Sensible center needs to reclaim gun debate
SAN DIEGO -- As those of you who follow the news and keep an eye on politics have probably noticed, our country's gun debate is misfiring.
It has gotten to the point where, whenever I hear just about any discussion of the subject -- whether by conservatives or liberals -- I'll wind up engaged in what has become a familiar ritual. I'll put my palms on my forehead and mutter five words about my fellow Americans: "What's wrong with these people?"
That's what I thought within hours of the tragedy in Las Vegas -- before the families of many of the victims had even been notified -- when Democrats abandoned all decency by ghoulishly using the tragedy to attack a nemesis. The National Rifle Association has long complicated their political lives by contributing millions of dollars to Republicans.
The morning after the shooting, Hillary Clinton eagerly tweeted: "Our grief isn't enough. We can and must put politics aside, stand up to the NRA, and work together to try to stop this from happening again." Meanwhile, House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi accused Republicans in Congress of being "a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America."
That's how politicians roll. When they're not busy taking care of those who take care of them, they're trying to take out those who take care of their opponents. It's not complicated. But nor is it productive or helpful.
What's wrong with these people?
Still, there's a lot of truth in the idea that many Republicans have been bought and paid for by the NRA, and that this makes gun reform highly unlikely. Just as there is truth in the assertion that Democrats have been bought and paid for by the nation's teachers unions, and that this makes the prospect of real education reform just as unlikely. Our government at work, folks.
What's wrong with these people?
Special interests contribute to political parties and campaigns for one of two reasons -- either to grease the wheels so as to pass legislation that helps them, or to gum up the mechanism and thwart legislation that hurts them. At the same time, politicians in both parties have learned to fall in line and follow orders. They know who they work for. And it's not you and me.
The gun lobby on the right is just like the abortion lobby on the left. They won't give an inch, even on mild and modest restrictions on rights they consider not just fundamental but sacred. They know their supporters will see any degree of reasonableness as capitulation. And they're afraid that will mean fewer contributions down the road.
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