The NRA's Senate Posse: Screw the People and Forget the Dead

The least republicans owe the parents of those 20 little babies who were murdered at Sandy Hook is a thoughtful debate.
Nevada Senator Harry Reid

Yeah, well tell that to these guys.

Ted Cruz, R-TX
Rand Paul, R-KY
Mike Lee, R-UT
Jim Inhofe, R-OK
Richard Burr, R-NC
Mike Enzi, R-WY
Marco Rubio, R-FL
Jerry Moran, R-KS
Pat Roberts, R-KS
Ron Johnson, R-WI
Dan Coats, R-IN
Mike Crapo, R-ID
James Risch, R-ID
Mitch McConnell, R-KY

It is a gruesome list of cowards, fools, and feral weasels. They are the fourteen United States Senators who say they will filibuster to block any and all debate on gun control measures that might be proposed by their colleagues. Yes, not only do they oppose any sort of gun control, they are going to make damn sure no one even talks about it.

To call them obstructionist is to be kind. Several republicans have touched upon the subject. Peter King, republican congressman from New York was quoted as saying, "The public deserves discussion. To stifle debate and cut it off almost makes it as if these Senators are afraid of something." Republican Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia says a filibuster would be "inappropriate." John McCain stated on Face the Nation that, "The purpose of the Senate is to debate and vote and to let the people know where we stand. I would not only encourage it, I don't understand it. What are we afraid of?"

Indeed, what is this gaggle of conservatives afraid of? Are they afraid of losing an up and down vote on universal background checks? It is an issue that polls show 90% of the American people support, so they certainly aren't afraid of the public. In fact it is brutally obvious they don't give a rat's ass what the vast majority of Americans think. Are they afraid they'll lose votes on bills that ban military style assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines? Maybe, but they also know that any sort of bill like that must eventually pass in a much more conservative House of Representatives and that isn't likely.

Their fear even extends beyond the Senate Chamber. The Huffington Post is reporting that all 14 have refused interview requests by CBS News. It could be they know they are defending the morally reprehensible, although in truth, most of them have never let morally reprehensible behavior stop them in the past.

Yesterday President Barak Obama made a speech in Hartford. In the middle of it he touched on that spot that caused these distinguished gentlemen to turn their backs on the dead that are strewn across the country from Newtown, Connecticut, to Aurora, Colorado; from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Chicago, Illinois. In his words, "What is more important? Our children or an 'A' grade from the gun lobby?"

Well I guess we know the answer to that question. Rest easy boys, those NRA checks are in the mail as I type. Wayne LaPierre has your backs so there is nothing to worry about.

The National Rifle Association likes to talk about how it represents the majority of Americans. It has 4 million members. It looks like a lot, until you realize that in the 2012 presidential election 118 million people voted. In addition there was another 101 million eligible voters who sat at home last November. Best guess at the current United States population is 315 million people.

I'm not a whiz at math, but it looks to me like there are a lot of fucking people around here who the NRA doesn't represent. Of course the key to the problem is that every gun manufacturer in the world supports the NRA, so it has, for all practical purposes, an unlimited supply of money. And money buys elections and Senators.

Yes, you can piss off some of the people most of the time and even most of the people some of the time, but what you can't do is piss off your source of cash. If you do it will end up in the pocket of the guy running against you in the next primary. Now that is fear.

So now we know. All this caterwauling about the constitution is just so much noise. Hell, if you were to stick some truth serum into Jim Inhofe's veins he'd tell you he thinks parts of the constitution itself are unconstitutional. No, this is all about the NRA and the money and holding up your end of the bargain. Don't even talk about this gun control shit. Nip things in the bud right now before something goes wrong. Screw the people and forget the dead. And, oh, before we forget, here is the money for those new campaign ads.

Slate and @GunDeath are reporting that as of yesterday at least 3,345 Americans have been shot to death since the Newtown murders.

Luckily for the 14 Senators none of them will be voting in the next election cycle.

4-9-13