Gun-Control Groups Reignite Debate by Crossing the Aisle in Senate Races

[question everything]

The political arm of former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords’s gun-control group this week endorsed two Republican senators, reigniting a long-running debate over whether groups focused on liberal issues advance their agenda by backing Republicans willing to cross the aisle.

(snip)

Others argue that these groups are helping neutralize blowback Republicans could face when they buck powerful interest groups like the National Rifle Association.

“These movements are playing the long game,” said Lanae Erickson Hatalsky, a vice president at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank. “They know that if a Republican can come back and say ‘Taking on the NRA didn’t kill me, it helped me in my race,’ more Republicans could start to crack open their doors for a genuine conversation.”

In the most recent example of this, Ms. Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, said in an op-ed published on CNN.com this week that the gun-control advocacy group they founded was endorsing GOP Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Mark Kirk of Illinois because they crossed party lines to support legislation expanding background checks for gun sales in 2013. Independence USA, the political action committee founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, this month also endorsed Mr. Toomey, citing his support for widening background checks.

(snip)

But with neither party likely to capture 60 seats in the chamber next year, issues advocates say they need to reward bipartisan cooperation to get any remotely contentious legislation passed.

The Human Rights Campaign faced criticism from some liberal bloggers after the group in March endorsed Mr. Kirk, who became the second sitting GOP senator to support same-sex marriage in April 2013. He also was a lead proponent of a bill to ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation that passed the Senate but fizzled in the House.

More..

http://www.wsj.com/articles/gun-control-groups-reignite-debate-by-crossing-the-aisle-in-senate-races-1472176277