A Howitzer to the Picnic? Really?

This recent gun event hosted by the state Republican Party wherein they raffled off some weapons — one of which I understand was an AR-15 assault rife — has caused a squabble amongst the rank and file as well as creating a media circus. My remark in a recent Patch comment stated that now we KNOW we HAVE a Republican party. This brought about some defenses and rightly so. Here in East Greenwich, the Republican Party has made the town one of the most successful in the state. But this is East Greenwich. Let's look at the state in general.

Imagine, if you will, that it is 1965 and we are at Eldredge Field for a football game between the young adult local team called the EG Townies versus the South County* team, the Mooniriver Yankees. The Townies are on the school end of the field, twenty in number and all in uniforms and hoping to get to play. There are two coaches with whistles. At the tennis court/basketball/skating rink end, the Mooniriver Yankees are a rather diminutive father and son team, two guys, one 72 and the other 44. They have bib overall uniforms, no coaches, no helmets, and the only team spirit they have is that they showed up to play. After a fierce 15 minute ballfield battle, the Yankees are bloody pulps laying on the field as the Townies triumphantly rejoice in their 242 to nuthin victory. That is a parable of Rhode Island politics where the Townies are the Democrats and the Yankees are the Republicans in a statewide contest.

Basically what the Republican party did over the weekend with their gun event was say we are here, come to see us present and defend at least one thing that we stand for. There is little cause for dissension amid the rank and file except the assault rifle. There would have been less negative static snapping in the air if they had simply raffled off that old suburban/rural Rhode Island teach-your-kid-to-shoot standard, the single-shot .22 caliber rifle. Most sane people do not see the need for an assault rifle except as a trophy in the gun rack. Unless you feel terrorists are going to be coming in your windows, the thing is pretty useless when used legally. It has left a terrible aftertaste since it is popular with those idiots who think shooting up schools is great fun. We, editorial “we,” don't think they should be freely available as shooting models and think non-shooting replicas would look just as good in the gun rack. If I had a gun rack, I'd like to have one myself. Yet we understand the reluctance of the NRA types to yield even an inch, given it would probably open the door to first a nibble then a landslide of legislation taking guns of all types out of our hands.

Yes, the PR was good and bad. I am happy the Republican Party held this event, sad that we/they didn't use a less symbolic weapon. The liberal media jumped on the event with more ammunition (just had to pun it) than they would have had if the AR-15 had not been a part of the fete. But let's use it for what it was: “Hey Rhode Island, we're the Republicans, we're here, we stand for many good things such as (unnecessary examples omitted, you fill them in if you want) you should consider voting for us because we are more than two old guys on a football field!”

This state needs competition! Can this be the first Republican stirring?

*Sorry South County. I love you down there but these two fellers had to come from somewhere! I made up Mooniriver. Could have said Richmond or Exeter.