Perhaps I should have called this the States Stance on the 2nd Amendment. In any case, I found a very nice piece of work on Concurring Opinions which breaks down where the stats have fallen on the DC Gun Ban Case (DC vs Heller).

My home state of Texas was the first to file an amicus brief in support of Heller (to overturn the DC Gun ban as unconstitutional). I am not sure who on the state side makes the decision to file a brief or not - probably the Governor or Attorney General.

The following is a map of the states who have, as of this post, file a brief in support of Heller:

The following is a map of the states who have, as of this post, filed in support of DC:

Mike, over at Concurring Opinions, goes on to add an interesting bit of commentation on how those same states voted in the 2004 election:

Of the 31 pro-Heller states, 26 voted for George W. Bush in the 2004 Presidential election, while five (Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington) voted for John Kerry.

Of the 14 “neutral” states, five (Arizona, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina, and Tennessee) voted for Bush, while nine (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin) voted for Kerry.

And all five of the pro-D.C. states (Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York), as well as the District of Columbia itself, voted for Kerry in 2004.

Thanks Mike, for the nice bit of work.

Since McCain is a shoe in for for the Republican nomination, I was going to put a piece together on who is likely VP candidates would be. Unfortunately (or fortunately), John Hawkins over at Right Wing News beat me to it and did a much better job that I would have done.

I think John dismissed Rick Perry and Fred Thompson a bit, but I can’t disagree with much else. I have to wonder why people like Sarah Palin (Governor of Alaska) and Rob Portman made the list. But rather than re-invent the wheel, here is Johns top 24 list for McCains VP.

Haley Barbour: Barbour is very conservative, a former Republican National Committee chairman, and the governor of Mississippi. He also attracted nationwide attention by doing a phenomenal job in the aftermath of Katrina, even as the incompetents in charge in New Orleans botched the job. On the other hand, Mississippi is not exactly a swing state, he has been involved in some race-based controversies, and he probably wouldn’t add much to the ticket outside of the South.

Marsha Blackburn: The TN Congresswoman is attractive, has a superb personality, and has a 97% lifetime ACU rating. She would be a fantastic choice if McCain wanted to reach out to conservative voters and women voters at the same time. Of course, Blackburn has only been in office since 2002, but that still makes her more experienced than Barack Obama. How seriously McCain would look at Blackburn is hard to say, but at first glance, she would appear to be an excellent choice for Veep.

Tom Coburn: Coburn is a rock-ribbed conservative with particularly outstanding credentials on illegal immigration and fiscal conservatism. Moreover, he has endorsed McCain and worked with him many times on issues of fiscal conservatism. However, he’s not that charismatic and Oklahoma isn’t exactly expected to be a battleground state in 2008. That means he may not add enough to the ticket overall to be seriously considered.

Charlie Crist: Florida has been a key swing state in the last two elections and for that reason, Crist, who is the extremely popular governor of that state, would probably be considered. However, Crist has only been governor since 2006 and that, along with his limited appeal outside of Florida, will probably knock him out of the running.

Jim DeMint: DeMint is relatively young, feisty, is a decent speaker, and is extremely well liked by conservatives. He would be a good choice to shore up McCain’s right side. However, DeMint has yet to finish his first term in the Senate, which may keep him from getting serious consideration as Veep (He has already spent 3 terms in the House though).

Elizabeth Dole: Liddy is a little long in the tooth to be Veep, but she has actually accomplished more in her life than Hillary Clinton and would definitely have the gravitas to beat her up and take the women’s vote from Hill if she gets the nomination.

Rudy Giuliani: Ideologically, Rudy would seem to be a better match for McCain than some of the other candidates being discussed and he could campaign for McCain in the purple swing states, but having a pro-abortion moderate with a messy private life probably wouldn’t do much to paper over McCain’s problems with conservatives.

Mike Huckabee: Huckabee is dogged, charismatic, and seems to be well liked by evangelicals, but most of the same conservatives who don’t like McCain also don’t like Huckabee. So, it’s hard to imagine his adding much to the ticket aside from the sheer force of his personality. Yet and still, If Huck can stay in the race long enough and perform well enough, he may be able to force McCain to give him a VP slot in return for getting out.

Duncan Hunter: My former employer is a very conservative, experienced Republican who served in the armed forces and has enormous credibility on border issues, so he could give the ticket a boost there and help out McCain with the base. However, he didn’t do very well in the primaries, so how much of an asset he would be as Vice-President is an open question.

Kay Bailey Hutchinson: She has a reputation for not being particularly conservative on life and immigration issues, although her lifetime ACU rating is a sterling 90.4%. On the other hand, she is more accomplished than Hillary and could help McCain reach out to the women’s vote.

