Baker was careful not to mention McCain’s name in his letter. “John McCain has a very good record with us,” Baker said in an interview. “This letter really isn’t about John McCain.” But opponents interpreted it as a clear warning shot aimed in the general vicinity of the popular Arizona senator, who met with NRA lobbyists this week and didn’t find much common ground. An accompanying e-mail from the Gun Owners of America, a right-wing group that often works in concert with NRA, savaged both McCain and Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman as traitors who would sell out the Second Amendment.
McCain isn’t likely to back down. He seems bent on pursuing new restrictions on guns and has signaled that he wants to make “common sense” gun control one of his signature issues this year. He appeared in ads for AGS during the campaign last fall, helping to promote successful ballot initiatives in Colorado and Oregon to mandate background checks at all gun shows. More recently, McCain has been working with AGS-and against his own party-to forge a compromise bill that would achieve the same result nationally. Says Jonathan Cowan, AGS’s president: “John McCain is a man of principle and believes that we should do everything we can to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.” McCain’s also brought Lieberman into the discussions over a new gun-show bill. A Lieberman aide said the NRA letter would not intimidate him. “We believe that AGS is a moderate and centrist gun group, and we’re happy to be working with them,” she said.
Founded by Andrew McKelvey, the billionaire owner of Monster.com, AGS has cast itself as a moderate alternative to groups like Handgun Control, Inc. It has signed on Scott Reed, one of Bob Dole’s former lieutenants, as a consultant and has acknowledged a right to own guns-something all other antigun groups refuse to do. The NRA is charging that AGS is actually more leftist behind the scenes and is fooling lawmakers into believing its “third way” rhetoric. As proof, Baker cited the fact that Cowan used to be chief of staff to former HUD secretary Andrew Cuomo, a strong backer of litigation against the gun industry. And the NRA released documents from AGS’ first board meeting showing that the group had listed licensing and registration of all handguns-a fairly radical step-as one of its goals. (Cowan says that strategy was briefly considered but never adopted.) “We thought it was time folks on the Hill know who they are, who funds them and what they’re espousing,” Baker said.
He didn’t say whether “folks on the Hill” included a certain swashbuckling senator from the Southwest. He didn’t have to.
