Elections are all about GOTV, and the single issue that most inspires Republicans (and a surprisingly large number of Democrats and Independents) to leave their houses and vote is…..the 2nd Amendment. Gun Control. The RKBA. “Gun Grabbing”. Their reactions and reasons range from constitutional and reasoned to radical and crazy, but….they are inspired to vote against any Democrat that they view is a genuine enemy on this issue. It inspires GOP voting, donating, enthusiasm, and actually getting the hell out of the house and contributing to a high turn-out election, at every level. House. Senate. President.
My daughter is in middle school. She’s a great student. She loves school. Just about straight A’s. If she ever comes home with a D- …..she’ll be upset. I’ll be upset. There’s no way for her, or anyone, to argue that she’s rocking the course she got the D- in. That she’s an inspired student and a true believer in the subject, meeting and exceeding the teacher’s expectations. It would be ludicrous for her to pretend her D- is a huge success. And it would be ludicrous for me to argue it too. Only a dishonest idiot would pretend a D- is a success.
Bernie gets a D- from the NRA. Lifetime. I believe it’s currently an F. That’s not particularly good for him in a general election where he will need every vote: the votes of DK readers, the votes of mainstream Democrats, the votes of conservative and rural Democrats, the votes of Independents, the votes of Republicans who genuinely recognize that a Cruz victory or a Trump victory is a disaster. Equally important, reluctant Republican voters who are inspired to vote only by threats to their guns will turn out, or not turn out, based on their view of how deeply their gun rights are threatened. Luckily, though, Bernie has Hillary already campaigning for his general election campaign, and reassuring scared Republicans and Independents that Bernie is not the gun-grabbing Democratic demon from hell they believe she is. Thank you Hillary! www.nytimes.com/… for an example.
Every single time Hillary attacks Bernie as being soft on guns…it helps him in the general election. Every time she, or her subordinates, claim or insinuate the NRA loves Bernie, she makes sure some Republicans stay home and inspires some Democrats and Independents to get out and vote for Bernie and the Democratic downstream ticket based on legitimate reasons like fighting income inequality and opposing dumb wars. Thanks Hillary. The Bernie general campaign appreciates your efforts.
But, does she have a point? Are the Bernie votes that led to a D- instead of an F a threat to mankind and innocent Americans in general? If those votes are truly that crazy, maybe Hillary’s right that Bernie cannot be supported by rational Dems. Let’s take a look at the two main issues.
Remember, Bernie gets a D- lifetime from the NRA. That means he almost always opposes their agenda. Where did he lose his failing grade, and earn his almost failing (in the NRA’s eyes) D-?
Two main issues, that I have zero problems with. From the NYT article:
In 1994, Mr. Sanders, then a member of the House, voted for an assault-weapons ban, but a year earlier, he voted against the Brady bill that ushered in federal background checks and a five-day waiting period, before the instant background check system could be rolled out. Mrs. Clinton has been focusing on Mr. Sanders’s 2005 vote for a bill that shields gun manufacturers and dealers from most lawsuits. Mr. Sanders has explained that he wanted to protect small gun dealers who followed the law, and that he represented a state with many gun-owning hunters.
First, he opposed the initial Brady Bill because there was a 5-day waiting period, before we had the ability to do instant checks. Why? Well, let’s say you’re a woman abused by your husband, who has threatened to kill you and your kids if you ever leave. You take one last beating and leave, and realize you need to protect yourself. Should someone tell you to wait five days before receiving the gun you purchased to protect yourself? Or, suppose the Bundy’s and their idiot minions suddenly move in next-door, shoot your dog, and scream at you when they see your Obama bumper sticker. Should a government bureaucrat tell you to wait five days before you can protect yourself and your family? Are these examples extreme? Maybe. Probably. Does the idea of being afraid, being far from police response, and being told you can’t protect yourself inspire Americans to vote? Yes, it does.
Second, the issue of liability protection for gun manufacturers and gun dealers. We’re not talking about liability when a gun explodes and injures the user because it’s defective. We’re not talking about defects, flaws in design, shoddy materials, or VW-like fraud. We’re talking about suing gun-makers when their lawful product, made correctly, works as intended. The probably unconstitutional idea that we can punish just because we feel like punishing, for no legitimate reason. We’re talking about suing a gun dealer because he followed the law, sold a legal weapon properly to a legal buyer, and that buyer then used the weapon in an illegal or negligent manner. Bernie was right to vote against it. Many people love Porsches, but every single one of them was made to operate at speeds far far far higher than any legal limit anywhere in the United States. They start, and even go extremely fast, even when the driver is drunk or has no license. Keep pushing your right foot down, and the fastest models will hit 200 MPH. But you can’t sue Porsche when a drunk Porsche driver runs into you at 150 miles an hour. The legal vehicle worked as intended, and as the law allows.
So, thanks Hillary, for attacking Bernie for being reasonable on guns. She’s undercutting her own (OUR!) general election campaign, and attempting to hurt Bernie’s primary campaign, in a typically cynical and destructive fashion. Maybe it will work in the primary, and then help Trump or Cruz get elected behind a huge GOP turnout and a suppressed Dem turnout in the general. Maybe it will work….but if it doesn’t, if we don’t fall for it, and refuse to be brainwashed into believing a D- is somehow an A +, it’s a huge help to Bernie’s general campaign.
Thank you Hillary for being cynical you. Thank you for helping Bernie in the general, and the hell with you for hurting Dems in that same general election if your attacks work. We know, or at least I hope we know, a D- is a failing grade in the eyes of the NRA and unreachable gun nuts. We can do our own analysis, and understand why Bernie voted that way in those disputed votes, and appreciate a slight difference from Democratic orthodoxy. Bernie’s so good on our other issues, we can overlook a lifetime D- from the NRA. Let’s hope Hillary’s early inadvertent support for Bernie in the general works, depressing GOP turnout and allowing the largest possible turn-out for Bernie of the conservative Dems and persuadable Republicans and Independents we usually don’t get.
Thanks Hillary!
