I would like to believe that President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder – no matter how much they oppose our Second Amendment rights – would never break the law and endanger human lives in their mission to score political points against gun owners.
I’d like to believe operation “Fast and Furious” is just another example of the Obama administration’s gross incompetence, albeit this time with tragic and deadly results. I’d like to believe that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had nothing but good intentions when it illegally helped transfer thousands of guns to violent drug lords in Mexico.
I’d like to believe this was just a misguided and foolish law enforcement operation gone horribly wrong.
However, to believe all of this, I would have to ignore a lot of facts.
I would have to ignore the fact that since “Fast and Furious” became public knowledge, Holder’s Justice Department has repeatedly refused to fully cooperate with congressional investigators. Instead, Holder has launched his agency into full cover-up mode, even promoting the BATFE agents who had direct oversight of this scandal.
I would have to ignore the fact that while Holder’s BATFE was pushing illegal firearms into the hands of known Mexican criminals, President Obama was trying to push his gun control agenda by blaming American gun owners and our Second Amendment rights for Mexican drug crime. In fact, the Obama administration is now requiring gun shops in states that border Mexico to register the firearms sales of any law-abiding American who purchases more than one rifle of certain types.
I would also have to completely disregard the recent revelation that BATFE ordered at least one of its agents to purchase firearms with our tax dollars, and then resell them to a gun runner for a Mexican drug cartel.
As this scandal and the resulting cover-up grow bigger and more shocking by the day, President Obama and Eric Holder continue to shrug their shoulders and plead ignorance. They seem quite content to destroy what is left of Americans’ faith in our government, so long as they don’t have to answer the big question: Who authorized this operation and how high up does this scandal go?
But make no mistake: Their refusal to cooperate with congressional investigators is also a part of their political strategy. They know that most of the mainstream media outlets will continue to give them cover by ignoring “Fast and Furious.” And they know that NRA, gun owners and freedom-loving Americans will continue to demand answers. Thus, Obama and Holder are hoping to create the perception that this is just another partisan issue.
But this is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue. People died as a result of it, and Americans’ confidence in their government’s ability to preserve the sanctity of our freedoms is rapidly eroding with each passing day.
If our President and his Attorney General won’t help Congress get to the bottom of this scandal, it is imperative that an independent prosecutor be assigned to this case. NRA will continue to fight this battle until all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, get the answers we need to make sure an operation as reckless, corrupt and deadly as “Fast and Furious” never happens again.
Chris W. Cox is the Executive Director of The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action and serves as the organization’s chief lobbyist.
This article first appeared at Townhall.com. http://townhall.com/columnists/chriswcox/2011/10/04/obama_and_holder_still_pleading_ignorance_on_fast_and_furious,__but_it%E2%80%99s_getting_harder
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