Well, duh.

Over on the home page of Ohioans for Concealed Carry -- a good group, by the way -- is a thought-provoking commentary. In "Not-so-conservative talk radio," Philip Mulivor writes about keeping company with Bill Bennett's Morning in America for the last three years.

Then Mulivor reports stumbling upon what David Kopel wrote for the NRA's America's 1st Freedom magazine:

"Before the dark days of the Clinton administration, few federal government officials had done more to damage Second Amendment rights than William Bennett, the so-called 'drug czar' under President George H.W. Bush. In March 1989, Bennett set off a national panic by pushing the first Bush administration to ban the import of so-called 'assault weapons.'

"Bennett claimed that 'assault weapons' were the firearms of choice for violent drug dealers. The claim, of course, was nonsense. Police gun seizure data showed that the guns were rarely used in any type of crime. Yet Bennett's massive publicity stunt prohibited dozens of models of high-quality guns. And it set the stage for state-level bans on so-called 'assault weapons,' and, in the long run, for the 1994 Clinton gun ban."

Mulivor's superficial image of Bennett was shattered by the revelation. Chagrined, he observes,

"The lesson here is simple, and I'm probably the last person in Ohio to get it: Not all pro-[Second Amendment] folks are politically conservative, and not all conservatives are pro-[Second Amendment]."

Really? Like, we actually have to think about this stuff?

Mulivor, who's clearly a slave to right-wing purity, goes on to show us that he doesn't "get it" at all, disputing Bennett's patriotism.

I once had the pleasure of dining with Bill Bennett, prior to an event I helped organize a decade ago. Our conversation made it abundantly clear to me that this self-described conservative is, in fact, an independent citizen-patriot.

A few of the views expressed to me that evening, if widely known by right-wing ideologues, would have him riding on a rail -- and make no mistake, I'm in adamant disagreement with positions he's taken on Second Amendment issues -- but I judge Bennett to be an intelligent, thoughtful voice in a shamefully simple-minded political climate.

The real "lesson" from Mulivor's experience (and mine) is that the conservative label is fundamentally useless, both as a gauge of others and as a badge we wear. The same must be said of liberal, Republican, Christian and all the rest.

Division will not save our nation. Believing will be our downfall.

We must stand independently, think critically, embrace differences and act with the passion of patriots.