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Showing Original Post only (View all)The actual reason that we lost on gun control. [View all]
There seem to be a lot of posts about why we failed on gun control. But the actual reason we lost is very simple. The GOP is an extremist party that represents the far-right wing, and they have enough seats in congress to block anything they want. And that's what they have been doing, and will continue to do, not just on gun control, but across the board.
The tea party has managed to primary any moderate Republican, so the Republicans in office right now represent the right-most 10% or 20% of the country. There are a few factors that facilitate this. First, the senate overrepresents voters in red states. Second, redistricting in the house. Also, there are many well-funded special interests and think-tanks on the far right. And, in many cases, the GOP just plays politics more ruthlessly than Dems, being more willing to sacrifice the well-being of the country for political gains.
If we're going to get anything accomplished, on guns or on any other issue, we are going to have to deal with this. I don't know what the answer is. Obviously, we need to win elections, and I also think we need to replace right-wing Dems with progressives.
But let's not pretend the problem is being too disrespectful of gun nuts, or nor presenting enough statistical evidence, or not explaining enough times that universal background checks are not the same thing as gun confiscation. It has nothing to do with that.