In the two days following the mass shooting in Parkland, FL, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough has taken up an outspoken role in advocating for more regulation of firearms and has been very critical of the National Rifle Association and politicians that resist more gun control measure.
On Friday, conservative journalist Jay Cost took to Twitter to remind his followers how Scarborough as the congressman for Florida’s first congressional district was once one of those politicians that opposed more gun control.
Cost offers citations from two volumes of Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa’s The Almanac of American Politics to back up this claim.
Hi, @JoeNBC! Apropos of nothing, are you a fan of the Almanac of American Politics? I am. Big time. I’ve bought used versions going back to the 1970s.
I just grabbed two at random from my shelf. See –> pic.twitter.com/7fvGy7g9AL
— Jay Cost (@JayCostTWS) February 16, 2018
Let’s open to a random page, ok @JoeNBC?
Why look … it’s you! How fun! I bet being a congressman was awesome! pic.twitter.com/F4Viiy76lr
— Jay Cost (@JayCostTWS) February 16, 2018
And, @JoeNBC, one of the cool things about the Almanac was that Michael Barone recorded key votes to give you a sense of what the congressman stood for. Here’s yours from the 104th.
Er … wait what’s this? pic.twitter.com/011xWDbCud
— Jay Cost (@JayCostTWS) February 16, 2018
Hey @JoeNBC I’m kind of freaking out here because here you are in the 2002 Almanac again. And here’s your voting record again. pic.twitter.com/eiapHbjIMn
— Jay Cost (@JayCostTWS) February 16, 2018
According to the Almanac, you voted AGAINST gun-show background checks in the 106th Congress, @JoeNBC. pic.twitter.com/yGNNqLFNgz
— Jay Cost (@JayCostTWS) February 16, 2018
Why, @JoeNBC, it looks as though when you had actual, real political power, you were with the NRA.
Now that you don’t have any power, you’re talking about politicians finding the courage to stand up to the NRA.
I’m so confused, because I know you to be a man of principle.
— Jay Cost (@JayCostTWS) February 16, 2018
My whole worldview is being rocked here, @JoeNBC. I’m starting to wonder if maybe your moralism is a schtick, and you’re an opportunistic preener. But that couldn’t be! I’m sure Barone and Cohen just consistently misreported your voting record.
Yeah that’s gotta be it.
— Jay Cost (@JayCostTWS) February 16, 2018
Scarborough was even more strident about his opposition to any gun control measures before being elected to Congress. In NRA questionnaires obtained by The Daily Caller in 2013 dated Aug. 23, 1994, Sept. 2, 1994, and June 7, 2000 — Scarborough declared this opposition.
“The NRA must elect & support candidates who will view the gun rights issue as a constitutional battle,” Scarborough wrote on a 1994 questionnaire. “The founding fathers did not give us the 2nd Amendment to protect our rights to shoot ducks. Our constitutional right to bear arms is so we may protect our family in the manner we choose. No compromise!”
In 1994, California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. It was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton on Sept. 13, 1994, and that created the decade-long ban on manufacturing military-looking firearms.
Just weeks it was signed, Scarborough told the NRA that his definition of an “assault weapon” was “anything the government would deny the people from protecting themselves against the government” and “anything the government would fear the people could use to protect their rights.”
Scarborough also revealed he was an opponent of expanding federal background checks, limits on magazine capacity, government licensing requirements to “buy and/or own” a firearm, registration and bans on “armor-piercing” ammunition.
Scarborough apparently responded to Cost with his own “sub-tweeted” thread and claimed he changed his mind as the facts have changed.
As I have said publicly for years, while in Congress I was one of the 2nd Amendment’s strongest proponents. And even though the NRA worked nonstop to defeat me in my first campaign, they supported me after because I was always an unyielding advocate for gun rights. I still am.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 16, 2018
As I said publicly in speeches, and TV and in columns, Newtown made me re-examine many of my views. I still support gun rights, carry laws, and Scalia’s view of the 2nd Amendment. But Newtown changed my thoughts on background checks and assault-style weapons, as did Heller.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 16, 2018
For those frothing at the mouth thinking they just broke open Al Capone’s safe, stop humiliating yourselves publicly. I’ve been straightforward about my views on for years. I addressed it head on the Monday after Newtown.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 16, 2018
I was one of the most unyielding advocates for gun rights in Congress. The fact that I still strongly support gun rights but am now pushing back hard against extremists who are damaging the cause as mass shooting become an American epidemic only proves my point more.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 16, 2018
The 5 deadliest mass shootings in American history have occurred since I left Congress. Anyone with a conscience and a little common sense would re-examine their views before more blood is spilled in children’s classrooms, in church pews and at country music concerts.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 16, 2018
“When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 16, 2018
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
