Photo by Progress Illinois.
NRA-ILA’s contract lobbyist Todd Vandermyde testifying in Springfield. Chicago.

To his Facebook friends in the General Assembly to give to President Obama when he visits Springfield today to bring his bitter divisiveness to the mix…

Link

To all my legislative Facebook friends, if you get the chance to speak to President Obama tomorrow, would you please tell him I said hello, and want to thank him for the increase in gun sales volume these past few years, the increase of FOID card holders from 1.2 mil to 1.9 mil and the big jump in NRA members. I truly am grateful.

PS:  All the while not getting a single gun control law passed congress.

 

 

To us gun owners…

Time to vent.

FB can be a wonderful thing, it can be a pain in the a$$. A bill has been filed in Illinois to require the registration of all firearms, and to limit ammo sales to gun owners. Kelly Cassidy filed the bill. Bills like it have been filed in the past. And we have beat them every time.

But some gun owners on FB have left nasty postings on FB pages about her, not the bill. You want to call her a dummycrat – remember Brandon Phelps and Gary Forby are Ds as well.

You want to call her names, then you demean us all. You want to attack her life style, you’re wrong. These are not the way to win friends and influence people. I understand your frustration with the issue. We go to court we win and the other side works to find a way to keep a ban, via regulation or other things. And we are back to court for another 2 years. I get it.

But using slurs and foul names gets us nowhere, and only serves to feed ammunition (pun intended) to the other side. Ever notice how the CSGV trolls for over the top posts to smear all gun owners by the comments of a few? And then they end up on FB, news releases, special reports and or committee hearings. So knock it off. If you’re friends are doing it on your FB page tell them to know it off.

If you want to have a rational conversation about the disparity that a federal Court gives the State over a year, to implement RTC, but a federal court says despite the law a Gay couple can get married in weeks – OK. It’s a question worthy of debate. If you want to ask how the State can flaunt federal drug laws, but then turn around and try to impose federal gun laws on the same people, go for it.

I have known Kelly, for 20 some years. We don’t agree on a lot. We have two completely different views on rights. Her gun registration bill is silly, stupid, un-workable and will never pass. So chill out.

It is much more fun to take a copy of her press release at the end of session after the bill fails, and light a good cigar with it and have a cold one and smile. We will win in the end. The Chicago scheme has crumbled. And we are only going to gain more ground, so long as the overwhelming majority of us fight the fight on a respectful tone, we will prevail.

There is a time to get worked up. And calling out hypocrites like Hoffman, buying illegal narcotics and calling for gun control is fair game. Just as is calling out Mark Wahlberg is for his prohibited status. But getting nasty with Kelly, is uncalled for and works against us. So knock it off. You only make my job harder.

You wanna be snarky, fine. Sarcastic, go for it. Passionate, please do. You want to rail against Shannon Watts and have all kinds of names for her band of merry misfits, cool. But we have the anti-gunners on the run in Illinois. Let’s let our victories do the talking for us. Nothing is going to bother them more, than seeing us take ground. And buying a drink for your losing opponents for them to cry in is so much more fun than name calling.

And in case you’re wondering, yea I consider her, Kelly, a friend. Like I said we don’t agree on a lot, but that does not matter. As in this business there are very few people I dislike. More I call friends. And just maybe, someone will figure out why Illinois doesn’t look like Maryland, New York, New Jersey or Massachusetts with our gun laws.

/rant off

9 thoughts on “IN TODD WE TRUST: Two messages from Vandermyde… one to share with Obama, one for us”
  1. IN TODD WE TRUST: We love Todd Vandermyde.

    We also love how Todd and John are like brothers.

    Now if we can just get Trump in the White House, America can be great again.

    Sam

    1. Make America Great Again sounds way too much like Hope and Change. Don’t do something you’ll regret for four years like many Obama voters did.
      Go with the real conservative.
      Go with Cruz.

    2. Hitting the “LIKE” icon on this one, I couldn’t agree with you more. I like the way Trump swung that cat over his head but that act is getting weary and anymore he sounds like an entitled liberal.
      TED CRUZ.

  2. Todd – I appreciate anything you can get done to advance gun rights in this state! Even if it doesn’t get worse – that can be a win! You must be an extremely patient person.

    The reminder about friends on the Democrat side is an important one. Where would we be without Mr. Forby and Mr. Phelps. I think we would all wish there were more like them.

    Thank You!

  3. Thank you Todd!!! I have been trying to come up with a way to say this. It sickens me to see comments on here or FB that are personal in nature and attack the person rather than their position. I have been on the other end of such comments and as thick as my skin is, it still has an affect. Taking the high road is always the the best option. Thank you for your continued hard work for Illinois gun owners!!!!! We all owe you a “drink” or 3!!

  4. Thank you, Todd, for all your dedicated work with the General Assembly. I hope all our members and friends will take your words to heart. Remember, we are on the side of freedom and personal responsibility. Let’s make sure our words are worthy.

  5. The following is from my 1828 edition of “A View of the Constitution” by William Rawle on the explanation of the Prohibition upon the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

    “The Prohibition is General. No clause in the constitution could by any rule of construction be conceived to give congress the power to disarm the people. Such a flagitious attempt could only be made under some pretense but a state legislature. But if any blind pursuit of inordinate power, either should attempt it, this amendment may be appealed to as a restraint on both”

    The Founding Fathers believed in the Power of the written word in the Constitution. They wrote the 2A as a Prohibition against the Entry and Encroachment upon the “Right” to Keep and Bear Arms”. The prohibition was meant to apply to local, state and Federal Government power.

    Yet today we must play political correctness with State legislators that hold the Values, Traditions and Faith that founded this nation in contempt, as they seek Inordinate Power!

    I guess the Founding Fathers just didn’t understand Chicago politics’.

Comments are closed.