How Gun Violence Prevention (Finally) Became A Winning Political Platform

[billh58]

A David Axelrod tweet now carries the same authority as white smoke emanating from a Sistine Chapel Papal conclave. Last month Axelrod authoritatively declared a new piece of political conventional wisdom; Gun Violence Prevention is a winning political platform.

So ended over 20 years of collective strategic advice and mythmaking from lesser political consultants and former officeholders. A confident Axelrod, now a CNN Senior Political Commentator, among many post-Obama Administration roles, tweeted on the April 26th Democratic primary night that Democratic Presidential primary candidate Hillary Clinton had drawn significant advantage over competitor Bernie Sanders among voters concerned about gun policy. This, after reviewing statewide exit polling of Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania’s Democratic Presidential Primary voters.

Some may wonder just how many Americans had to die from gun shots before political consultants would pronounce it safe for campaigning candidates to make gun violence prevention a central part of their platforms. The answer sadly is thousands. Children. Wives. Sisters. Daughters. Parents. Sons. How many school shootings, one might ask have occurred since 1999s horrific Columbine High School shattered Littleton, Colorado and our country? Hundreds.

-Snip-

Many observers and activists have noticed over the years an “intensity gap” which described the contrast between the way right-wing gun rights supporters defended gun laws on ideological grounds while gun violence prevention activists framed the debate on practical ideas which should be tried and might work to reduce gun violence. Clearly the intensity of gun violence prevention activists has ramped up with their numbers and their determination to be heard by national and state politicians. At the very least, the 2016 election campaigns dramatically show that the political ground has shifted. Cue the white smoke.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-toltz/how-gun-violence-preventi_b_9996298.html

This quote from Ken Toltz (the author of the OP) sums up what many of us have observed:

"It’s not the repeated episodes of gun violence since 1999 however, which have toppled the conventional political wisdom; it is the sea change in citizen activism as a response to the continued mayhem over the past four years that has really made the difference."

[billh58]

1. From the New Republic: Gun Control Can Swing the 2016 Election

Gun violence was always going to play a bigger role in 2016 than it has in any election in recent memory simply because of its sheer, in-your-face relevance: The nation can’t seem to go a week without a horrific shooting. But now that President Obama has taken action to bolster background checks and come out swinging against the National Rifle Association, joined by the leading Democratic presidential contenders, gun control has the potential to be the deciding issue of 2016. And it’s Democrats, for a change, who stand to benefit.

-Snip-

But then we’re left with a question: Can the country elect a Democratic candidate who won’t run away from the gun lobby? The answer is yes. Democrats can not only survive a head-on battle with the NRA in 2016, but guns can help them win this election.

With or without Obama and Clinton’s embrace, the left was raring to fight the NRA in 2016. The rise of gun-control groups, including Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety and former Representative Gabrielle Giffords’s Americans for Responsible Solutions will translate into millions more in pro-gun-control spending in battleground states. The NRA is gearing up for its own unprecedented campaign, too. The group’s legislative director, Chris Cox, said last fall the NRA wants to raise up to $75 million for the 2016 race, nearly doubling the $40 million it spent in 2008.

Democrats know they can win at least one argument: universal background checks, which are the core of both Clinton’s and Sanders’s proposals for better gun laws. As the graphic below shows, strong majorities in all the major 2016 swing states support universal background checks, according to Public Policy Polling.

https://newrepublic.com/article/127473/gun-control-can-swing-2016-election

The momentum towards sanity and common sense continues to increase as more and more Americans become fed up with the daily toll of gun violence, and the bullying of Second Amendment absolutist right-wingers. Soon, the stench of gun powder and the sight of lethal weapons will be contained to smaller and smaller areas of our neighborhoods, towns, and cities.

[SunSeeker]

2. K & R