Can a Democrat win a congressional race in Michigan’s north country by appearing more pro-gun than his Republican opponent, a retired Army general?
Sounds nearly preposterous in 2016 but that’s the path Democrat Lon Johnson is taking Up North, in the 1st Congressional District, against Republican Jack Bergman.
Columnist Susan Demas reports that Johnson is promoting his “A” rating from the National Rifle Association while Bergman’s equally top-notch NRA rating is mired by his support for mandatory gun-purchase background checks.
This development has produced unhappiness on both sides of the political aisle.
Bergman
During the primary election, Bergman was blasted for backing universal background checks and waiting periods, which was equated with a liberal 2nd Amendment approach similar to “the Obama anti-gun agenda.” That certainly tainted Bergman’s conservative bona fides and gave Johnson, with an unambiguous pro-gun stance, an unexpected opening.
But Johnson faces grumbling from downstate Democrats, according to Demas, who are irritated to see their 1st District candidate running to the right of the GOP nominee. He’s also donning his hunting fatigues in campaign ads, looking like a good ol’ Yooper. (In the photo above Johnson, left, is pictured with former congressman Bart Stupak, the last Democrat to hold the 1st District seat.)
Both candidates in the November general election face skepticism about their northern Michigan roots as they fend off the “carpetbagger” label.
Bergman spent most of his time in the military outside of the state, particularly in Louisiana, before retiring in 2009. He admits that his wife is a “snow bird” but he insists he lives in Watersmeet in the Upper Peninsula, the location for his voter registration.
How much time Johnson has spent Up North has been at issue since he ran for state House in 2012 and for Michigan Democratic Party chairman in 2013. He lost that first race and won the second. But his image is one of a suit-and-tie Democratic insider, one who is married to Julianna Smoot, one of Barack Obama’s top on-staff fundraisers and the president’s deputy campaign manager in 2012. Yet, Johnson insists that he spends the bulk of his time at his the modest home outside of Kalkaska that he bought in 2011.
In her column posted today, Demas offers this: “Johnson has been sitting in northern Michigan deer blinds since he was a kid and will talk your ear off about his adventures.”
A poll released on Sept. 14 showed Johnson leading Bergman by two points, 43-41% in the sprawling district, which has swung Republican starting in 2010.
So, what was it that Bergman said about gun restrictions that prompted such an uproar within some GOP circles? A video of the general speaking at a League of Women Voters event on July 12 was made public on Aug. 1, the day before the Republican primary election.
Within the context of numerous mass shootings in the U.S. by unstable individuals, here’s what he said on the video recording:
There is no such thing as an emergency gun purchase. So anybody who is in a hurry, the chances are the intent may not be what it should be. So the only point is we need to know not only who the person is that has requested to purchase a handgun, but also a little bit more about them and what their mental state might be.
Let’s face it, everyone has a stake in this. If you are the seller you have a responsibility, just like you do when you are selling alcohol. You need to “card” people, you need to make certain that person is eligible, if you will, to purchase that product. Anybody who violates that is putting others in danger. It’s one thing if you want to put yourself in danger, but don’t put others in danger. We don’t need to have the dialogue going on, and on, and on, because we didn’t do something as a country. There’s a saying … “If you see something, say something.” I would suggest to you that really if you sense something, do something. Don’t wait, call it out and make sure that that individual is the “right” individual (to buy a gun).
Nothing out of the mainstream there.
So is Lon Johnson, of all people, no longer a mainstream Democrat?
Photos: Twitter, Bergman campaign site
Thousands of guns are stolen from law-abiding citizens, why should law-abiding folks always be
penalize for being law-abiding, besides I have a brother who got busted in 1974 for armed robbery
being drunk, did 14 months in prison and in 1980, he joined the Army and got out in 1984. Today,
he is a grandfather, homeowner and disabled veteran and to this day, by law cannot own a firearm,
but the U.S. government put a M-16 in his hands and he has a honorable discharge. There are repercussions
to the gun-rights, is only crime was drinking with the wrong crowd and thinking stupid. He can get it
expunged, if you have about three thousands dollars for a lawyer, then why bother, own a gun like
the criminals do and hide it.