In June 1998, Elena Kagan helped rework some talking points written by White House staffers for President Clinton about the National Rifle Association in order to soften his tone and praise the NRA’s members.
The comments were for a planned Clinton question-and-answer session with the NRA, one week after actor Charlton Heston took the helm of the massive organization. TPMDC is reviewing thousands of emails released today in advance of Kagan’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings and a White House source pointed us to this section.
After reviewing what was being sent around, Kagan asked her colleagues to adjust one of the planned Clinton answers. The aide putting together the responses asked her, “Is this better?” and included a paragraph which complimented NRA members.
There are some good men and women in the NRA: people who enjoy hunting and sport shooting; gun dealers who play by the rules and are trying to make a living; and gun owners and collectors of all sorts who are law abiding citizens.But since I came to office, the NRA’s leadership has fought every sensible thing we have done to fight crime.
The White House also added a quote for Clinton, “I am not sure the NRA’s leadership represents America’s vital center anymore. And I am not sure we will come to terms any time soon.”
Read the memo here.
Second Amendment rights are among the major issues conservatives will be examining in Kagan’s record. The comments are all the more apt given the NRA’s prominence in the news this week — the group’s leaders were roundly criticized for cutting a deal with Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a campaign finance bill responding to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.
As we reported today, the White House is boasting about the unprecedented release of documents for a nominee.
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