In her continuing attempt to frame Bernie Sanders as soft on guns, Hillary Clinton has given a perfect example of the aphorism
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics
when she claims that
Most of the guns that are used in crimes and violence and killings in New York come from out of state. And the state that has the highest per capita number of those guns that end up committing crimes in New York come from Vermont.
Not only is this statement NOT a lie, nor a damn lie, it is absolutely statistically true. On a per 100,000 person basis, Vermont is the number 1 source state for guns recovered in New York and traced by the ATF — no matter what your definition of is is.
On a statistically related note, however, only 1 percent of crime guns whose sources were identified in 2014 originated from Vermont: 55 of 4,585.
So both of these “number ones” are true —
- Vermont is the number 1 source state for guns recovered in New York and traced by the ATF, and
-
1% of crime guns whose sources were identified in 2014 originated from Vermont: 55 of 4,585.
Though both “number ones” are true, WaPo’s FactChecker claims the first one “is a misleading data point.”
WaPo continued..
The per capita calculation is skewed by Vermont’s small population (55 guns out of 626,562 people, or 8.78 guns per 100,000 people)…. If you take out the 55 Vermont-originated guns from all crime guns that came from outside of New York, the number of crime guns in 2014 would decrease to 2,556 from 2,611.
{snip}
Using the per capita measure of trafficked guns originating from Vermont is as pointless as counting guns trafficked per 100,000 head of cattle.
{snip}
The difference between this point using per capita calculation and the raw number (1 percent of crime guns with source states identified in 2014 came from Vermont) is so stark that it creates a significantly misleading impression to the public.
WaPo’s determination as to the “truthiness” of Clinton’s assertion that ”the state that has the highest per capita number of those guns that end up committing crimes in New York come from Vermont.”:
Though WaPo didn’t spend any effort deconstucting the first part of Hillary’s “misleading data point”, it too is a part of her significantly misleading impression to the public that Sanders is soft on guns:
Most of the guns that are used in crimes and violence and killings in New York come from out of state.
In totality, it is true that “Most of the guns that are used in crimes and violence and killings in New York come from out of state”. Yet, the individual state that is the number one source of these guns is none other than… wait for it… New York — the state that Hillary loves to remind us that she was proud to represent for 6 years as Senator. But I quibble.
There is a Vermont Senator, however, who has a somewhat friendly relationship with the NRA, and it certainly isn’t Bernie Sanders — who has a D- NRA rating and has received ZERO campaign contributions from them. Senator Pat Leahy, a superdelegate who has endorsed Hillary Clinton, not only has a C rating from the NRA but, according to the New York Times, he has accepted at least $7,000 in campaign contributions from the NRA.
Senator Leahy is not the only Clinton superdelegate endorser who has accepted NRA campaign contributions, or who has a C or better NRA rating:
Name |
nra rating |
NRA CONTRIBUTION ($) |
NRA "Friendly" Clinton SuperdelegateS (“C” RATING OR BETTER)
Joe Manchin (W.Va.) |
A |
11,450 |
Mark Warner (VA) |
A |
0 |
Ann Kirkpatrick(AZ-1) |
A |
0 |
Kurt Schrader(OR-5) |
A- |
3,000 |
Henry Cuellar(TX-28) |
A- |
2,000 |
Harry Reid (NV) |
B |
8,950 |
Bob Casey (PA) |
B+ |
0 |
Brian Higgins (NY-26) |
B |
1,000 |
Ben Ray Lujan(NM-3) |
B |
1,000 |
Martin Heinrich(NM) |
B |
0 |
Michael Bennet(CO) |
C+ |
0 |
Pat Leahy(VT) |
C |
7,000 |
Mary Landrieu(LA) |
C |
0 |
I have not included any Rep who has a less than an A- NRA rating but received no campaign contributions from them. Senators, on the other hand, receive no such waiver.
Interestingly enough, Senators Harry Reid and Mary Landrieu also voted YEA on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act — The PLCAA, as did Rep Brian Higgins(NY-26). So I guess it’s wokay for Clinton superdelegate endorsers to have voted to put gun manufacturers ahead of Sandy Hook victims, but it’s deplorable for anyone else to have done so.
Shorter version of all of the above…
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t shoot from the lip...
or, to mix metaphors, they may end up stabbing their allies in the back.