November 18, 2008
Democrats move to revive assault weapon ban
Oh, I'm sorry, did I say "Democrats"? Allow me to introduce the sponsors of H.R. 6257: Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2008:
Rep. Mark Kirk [R-IL]
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL]
Rep. Michael Ferguson [R-NJ]
Rep. Christopher Shays [R-CT]
Rep. Michael Castle [R-DE]
That's right, five "Republicans" have revived the assault weapons ban, the same ban that the Clinton-era Justice Department determined had little-to-no-effect on crime.
The election is barely over, the GOP come a cropper thanks to the party's abysmal performance over the last eight years, apparently having lost its philosophical and moral compass as it staggered down K Street like a drunken sailor on liberty, a bottle in each hand, a hooker on each arm.
Casting about desperately for a solution to their electoral woes, Republicans In Name Only (RINOs) like the five cretins behind this new gun ban bill figure the path to power requires the emulation of the most liberal portions of the Democratic agenda.
The GOP should throw these idiots out of the party, notwithstanding any blather from so-called moderates and their enablers in the pundit class about broadening the appeal of the party, enlarging the "big tent" to bring more people in.
"Big Tent Republicanism" has produced intellectual impairment and confusion thanks to politicians who pursue policy goals diametrically opposed to traditional conservative -- and GOP -- philosophy. Like emulating the most extreme of the gun-banning groups, heretofore supported primarily by members of the Democratic Party, although it must be noted -- and noted to the Democrat's credit -- that they've avoided gun control like a syphilis-addled, gin-swilling distant relative (Look! It's Uncle Teddy!).
The Democrats came a cropper in the mid-'90s thanks in part to their anti-gun stance, which resulted in gun-owning voters throwing the Congress back to the GOP. In the intervening years the Dems have campaigned on many issues, but not gun control; it was hardly mentioned during this last election, except for the rather weak declarations from both candidates that they supported the Second Amendment.
But now, as the GOP picks through the rubble of their losses, weak-kneed RINOs sponsor legislation that will alienate not only conservatives, but middle-of-the-road Americans who happen to believe that gun bans are, well, un-American.
It is time for the GOP to pack-up the big tent and send the circus out of town; the entrance to the tent has grown so wide that the party is simply an incoherent mess.
I dropped my GOP affiliation a long time ago, disgusted by its fondness for earmarks, big government programs, uncontrolled spending and cronyism. My feeling was then -- and now -- that it wasn't so much that I was leaving the party; rather, the party had left me.
In the two weeks since the election, several friends have told me that they too are quitting the GOP, fed up. I'd venture a guess that they also believe that the GOP has left them, and bills like this one add to the disgust.
There is no room -- or at least there ought not to be room -- for would-be gun-banning Congressional crapweasels in the GOP. Throw 'em out, let them be de jure Democrats, not just de facto Donks.
If a voter wants to vote for a liberal politician, espousing liberal ideas and liberal (supposed) solutions to whatever ails society, and the choice is a Democrat or a weak-kneed, Save-the-Whales RINO, the Democrat is the better choice.
Always go for the pol who has a coherent world view, a consistent set of values and principles.
When a party stands for everything, it stands for nothing. And that's what voters will give it: Nothing.
And that's what the GOP deserves, so long as it allows politicians like these five to remain in its ranks: Nothing.
Not one dime.
Not one vote.
Until the party comes to its senses and offers the voters a real choice.
Posted by Mike Lief at November 18, 2008 06:12 AM
| TrackBack
Comments
I had already written my congressman. I can't figure out right now how to send you the letter. Whatever, my prose remains, as usual, so steadfastly prosaic that it probably doesn't deserve to be shared.
I also mentioned the idea that the Republican caucus should exercise some control over the pseudo-Republicans who introduced this bill, as a message to other Republicans who are thinking that the best way for the party to recover is to behave liike Democrats.
Posted by: The Little Coach at November 18, 2008 12:02 PM