Thursday, April 18, 2013

A Senate in the Gun Lobby’s Grip

Gabby Giffords in the NYTimes. Not bad for a gal who almost had her head blown off.

I watch TV and read the papers like everyone else. We know what we’re going to hear: vague platitudes like “tough vote” and “complicated issue.” I was elected six times to represent southern Arizona, in the State Legislature and then in Congress. I know what a complicated issue is; I know what it feels like to take a tough vote. This was neither. These senators made their decision based on political fear and on cold calculations about the money of special interests like the National Rifle Association, which in the last election cycle spent around $25 million on contributions, lobbying and outside spending.
...

They looked at these most benign and practical of solutions, offered by moderates from each party, and then they looked over their shoulder at the powerful, shadowy gun lobby — and brought shame on themselves and our government itself by choosing to do nothing.

They will try to hide their decision behind grand talk, behind willfully false accounts of what the bill might have done — trust me, I know how politicians talk when they want to distract you — but their decision was based on a misplaced sense of self-interest. I say misplaced, because to preserve their dignity and their legacy, they should have heeded the voices of their constituents. They should have honored the legacy of the thousands of victims of gun violence and their families, who have begged for action, not because it would bring their loved ones back, but so that others might be spared their agony.
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Mark my words: if we cannot make our communities safer with the Congress we have now, we will use every means available to make sure we have a different Congress, one that puts communities’ interests ahead of the gun lobby’s. To do nothing while others are in danger is not the American way.
Fuckin' A, lady.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

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CAFKIA said...

I suppose this means that you would have to destroy a lot more of her brain to make her think like a rethugnantcant.

Lloyd said...

I share her outrage. 90% of Americans support expanded background checks. These senators have chosen to go against the will of the people in order to keep their jobs.

All this patriotism that the right flies as a flag, "We're American's, we bow to nobody; (in very tiny letter)-Except the NRA and gun nuts and of course, large corporations, and wealthy individuals and...well most anyone we're ascaird of."

Screw 'em, I hope the voters with senators who voted against this remember this if these guys are up for re-election in 2014.

They put their own interests ahead of the safety of the public and they have no shame.

bearsense said...

Pretty clear that Gabby's brain works better than some of the mealy-mouthed senators - they have neither guts nor brains.

Ghoulardi said...

Yes, she knows how politicians act and how to distract...she was one.

This 90% support background checks falls apart it one reads the actual proposed legislation. It would criminalize loaning a hunting rifle to a friend to hunt or target shoot.

Would 90% agree if it were to cost them up to $125 per transaction?

The senators voted to keep their seats, iow, what their constituents wanted.

The Precious said...

Those two idiots, now one dead idiot and one idiot in critical condition, were right-wingers. Religious conservatives are, by definition, right-wingers. There is no difference between the Taliban and the American Taliban. The two idiots would have voted for Reagan if they were alive when that evil bastard was president.

Ghoulardi said...

I see Precious has shown up to add, um, nothing to the conversation. They were Muslim Chechens. Hopefully we will find their motivation.

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