NRA

Republicans Deserve The Blame They Get-- But There Are Still 25 House Dems-- Led By DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos-- Who Refuse To Back An Assault Weapons Ban

Three freshmen members of Congress who no one in their right mind will ever accuse of being courageous are Kim Schier (New Dem-WA), Elaine Luria (New Dem-VA) and Colin Allred (D-TX). Schrier's district is 72.3% suburban, the rest being about equally urban and rural. Luria's is over 95% urban and suburban; just 4.5% rural. And Allred's is 100% urban and suburban-- no rural precincts at all.

The Political Calculus Around Assault Weapons

Domestic Terrorism by Nancy OhanianDave Cicilline introduced his assault weapons sales ban on February 15 with lots of co-sponsors-- but not enough co-sponsors to pass it. Months went by and the only new co-sponsor was Susie Lee (New Dem-NV) in March. And then the NRA/GOP massacres in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton. The bill, which had been written off as dead, suddenly came alive again, much to Pelosi's distress.

Bipartisanship Can Be Great-- Or It Can Be Horrific... Michael McCaul (R-TX) & Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX) Prefer The Horrific Variety

When Blue Dogs and Republicans Get Together, Only Bad Can Come Of ItAmericans love bipartisanship. When Long Island Republican Peter King signed on as the first Republican cosponsor of the bill to ban the sale of assault weapons, he may have been the only Republican to do so-- but he was joining Tom Suozzi, a Democrat in the Long Island district just north of his.

One Party Wants To See Angry Uneducated-- Very Uneducated-- Men Running Around With Assault Weapons-- And One Doesn't

We had townies where I went to school, working class white people who hated that the potato fields had been plowed under, replaced by a sprawling university the changed the complexion of their rural county inexorably. They were always pissed off and sometimes that would result in violence.

Andrew Romanoff For U.S. Senate

Colorado Senator Cory Gardner is widely considered the most vulnerable Republican up for reelection. And there are currently 13 Democrats-- of all stripes-- running for the nomination to take him on. The elephant in the room is that former Governor Frackenlooper has just dropped out of his dismally failed presidential run and-- encouraged by Chuck Schumer-- is about to announce for the Senate seat, into which he expects to waltz.

If The Most Right-Wing Democrat In Congress, Josh Gottheimer, Now Backs An Assault Weapons Ban, Why Can't Pelosi?

Yesterday, Rachel Bade reported that the House Judiciary Committee "will return to DC on Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. to markup gun bills banning high capacity ammunition magazines; instituting red flags and anti-hate legislation. The panel will hold a hearing on an assault weapons ban later in the month.