Senate President John Morse’s ill-considered gun maker liability law unveiled yesterday seems to indicate he thinks he knows better than former President Bill Clinton, who warned Democrats not to trivialize gun culture or the passions it stirs among second amendment supporters.
As Politico reported last month, Clinton had some wise words for Democrats’ “self-congratulatory” attitude towards pushing gun control.
Former President Bill Clinton warned a group of top Democratic donors at a private Saturday meeting not to underestimate the passions that gun control stirs among many Americans.
“Do not patronize the passionate supporters of your opponents by looking down your nose at them,” Clinton said.
…While some polls show that the public by-and-large supports several proposals for increased gun control, Clinton said that it’s not the public support that matters — it’s how strongly people feel about the issue.
“All these polls that you see saying the public is for us on all these issues — they are meaningless if they’re not voting issues,” Clinton said.
Clinton recalled Al Gore’s 2000 campaign against George W. Bush in Colorado, where a referendum designed to close the so-called gun show loophole shared the ballot with the presidential ticket. Gore publicly backed the proposal, while Bush opposed it.
Though the referendum passed with 70 percent of the vote, Gore lost the state. Clinton said that the reason was because a good chunk of the referendum’s opponents were single-issue voters who automatically rejected Gore as anti-gun. [Peak emphasis]
And Clinton said that passing the 1994 federal assault weapons ban “devastated” more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers in the 1994 midterms — and cost then-Speaker of the House Tom Foley (D-Wash.) his job and his seat in Congress.
Some Democrats at the Capitol already seem to understand this — such as Rep. Ed Vigil (D-Fort Garland) who said about Morse’s bill to make gun manufacturers liable for crimes committed with guns “that’s crazy, that’s absolutely nuts.”
What about other Democrats from outside the Denver-Boulder corridor? How do you think such extreme gun-grabbing measures will play in their districts?
Does John Morse really think he’s got a better political mind than Bill Clinton?
proud to be one!
While I like this idea (recalling Morse), there are two things. One, I hear it's expensive and difficult to petition a recall. Two, even if Morse was ousted, what exactly does that buy us? If replaced by a pro-2A Dem or Rep, the Senate would still have a majority of anti-2A Dems and another (likely anti-2A Dem) would take over his position as President of the Senate. A recall will not stop this legislation from getting through, given the time constraints.
I'm not trying to be a naysayer, just trying to define goals that achieve something.
Shawn, you're clueless- he's term limited, not up for re-election in 2014- back in 2010 election, his margin was LESS than 1%, with a 3rd party candidate taking 4.5% of the vote. The ONLY reason he won at all was because re-districting by Democrats gave his district specific neighborhoods in Colorado Springs… it would take less than 3,400 signatures to initiate a recall election- which he would NOT win.
less than 3,400 signatures on a petition to the CO Secretary of State could initiate a recall election. He won in 2010 by less than 1%, he would NOT survive a recall election.
91%? What kool-aid channel are you watching? CNN, MSNBC…
Mythical? Hardly. 91% of Americans want stricter gun laws. The number of people at a meeting is hardly a scientific measure of anything but attendance at a meeting.
Now there are thousands of brand new single issue voters FOR gun reform
S. 397 (109th): Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was signed into law in 2005 by President Bush.
A bill to prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or continued against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages, injunctive or other relief resulting from the misuse of their products by others.
VOTE THEM OUT!
Morse is term limited and will be out of the senate in 2014. IOW, he has nothing to lose by pushing idiotic crap like this.
Senator Morse is an idiot and doesn't pay attention to history. Why put another imbecile back in the unbalanced state.
Senator Morse is on the fast track to being re-elected. He can read the polls, and see that the vast majority of Americans want saner gun laws.
Sen. Morse is on a fast track to losing his seat. He is absolutely nuts.