I just watched Kristen Gillibrand on Chris Hayes’s show discussing gun violence and gun control.
Chris asked, “Is there any possibility of this White House, backed by the base that it is backed by, and with Mitch McConnel in the senate, breaking through the opposition (to enhanced background checks or other gun control measures)’”
Gillibrand answered, correctly, “ I don’t see it.”
Then she went on to say, “He’s been unwilling to stand up to the NRA, unwilling to stand up to special interests in Washington. And we all know that the center of corruption in Washington is the money and greed that runs Washington. And we’ve seen enough gun deaths in the last decade.”
Gillibrand continued, “It’s absurd and outrageous that Congress refuses to act, its absurd that Mitch won’t call Republican senators back to Congress so that we ca vote on the measures that were passed in the House. It’s just a lack of leadership.”
That is a major misreading and, or, mis statement of the problem. There is plenty of leadership on this issue. The leaders in power positions on this issue are doing everything they can to insure that there will be more violent gun deaths, more Sandy Hooks, more Parklands, more Walmart massacres.
To say otherwise, is a kind of cowardice. The right thing to say is that Donald Trump and Mitch McConell are working actively to make the streets of America more dangerous. It’s as simple as that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they may be pandering to their base. They may be pandering to the NRA. They may be pandering to big money doors. That’s beside the point.
I’m looking for a candidate who will go for the throat on this issue. Someone who will stand up, point their finger and say, “Donald Trump and Mitch McConnel are working to insure that more of our children, more of our fellow citizens are killed with guns. They are enemies of the people.”
Guns are the problem. We all know that guns are the problem! Even the majority of the NRA thinks we need things like better background checks, tougher restrictions on possession of the weapons of war, etc., etc.
Some kids were pulling off a robbery recently and one of the kids was killed. Now the surviving kids who were involved are being charged with murder because of the death of their pal. We should apply the same harsh standards to politicians who don’t move to protect their constituents by calling them out for their complicity. Directly. In the strongest terms.
Actions have consequences. Inaction is a kind of action.
I found it frustrating that Gillibrand went on to suggest that the solution to the problem is getting money out of politics. That’s not the solution. That’s one of the ways you might get to the solution, but the solution is simple and clear. I want a Presidential candidate who is not afraid to be direct.
Do Democrats stand for gun control? Do Democrats stand for getting money out of politics? Yeah, we do. But to claim that the way to get to gun control starts with getting money out of politics isn’t a winning strategy for either a Presidential candidate or for Democrats as a group.
We need leaders who are willing to go head on at our problems.
![The Gathering, oil on canvas, by Sara Clay (GlastoSara). "The Gathering was the first of my mystical figures-emerging-from-abstract-washes paintings (oil on canvas). The first people that I saw were the couple right-centre, the others emerged one by one. (Every time I look at it, I still see more faces & figures, but I had to stop & hang it on the wall!)"](https://images.dailykos.com/images/672673/story_image/CircleDance3.jpg?1557039182 "The Gathering, oil on canvas, by Sara Clay (GlastoSara). "The Gathering was the first of my mystical figures-emerging-from-abstract-washes paintings (oil on canvas). The first people that I saw were the couple right-centre, the others emerged one by one. (Every time I look at it, I still see more faces & figures, but I had to stop & hang it on the wall!)"")
