Good, I was worried about the Senate
I was kind of worried that gun control might slip through the senate since NRA’s snubbing of Reid’s endorsement. But Reid says don’t count on it:
The Democratically (sic)-controlled U.S. Senate will not be a free-for-all of new gun regulations following the shooting at Sandy Hook, according to Majority Leader Harry Reid. Instead, Senators will focus on passing legislation that can move through the Republican-controlled House, Reid said.
That could spell doom for an assault weapons ban. Speaking on Nevada Week In Review, a news show on the PBS affiliate in Las Vegas, Reid said there’s no real chance of a new ban passing the House.
“Is it something that can pass the Senate? Maybe. Is it something that can pass the House? I doubt it,” he said in video of the program provided to TPM by Vegas PBS. “So I think there are things that we know we can do.”
January 15th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
While I disagree with 90% of his ideals, I support him in his efforts against violations of our gun rights.
January 15th, 2013 at 2:30 pm
And Reid would never lie to the American public.
I’m not buying it. His statements are just a red herring.
January 15th, 2013 at 2:54 pm
He’s a smart guy, he knows full well that gun control would cost Ds the Senate in 14 and his seat in 16.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:11 pm
Reid’s honesty is not in question, his political viability is. Of course he’s a gun grabber … but he voted against the 1994 AW ban according to a NRA page I just found.
If you look at his voting record, that is his actions, not words, after Gore’s 2000 defeat capped a 6 year string of catastrophic defeats for his party he “felt the heat and saw the light” and not long after become pro-RKBA (remember also the pro-RKBA stuff he slipped into Obamacare which is now giving some liberals the vapors). Coming from a legislative leader his words on the current hysteria are significant and actions of a sort. They’re certainly reassuring to vulnerable Democratic Senators, 20 of whom have to face the voters in less than 2 years.
I expect him to continue what he’s doing, it’s vanishingly unlikely he’ll remain Majority Leader in 2015 if a major nasty piece of gun control legislation passes.
Or let’s put it this way: who would you bet on caving, Reid or Boehner?
January 15th, 2013 at 5:33 pm
The House’s intransigence gives him political cover to “do the right thing” whether he -really- wants to or not.
But I think he wants to, he knows what the NRA and gun owners can do, he knows Obama is poison-pilling the Dems for the 2014 elections if he lets anything big go through and mobilize us and give us something to rate for all his vulnerable seats.