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Jeb Bush has been telling the world how former NRA President Charleton Heston acknowledged Bush’s contribution to the cause. “You know who you’re lookin’ at here? You’re looking at the guy who won the NRA Statesman of the Year Award,” Bush proclaimed at a town hall in Milford, New Hampshire. “Not the Florida award. The national award. And I got a rifle from Charlton Heston, I got a rifle from Moses.” Just this weekend, Jeb mentioned the Award again while talking about his record on the Second Amendment. There’s one problem with the story . . .

It’s not ture.

Buzzed searched the Interwebz and found that the words “Statesman of the Year” in conjunction with Jeb only returned stories from this year. The Washington Post reported that there isn’t an “NRA Statesman Award” any more than there is a “Vulcan death grip.” Jeb’s communication director Tim Miller had to walk back the stories:

“In recounting the story, Jeb was mistaken and conflated multiple events unintentionally,” Tim Miller, his campaign’s communications director, said in a statement. “Heston met with Jeb at that NRA convention and was the head of the NRA at the time, but it was Kayne Robinson” — who succeeded Heston as NRA president — “who presented Jeb with the rifle for being keynote speaker.”

Miller added that Heston endorsed Bush’s 2002 reelection as governor of Florida and that Bush “was lauded by the NRA on multiple occasions for his second amendment record, including signing legislation that the NRA dubbed the ‘Six Pack Of Freedom.’”

Jeb Bush has a decent record on second amendment issues. He put his signature to several bills to protect the civil right of Florida residents to keep and bear arms during his term in office. That said, he’s waffled on gun rights, declaring it a state’s rights issue. There are plenty of other reasons to not vote for Jeb but I don’t think this is one of them. You?

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40 COMMENTS

  1. Well, we lower the bar for anybody named Bush. I met the old man and the missus, really sharp and nice folks. Their kids, not so much.

  2. Misremembering isn’t the kiss of death. Suggesting that gun control is a states’ rights issue is. At least he is better than Hillary (it’s a low bar).

    • Obama can’t even misremember enough where he came from.

      No Vulcan Death Grip???? Just a pinchy-sleepy one?

    • I understand that because of the Constitution gun rights are not technically a state’s rights issue, and forgive my ignorance here, but at the point where the federal govt tramples the Constitution on a regular basis, isn’t changing gears a bit and having an individual state that may want to actually uphold the original intent of 2a perhaps worth considering? What I’m saying is, in states like Washington, California and Colorado and even Kentucky (they filed suit against the dea to release impounded hemp seeds for commerce, textiles and the like) they are pretty much giving the feds the bird. I can’t help but wonder if some states might be able to see the corruption and incompetence of the federal NFA and its enforcement by the atf as being the bullshit that it is and deciding to go their own way with it.

      • If, by ‘states rights issue’, JEB meant that there shouldn’t be any federal restriction on the right to keep and bear arms then we could agree. Unfortunately it seems far more likely that he meant that he didn’t want to talk about it for fear of disgruntleing one group or another, which in turn likely means that he doesn’t trust his instincts on the topic, which in turn likely means that he’s not a true friend of the 2A.

        • This. Jeb’s intent in making it a “states’ rights issue” was to let ridiculously restrictive states like California, Hawaii, and New Jersey off easy. Maybe he had some misguided fantasy about winning in Illinois, IDK.

          In any event, I do believe that this is a federal issue, rather than a state issue, because the 2A specifically grants rights to all citizens across the U.S. It makes no sense given the language of the 2A for the states to be able to infringe upon the R2K&BA. The problem is that it also makes no sense for the Feds to be able to infringe upon that right, and as we all know all levels of government infringe upon the R2K&BA often.

  3. I saw JEB! on 700 Club today. Misremembering(a word?) is the least of bush-lites problems. Being named Bush is his biggest…

  4. I’m inclined to believe the worst of and withold the benefit of the doubt from Jeb, absent clear and convincing proof of events. So I think he’s lying about this and figured he’d just play the “Oopsies! I conflated two related stories” card uf he got caught.

    That’s not what bothers me, though. What’s bothersome is that he even has to burnish his 2A credentials in the first place.

    Jeb has the wrong ideas, a marginal skill set, and an entitlement mentality. He just isn’t presidential timber, not in 21st century America. That he’s running around pandering for votes with gimmicks is just sad, really.

  5. This story sure wins him no points from me. Even from the piss-poor presentation in the photo, I can guarantee you that if that rifle was in *MY* collection, I would never forget the tiniest detail about how it got there.

    • I would tend to agree, but politicians (much like those people in Hollywood) give themselves awards so often I imagine it would be easier for us plain folk to remember those occasions in which we stand on a stage and accept something.

      Now if he repeats the claim more than once or twice we should definitely take note.

  6. America hasn’t seen “statesman” in my lifetime. But it has its share of prevaricators, fornicators, instigators, and now – conflators.
    Sheesh.

  7. Jeb can’t keep track of things he wants to be. Met his father at Marine Barracks as well as Commandant Al Gray. Brush Sr is a Statesman, Jeb is a wannabe.

  8. So the rifle was part of a fee for a speech?

    Yep, sure sounds like Statesman of the Year to me.

    OTOH, he doubtless gets a ton of crap from all sorts of organizations, he’s older than me, and if his memory is as bad as mine he could have innocently gotten it wrong.

    But, if his memory is as bad as mine, and he innocently got this wrong, his brain is too far gone for high executive office.

    • The NRA for many many years gave the keynote speaker a handmand reproduction Kentucky long rifle to the keynote speaker. Not a secret/where have you been?

      As I recall the old boy/craftsman that built them died a couple years ago,

  9. Jeb! leaves me with the same feeling I got from Cindy Sheehan though she’s probably smarter. I hope they marked the end of the rifle the bullet comes out of for Jeb! for his own safety.

  10. I wonder if “canidates” have to pass a piss test??? or anyone in office?? We’ll add piss test to term limits.

    • I don’t think piss tests (as you and I would experience them) are gonna happen for these guys.

      Just a gut feeling…

  11. How awesome is it that the most plausible ‘antigun’ (R) nominee is a guy who signed a number of pro gun bills into law? Compare with the idiot who was given the nod to go head to head with O four years ago. I don’t worry Bush sells us down the river so much as I worry he won’t do a damn thing to stop others from doing so, let alone take point in pushing for repeal of gun laws.

  12. Hey, Jeb, I remember the time that I taught Chuck Heston how to act. Good times, man.

    Oh, wait. That wasn’t Chuck Heston. It was Chuck Rabinowitz. And I didn’t teach him how to act. I taught him how to make a corned beef sandwich.

    Well, excuse me. I misremembered.

  13. My opinion?
    There is no room for squishes on 2A issues. Rubio and Cruz have been solid. Trump flipped. Jeb! is a squish. Christie flipped.

  14. We need a Bush, or a Clinton, to save us from the mess Obama made fixing Bushes mess after fixing Clintons mess who had to fix Bushes mess.

  15. While I would like to say Bush is out, (right after A.B.H., I’m A.B.(another)B), do not count him out. He’s the candidate of the monied class. Notice how much time he’s getting for someone who is polling so low? I cannot remember the last time I saw Ben Carson on the TV and isn’t he one of the top candidates? i see Bush many, many time daily, especially on Fox. The media runs this show, and those who run the media are picking the next president. The fix is in, and has been for a long time. I believe we have fully lost the country.

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