Joe Lieberman: Picking McCain’s friend Joe Lieberman, an independent with strong foreign policy credentials, but who is weak everywhere else from a conservative point of view, would do even more damage to McCain with conservatives while burnishing his appeal to independents. Given how much trouble McCain is having with winning over conservatives, selecting Lieberman would be a particularly bad move, but you know, we are talking about “Maverick” John McCain here.

Sarah Palin: She’s the extremely popular, very attractive, very young governor of Alaska. She’s appealing and fairly conservative, but she’s a little too inexperienced for the job since she’s only been governor of Alaska since 2006.

Tim Pawlenty: Pawlenty is the governor of Minnesota, which could be a key swing state in 2008. He’s also relatively young, conservative, and endorsed McCain early on. You have to think that Pawlenty will be one of the candidates who gets a really hard look from McCain.

Mike Pence: The relatively young Indiana Congressman is a favorite with conservatives even though he is a little squishy on illegal immigration. However, although he is a good guy, he comes across as a little bit too much of a policy wonk to be an ideal choice.

Rick Perry: Texas is an important state for Republicans and Perry, who is fiscally and socially conservative, might get a looksie for that reason. The flip side of that is that McCain shouldn’t need Perry’s help to carry Texas, his weak record on immigration would be aggravating to a lot of conservatives, and he probably wouldn’t add much to the campaign nationally.

Rob Portman: Portman is a former Director of the Office of Management and Budget, a former United States Trade Representative, and he spent a decade in Congress in the key state of Ohio. He’s also a long time friend of John McCain. However, it’s doubtful whether he could reassure conservatives or swing Ohio, so it’s hard to see that he would add a lot to the ticket, despite how often his name seems to come up for the job.

Colin Powell: Powell is very moderate, a little too old to be Veep, and wouldn’t do much to excite the Republican base. However, he’s also very popular with the American people, is considerably more accomplished than Obama, and would steal a lot of Obambi’s thunder if he turns out to be the nominee.

Condi Rice: On the upside, after being Secretary of State, Condi is certainly qualified to be Vice-President and she would undercut Obama or Hillary’s “change” appeal if she’s the Veep. On the other hand, she’s very closely connected to Bush, has never run for public office before, very little is known about her domestic views, and she has turned in a less than stellar performance as Secretary of State.

Tom Ridge: Ridge is a longtime friend of McCain who spent a decade in the House, was governor of Pennsylvania, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security. On the other hand, he doesn’t have a reputation as a staunch conservative, he’s closely connected with Bush, and it’s doubtful that he could carry Pennsylvania. That means he would add very little to the ticket.

Mitt Romney: Although there seemed to be a surge of enthusiasm for Romney late in the game, it was more “anti-McCain” than pro-Romney and with that in mind, Romney wouldn’t seem to be a great addition as the VP. Plus, as an added bonus, McCain and Romney don’t seem to like each other very much. So, it’s hard to see McCain offering Romney the job.

Mark Sanford: The governor of South Carolina is under 50, very conservative, particularly very fiscally conservative, and could help insure that McCain holds the South. On the other hand, he has low name recognition and hopefully, McCain isn’t going to need much help holding the South.

Fred Thompson: “The Fred” would seem, at first glance, to be an intriguing pick. He generated genuine enthusiasm from the base, he’s good friends with John McCain, and he didn’t criticize McCain very often. But, he also didn’t set the world on fire when he was on the campaign trail, he ran a campaign that was way off to McCain’s right, and he’s another very old looking guy. Plus, would he really want to give up Law and Order to get back on the campaign trail for months?

John Thune: He’s a young, extremely conservative Senator from South Dakota, who spent 3 terms in the House and then knocked off Tom Daschle in the 2004 election. He also campaigned hard for John McCain. His upside would be that McCain could use him as an ambassador to conservatives, but otherwise, he might not be of much help since South Dakota isn’t exactly going to be a swing state in the election.

JC Watts: He is a former football star who was also the last black Republican to serve in Congress. Additionally, Watts is well liked by conservatives and was the man who coined the phrase “race-hustling poverty pimps.” However, he does have some baggage and has been out of Congress for a few years now.

Also reporting:
OTB

Hind sight is always 20-20, but I have to wonder if Berkeley had an incling in what there inept city council step in when then voted to ban the Marine Recruiters. Not that it would have changed there mind - if there is one thing that Berkeley seems perfect comfortable with, it’s attacking American values.

Things are continuing to heat up.

A pre-dawn confrontation broke out this morning in Berkeley between peaceniks and pro military groups, more than 12 hours before the City Council considers to rescind its statement telling the U.S. Marines they’re unwelcome in this leftie town.

