TPM Reader JB checks in from Boston on guns …
It has been somber around here as you could expect and everyone remains jumpy (a part of my hospital was evacuated yesterday because of a smoking car in drop off area), so I was less angry at the gun safety legislation loss than disappointed. It just seems a pattern of late. That said, I am cautiously encouraged by what happened.
I agree with the many who have said that this would be hard the first time. However, I would look at it like this: more than half of the senate told the NRA to go take a leap. Moreover, the advocacy and use of this as a political argument, in my opinion, is moving in the same direction as gay marriage, marijuana legalization, and immigration. I think the 90% approval of background checks is an awesome 2014 cudgel. Commercials need to be made that senators who voted against this bill stand with criminals, terrorists, and crazy people…you know, the folks that want to avoid background checks. Or hey do you know what Senator Heller and Osama bin Laden have in common? They want easy access to guns by terrorists. Do you?
Anyway, until yesterday, all we had was hope that there might be some legislation on this issue. Yesterday was the first day of anger and the formation of determination needed to win this fight. The President was clearly pissed off and that was awesome. He was righteous with the indignation of a man who knows that this is unfair and people will die because of it. This is how we start the movement. We recognize the injustice and we keep gnawing at it. Yes, we didn’t cross the finish line, but when was the last time that the NRA lost 54 (really 55) votes in the Senate?
At TPMPrime this morning we’re discussing whether the GOP victory yesterday may have been a pyrrhic one.
