tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post5472153400284023075..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Monday Cranky Blogging 2Jonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-60058642468078342902013-04-23T11:27:22.626-05:002013-04-23T11:27:22.626-05:00You would have to campaign for gun safety like peo...You would have to campaign for gun safety like people campaigned for gay marriage - by having proponents talk to as many individuals in the state as possible, repeatedly, to cut through the misinformation.<br /><br />For example, some of my family thought the bill was for "expanded background checks." They had been convinced that meant that the checks already being performed would be more invasive, not that criminals would be blocked from buying guns over the internet. In fact, they were shocked to find that out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-52720119141302561502013-04-23T07:37:52.137-05:002013-04-23T07:37:52.137-05:00If you're going to lose, this is the terrain y...If you're going to lose, this is the terrain you want to lose on-- an issue that your side has long given up for lost, but which the public broadly supports you. I think Jonathan's analysis here is exactly right.<br /><br />What's the opposite of a Pyrrhic victory? How about a "Borodinic defeat," after the Russians' loss to Napoleon outside of Moscow?Jacob H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02781850720023072132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-74702124450982274052013-04-22T17:57:56.741-05:002013-04-22T17:57:56.741-05:00Why is it necessary to take seriously anything Mau...Why is it necessary to take seriously anything Maureen Dowd says? David Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09260587086663631888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-53557310640318779532013-04-22T16:44:44.751-05:002013-04-22T16:44:44.751-05:00"had Obama not taken the lead, I doubt a bill..."had Obama not taken the lead, I doubt a bill would have reached the floor of the Senate"<br /><br />I think that's a part of the story that Dowd glides over far too easily (and generally, when something big like that is left out, it's a clue that something is up). The fact is, background checks got 55 votes in the Senate. No one can really think that that would've happened six months ago. Yeah, it's still a crushing defeat for Gun Safety Fans, but it's not a rout so definitive that it defines anything, other than the dysfunction of the current Senate.Colbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14262426400735202537noreply@blogger.com