative told The New York Times.

Dole recently said repealing the ban on assault weapons, a key NRA priority, was largely irrelevant to the gun debate. "What he's done is turned off NRA members from being active campaign workers in his election," NRA Washington lobbyist Tanya Metaksa told the Times.

It's not an endorsement to take lightly. "NRA members don't just vote; they are campaigners, they walk precincts, they make phone calls, they stuff envelopes," Metaksa said.

Dole campaign manager Scott Reed was quoted as saying, "Bob Dole has a long history of supporting Second Amendment rights and, as he said last week, we have to move beyond this debate on assault weapons to instant checks, which will keep the guns out of the hands of those who should not have them."

Metaksa suggested Dole may not even want her group's endorsment, and his recent moves -- appointing GOP moderate Rep. Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.) as convention keynote speaker, flirting with pro-choice veep possibility Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, and seeking to avoid convention speeches on social conservatism -- all paint a picture of a candidate distancing himself from his party's right wing.

Gun Lobby Says Dole Probably Won't Get Endorsement

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