April 8, 2013 by David K. Sutton
McConnell, 13 Senate Republicans, Vow To Filibuster Gun Vote
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell joined 13 other Senate Republicans, vowing to filibuster a cloture vote on a gun bill to be introduced by Senate majority leader Harry Reid later this week. What these Republicans are saying is they want no vote on gun legislation. It’s not just that they oppose gun control legislation, they also oppose holding a vote.
There are several underlying currents here. Republicans have opposed anything that President Obama supports, since day one of term one of his presidency. So from that standpoint, this is not a shock. Republicans also know, conservative bubble notwithstanding, that public support is high for various gun control measures, like universal background checks.
These same Republicans also know that they cannot oppose the powerful gun lobby, including the National Rifle Association. They believe to do so would be to commit political malpractice. Since status quo suits these Republicans, blocking a vote is the same as voting no, except they don’t have a “no vote” on their record. So months from now or years from now, nobody can hold that against them. Nobody can say they voted “no” on sensible gun control legislation supported by most Americans.
But I know what you are thinking: Aren’t these Senators from conservative states? Yes, but they are in the Senate, not the House, which means they represent, even in conservative states, a much broader array of opinions. Congressional Republicans, with their gerrymandered districts, can vote “no” on gun control legislation without any political ramifications.
So who are these Republicans? — Rand Paul – Kentucky, Jerry Moran – Kansas, Pat Roberts – Kansas, Mike Lee – Utah, Richard Burr -North Carolina, Mike Enzi – Wyoming, Ted Cruz – Texas, Ron Johnson – Wisconsin, Marco Rubio – Florida, Dan Coats – Indiana, Mike Crapo – Idaho, James Risch – Idaho, James Inhofe – Oklahoma
Make no mistake, with over 3300 gun deaths since Newtown, these Republicans are playing politics with people’s lives.