Police were forced to form a line between the two groups to keep them apart shortly after 6 a.m. at the park across Martin Luther King Jr. Way from old City Hall, where the City Council meets.

An hour and a half later, the shouting continued, but there had been no arrests, a police dispatcher said.

The Berkeley City Council tonight is scheduled to revisit the council’s Jan. 29 approval of a resolution calling the U.S. Marines’ recruiting office on Shattuck Avenue “uninvited and unwelcome intruders.” The vote was 6-3 in favor.

The 6-3 vote on that item caused a nationwide backlash against the city, prompting Republicans in Washington and Sacramento to introduce legislation to take away money for things like school lunches and police communications equipment.

I guess my only surprise here is find that Berkeley actually found more than 2 or 3 people to protest in support of the Marines. I can only hope they are sufficient to cost some of these city council members there seats.

But tonight, the city is likely to host the mother of all meetings in its recent history. Councilman Gordon Wozniak, who opposed the council’s actions two weeks ago on the recruiting station, said he received 26,000 e-mails on the subject in the past 10 days (24,000 supporting the Marines, 2,000 against), and he is just one of nine council members.

It is going to be a busy night in Berkeley. Between the Marine issue and another issue proposing restrictions on Pacific Steel they are expecting nearly 1,000 people - in a meeting hall which holds 123.

It would seem that both Hillary and Obama are very interested in some official support from John Edwards, who dropped out of the presidential race last month.

This from the Washington Post:

Clinton made a clandestine visit to Edwards’s North Carolina home last Thursday to ask for the support of the former senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee. Obama had planned to make the same trip last night, but a conflict arose and the two had to reschedule the meeting, Obama campaign aides said. Both candidates have remained in regular contact with Edwards since he withdrew from the race two weeks ago, and each has vowed to carry on his anti-poverty crusade while quietly vying for his backing.

[…]

Where Edwards stands in the Clinton-Obama showdown remains a mystery, even among members of his inner circle. The former senator gained wide attention with his fiery speeches and strong debate performances, but his message of economic populism did not expand his support at the polls. A series of weak finishes in the early contests left him detached and frustrated before he dropped out of the race on Jan. 30.

The question then is who will win the Edwards endorsement, and what we they offer in return for that support? But then again - do we really care?

Edwards has made two attempts to become president, so why not add a second attempt to become vice president? As the battle for the Democratic nomination gets more heated, I would be surprised to see a Hilary < -> Obama ticket, so that leaves the field open for Vice President.

David Schmader put together the following poster, and it is just too good not to share.

I wonder if Ann Coulter knows she was pegged as a Clinton Supporter?

Also Reporting:
OTB

This guy is really starting to weird me out. The more I see of him, the less American he looks. Check out the latest from the local Fox outlet here in my home city of Houston.

It will be interesting to see how he’ll (Obama) react (if at all) to the flag hanging in one of his new campaign offices in Houston, Texas.

Yep, that’s right — that is the national flag of Cuba hanging on the wall with none other than Che Guevara superimposed on it.

Now, to be fair, I am sure Obama has no clue that his staffers are displaying this flag. Has Obama even been to Houston? None the less the responsibility is still his. If he is surprised by then then his next action should be to denounce that flag and all it represents, and have it taken down immediately; preferably with a set of walking papers for the staffer in question.

That a person running for president would display the flag of a foreign power, any foreign power, in his campaign offices is unthinkable. For that person to display the flag of Cuba, our long time Communist enemy, is beyond belief. To take it one step further and past the face of a (albeit dead) socialist and anti-American revolutionary is unforgivable!

Yet this is not the first such issue we have had with Obama. Remember he is already refuses to wear the common lapel pin of the US Flag, and refuses to place his hand over his heart during the American National Anthem. This guy is a nut-job at best, and it would be the height of stupidity to elect him! At best he is, as STACLU puts it, an empty suit, at worst his is an attach on the American way of life.

Here is the video shot by MyFox Houston - the shot of the flag on the wall is near the front. Sadly, the reporter fails to even comment on it.

Also Reporting:
Captain’s Quarters
Fishf ear me
Discerning Texan
Hot Air
OTB

Pick you favorite caption!

1. “Why did I marry her? Why didn’t I just put a loaded gun in my mouth?
Why God, Why?”

2. “Holy crap, look at that butt. Somewhere, a semi-truck is missing its
‘Oversized Load’ sign.

3. “Somewhere, there’s two fat girls naked in a hot tub and I’m stuck here
listening to her jabber on about health care.

4. “Sheesh, Rush is soo right - She does sound like Nurse Ratchett!”

5. “Does that woman never shut up?”

6. “Wow!! I could’a had a V8!!”