If Sen. John McCain expects the support of gun owners in this year’s presidential race, the Arizona Republican must make an effort to overcome some decisions the National Rifle Association (NRA) has found troubling.

“John McCain still has some work to do to give them a comfort level,” Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA, said during an interview with The Hill. “Truth be told, he’s not there yet.”

Specifically, McCain played a leading role in crafting the campaign finance reform law that bears his name and that also enraged many lobbying groups. The NRA was one of the most outspoken.

At the group’s national convention in 2001, NRA President Wayne LaPierre vocalized that dismay.

“Is it possible that John McCain thinks you have too much freedom?” LaPierre asked, before adding: “I don’t know what’s happening to John McCain.”

The Arizona senator also ran afoul of the group when he pushed for tighter restrictions on buying guns at gun shows.

To be sure, McCain has often been a friend on issues dear to the NRA, Cox said. But Cox added that his members intend to scrutinize the candidates’ entire legislative records, and not just the points of agreement.

“We owe it to our members and our supporters to tell the truth about all of [the candidates], and we’re not going to sugarcoat it,” Cox said.

A key question among members that surfaces when Cox travels the country is this: “What’s the deal with John McCain?”

Cox said that members have expressed “a lot of borderline resentment in some circles” over McCain. But because of the outright disdain for both of the Democratic candidates’ past positions on gun control, the NRA is actively seeking a way for McCain to directly address its members and smooth over past troubles.

“He will be asked about gun shows. He will be asked about campaign finance reform,” Cox said. “Can he help himself? Yes. Can he hurt himself? Yes.”

McCain may be on his way to winning these critics over. As the Supreme Court considers the landmark Washington, D.C., gun ban, McCain was one of 55 lawmakers to sign a “friend of the court” amicus brief.

Both Democratic candidates, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.), did not.
Tucker Bounds, a McCain spokesman, said the senator has a strong record on gun owners' rights, which is in "sharp contrast to his potential rivals."

"Senators Obama and Clinton have recklessly supported some of the most controversial attacks on the Second Amendment, and that’s going to make a major difference with voters this fall,” Bounds said.

The NRA expects to spend between $18 million and $20 million this year on campaigns ranging from state legislative races to the presidency. But the group has yet to endorse McCain, and in the absence of an incumbent, likely won’t do so until after the summer conventions.

Additionally, the group is launching an ambitious “seven- or eight-figure” voter registration drive, something it has never done before.

“This is arguably the most important year in NRA history,” Cox said.

Another testy relationship

A John McCain White House wouldn’t have much in common with some of the top priorities of the longest-serving Republican senator in history.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who faces a tough reelection battle this November, is one of the biggest supporters of earmarks in Congress and has long advocated to open his state’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling. McCain strongly opposes both.

But when asked about his thoughts on McCain’s opposition to opening ANWR to oil drilling, the famously short-tempered Stevens dismissed the question, saying, “it’s not a presidential issue” because all three major candidates have fought with him on it.

“Why would I [have concerns with McCain over ANWR] if Obama is even worse on it and Clinton is even worse than that? Her husband vetoed ANWR. Why would you just pick on John?” Stevens said.

— Manu Raju

Clinton camp: Penn not an issue as Pa. polls tighten

Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), said the controversy surrounding recently demoted senior strategist Mark Penn is not hurting Clinton ahead of the crucial April 22 Pennsylvania primary.

Penn was removed from his senior position after it was revealed that he met with Colombian government officials — a group his lobbying firm represented — to discuss the hot-button proposed trade deal with the country.

Polls in the Keystone State have consistently shown a tightening race between Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Wolfson said Penn had nothing to do with it, calling the episode “inside baseball.”

“I don’t think the average voter cares about who works on these campaigns or who doesn’t,” Wolfson said.
Wolfson said Obama’s heavy advertising investment in the state — his $6.5 million to Clinton’s $2.5 million, by the Clinton campaign’s count — is partially responsible for the tightening race.

— Sam Youngman