Anti-gun politicians keep testing ‘Curse of the Gunnies’
June 1, 2008

by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor

Almost every week comes further new evidence that there really is something other-worldly stalking anti-gun politicians. It has been called the “Curse of the Gunnies” by one of the earlier observers of this spooky phenomenon, constitutional lawyer and filmmaker David T. Hardy, who first identified it as such in these pages back in 1980.

As I recall, Hardy’s 1980 commentary linked Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-MA) problems at Chappaquiddick as just one of several examples of the curse at work.

From time to time, I like to reexamine the Curse of the Gunnies when something newsworthy happens, like when Elliot Spitzer took his huge, scandalous pratfall out of the New York governor’s chair a few weeks ago.

However, I am not the only one who remembers the curse and calls it to mind when yet one more anti-gunner suffers its effect. Many readers refer to the curse when they send me news clippings from their area.

Sometimes, the curse is manifest in calamitous proportions, as with Spitzer. Other times, it might only be embarrassing exposure of a newsworthy gaffe.

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) recent mailing fiasco during the run-up to the Indiana Democratic presidential primary is an example of the smaller, public-ridicule-only variety. When her staff tried to cash in on what they claimed was a greater anti-gun position by Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) than Clinton’s own, they looked just plain stupid and hypocritical—and made themselves look incompetent in the process.

The Politico website was just one of several information and news outlets that focused on the Clinton campaign’s attack on Obama’s position on guns just prior to the Indiana and North Carolina primaries on May 6.

The campaign had sent a mailing piece to voters in Indiana that asked in large print, “Where does Barack Obama really stand on guns?” On the other side, it said: “Depends on who Barack Obama is talking to.” The flier refers to a questionnaire in Obama’s name from his run for the Illinois state Senate in which he indicates support for a total ban on handguns. (Obama claims he never held that position.)

The mailer also references Obama saying he supported the Second Amendment in Idaho while also mentioning his oft-repeated statement from a San Francisco fund-raiser in which he said small-town Americans “bitter” over the economy “cling” to religion and guns.

At minimum, both Clinton and Obama favor specific gun control measures such as a ban on so-called assault weapons, a ban on private transfers unless a background check is conducted by a licensed dealer, and adding more lists of prohibited people to the National Instant Check System.

Most commentators who picked up on the Clinton mailer made much of the fact that it included an image of a left-handed bolt-action Mauser rifle that was never commonly available in gun stores and that the design looked like the gun was pointing at Obama’s head.

We are not alone in finding a delicious irony in one anti-gun candidate making a total mess of her attempt to curry pro-gun votes from the people of Indiana. Apparently, the Curse of the Gunnies applies when anti-gunners attempt to hide from their own anti-gun records. However, that’s a not much more than a mild example of the curse at work.

More notable is what befell the former mayor of the small New Jersey town of Gutenberg in April, a politician who was one of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

The Jersey Journal noted that if Gutenberg Mayor David Delle Donna had any aspirations of running for a higher office, he can forget it now.

The mayor faces a lifelong ban from holding public office following his conviction in federal court on Apr. 29, officials said. A federal jury found Delle Donna and his wife, Anna, guilty of conspiracy to commit extortion and two counts each of filing false tax returns. The couple was acquitted of two counts each of mail fraud.

Speaking outside the courtroom after the verdict, Delle Donna’s attorney, Ralph Lamparello, acknowledged that the mayor will have to step down. It is just a matter of when. After his indictment last fall, Delle Donna announced that he would stay in office until the trial was over, saying he had a constitutional right to a fair trial. However, if Delle Donna is slow to remove himself from office, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio will do it for him, The Journal noted.

“Since his conviction touched on duties as mayor, he is permanently deprived of holding public office in the state of New Jersey,” DeFazio said.

The mayor’s wife, who served on the town Planning Board, has already stepped down from that position. The Delle Donnas are expected to be sentenced to between 51 and 78 months in prison.

When Delle Donna resigns or is removed from office, Democratic committee members in Gutenberg will select three names for the Town Council to choose from to serve as acting mayor until November, said Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who is the chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.

The New York Times noted that Delle Donna is now part of an expanding list of politicians investigated by Christopher J. Christie, the US attorney. Previously, 11 officials were indicted on bribery charges, accused of trying to influence the awarding of public contracts. Included in that group were the mayor of Passaic, two members of the New Jersey General Assembly and five members of an Atlantic County school board.

If all of this sounds like an episode in “The Sopranos” rather than merely the Curse of the Gunnies catching up with an anti-gun politician, read on. By the way, The Times noted that Gutenberg, which sits in sight of New York City across the Hudson River, is only 11 blocks long and four blocks wide.

When the mayor and his wife were convicted on extortion and tax charges in the federal trial, major contributing evidence was contained in the testimony of Javier Inclan, a former Gutenberg councilman, who testified that while treasurer of the Gutenberg Democratic Organization he passed two envelopes to Delle Donna from bar owner Luisa Medrano that he believed were stuffed with cash.

However, despite the witness’s role, The Jersey Journal reported that anti-gun Gov. Jon Corzine is sticking by Javier Inclan.

The governor, speaking through a spokeswoman, said Inclan’s current job as one of his deputy chiefs of staff is safe, even after Inclan testified that he passed an illegal campaign contribution to Delle Donna in 2002.

The Times noted that this is not the first time the small town has been hit by political scandal. In 2003, a former mayor, Peter LaVilla, pleaded guilty to misappropriating campaign funds and using the money for a private brokerage account after an investigation by the US attorney’s office. In 2002, a councilman accused of receiving illegal advances on his salary resigned, although he was never formally charged. The same year, the town’s chief financial officer pleaded guilty to misappropriation of funds.

Perhaps the Curse of the Gunnies is no more than the manifestation of the dark side of anti-gun officials. Maybe there is no such thing as that curse. It is curious though that so many anti-gun politicians suffer a major political fall and even ridiculous embarrassments.

I’m sure New Jersey and New York are not the only breeding grounds for corrupt politicians. And it is not so surprising that so many dishonest public servants adopt an anti-gun, anti-self-defense position. Some of them even remember the “rabble” in Colonial America tearing down the statues of King George III and running political crooks out of town on a rail after decorating them suitably with hot tar and feathers.

Still, the anti-gunners keep on testing the “Curse of the Gunnies.”
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