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It's Not About Saving Lives: Democratic Senator Says Gun Debate Will Help His Party In Midterms
Townhall.com ^ | February 24, 2018 | Matt Vespa

Posted on 02/24/2018 5:18:08 PM PST by Kaslin

Did anyone catch Sen. Bill Nelson’s (D-FL) rather gratuitous swipe at Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday? CNN held a town hall event in Sunrise, Florida hosted by Jake Tapper, where National Rifle Association Dana Loesch and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) literally ventured into the lion’s den. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) also participated. It was a two-hour bashing of Rubio, the NRA, Loesch, every law-abiding gun owner, and every supporter of the Second Amendment. It was show trial, a North Korean kangaroo court that resembled something out of the two minutes of hate from Orwell’s 1984.   

Rubio was likened to shooter Nikolas Cruz, who shot and killed 17 people and wounded at least a dozen more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14 in Parkland, Florida. Loesch was called a murderer. 

Yet, back to Nelson, his swipe was revealing for two reasons. One, it shows that he may be a bit nervous that Scott could take his job come January of next year. The Republican governor looks like he's gearing up to challenge Nelsonthis year. Second, it shows where Democrats rest on gun control. It’s not about saving lives; it’s about getting more of them elected to office (via Orlando Sentinel) [emphasis mine]:

The debate over guns, the “me too” movement against sexual misconduct and the federal government’s handling of hurricane recovery in Puerto Rico will give Florida Democrats victories up and down the November ballot, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson predicted Thursday.

During a meeting with state House Democrats, he also said two special elections in Florida this year in which Democrats flipped Republican-held seats is further proof that Democrats are poised to have a strong election year.

“You stir that all into the mix — and who knows what else is going to happen at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue between now and November — and I think there is a movement,” Nelson told House Democratic Leader Janet Cruz. “These issues are going to help Democrats.”

[…]

Nelson said the debate will help all Democrats on the ballot.

“It’s going to bring you more legislators,” he said. “If you get to the point where even if you don’t win the majority, but you’re close in the Senate, it’s going to be a whole new ballgame. Then the next election in ’20, the Florida Senate will flip.”

Even CNN bashed Nelson for taking a swipe at Scott, who wasn’t even at the event. Was that a mistake? Probably, given that the NRA showed up, but the Florida Democrat seemed to use the forum to campaign for his re-election [italicized text indicates Nelson’s remarks] [emphasis mine]:

"I want to say that my colleague Senator Rubio and I have a good relationship. We get a lot of stuff done together.

"And I want you to know that I told him before we came out here tonight that he had guts coming here -- when in fact there is no representative of the state of Florida. Our governor did not come here, Governor Scott -- but Marco did."

First off: Where is the empathy? This kid has been grazed by one bullet and hit by the ricochet of another. She has watched someone close to her murdered. To immediately launch into an esoteric discussion of various laws and constitutional amendments as a way to comfort a grieving teenager is just a massive swing and miss.

Second, Nelson's pivot to praising Rubio as a way to take a shot at Scott is both out of nowhere and totally transparent. "Hey, by the way, Marco is great! But Rick Scott is terrible! And he's not even here!"

[…]

Did you know that the state of Florida, the governor's office gave financial incentives for them to come into the state and manufacture?

[…]

…the state of Florida, the governor's office, gave financial incentives for the Colt corporation to come to Kissimmee to manufacture AR-15s, the same one that wreaked such havoc here and that you all are suffering so terribly from."

Yes, we get it, Senator. Rick Scott = bad. You = good?

Look. Scott should have shown up on Wednesday night. Not doing so was a mistake.

But I thought Nelson made a major mistake, too. That town hall wasn't about racking up political points on a likely opponent. It was about trying to get beyond all of that -- even for a night -- to just have an honest conversation about guns. Unfortunately, Nelson didn't get that memo.

The town hall event explicitly showed the anti-gun Left’s frenzied passion for gun confiscation and Nelson using a tragic school shooting to score political points. It’s not about saving lives; it’s all about stripping Americans of their Second Amendment rights. We’ve known this, but now we have an example. Nelson thinks gun control can get more Democrats elected, or in his case re-elected, to office. Good luck with that sir. Expect to be very disappointed if you think taking away people’s firearms is a winning issue. 


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2018elections; billnelson; florida; guncontrol; gunrights; secondamendment
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1 posted on 02/24/2018 5:18:09 PM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Now, don’t you bet your life on it.


2 posted on 02/24/2018 5:22:37 PM PST by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!)
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To: Kaslin

So Democrats believe bashing the NRA is their ticket back to power?

Now they have an issue beside hating Trump. It may or may not work for them in the mid-terms. We’ll see.


3 posted on 02/24/2018 5:24:56 PM PST by goldstategop ((In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Forever))
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To: Kaslin
This will become the Dems new "Wellstone Funeral" in the midterms....

... if even remembered by short-attention-span America in November.

4 posted on 02/24/2018 5:26:34 PM PST by Rocky Mountain Wild Turkey ("I have an open mind ... just not so open that my brain falls out onto the floor!!")
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To: goldstategop
So Democrats believe bashing the NRA is their ticket back to power?

The Dems think every issue is their ticket back to power. They believe that they and the LSM are framing the discussion so how can they lose?

5 posted on 02/24/2018 5:29:03 PM PST by NutsOnYew (If the world was perfect, it wouldn't be.)
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To: goldstategop

I heard that there were very elevated AR sales in Florida right after.


6 posted on 02/24/2018 5:30:05 PM PST by dforest (Never let a Muslim cut your hair.)
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To: Kaslin
There is *no* lie that the Rats won't tell.Every once in a while a Rat will actually admit that.But such moments happen so seldom...and pass so quickly...that you must *always* be paying attention.
7 posted on 02/24/2018 5:32:54 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Obama & Hillary: The Two Most Corrupt Politicians of My Lifetime.)
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To: Kaslin

Have you ever seen the left so gleeful as when a deranged killer shoots up a school?

Of course they had to contain their excitement when the recent mass shooting in a Texas church happened. When an armed citizen stopped the killer, it no longer fit the narrative. The leftists just wanted to move on.

Notice how much less media coverage happened over that incident by comparison, even though a lot more people died?


8 posted on 02/24/2018 5:38:37 PM PST by unlearner (You will never come to know that which you do not know until you first know that you do not know it.)
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To: Kaslin

This will cost them seats. They finally found something to talk about. Without this they have nothing to offer. Not one d@mned thing.


9 posted on 02/24/2018 5:39:31 PM PST by buffaloguy (Bond arms Cowbot)
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To: goldstategop

I think the Rat base has been as energized as they can possibly be by TDS. Screaming about the NRA and the 2nd amendment were a given with those maniacs. I was very concerned about complacency on our side. The left’s rantings and lies should motivate conservatives to stay better engaged. Looks like a net plus. I’d be interested in seeing the NRA membership results for the last week.


10 posted on 02/24/2018 5:40:49 PM PST by hardspunned
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Is this dude healthy?

He doesn't really look like he is, and he is sounding brain scrambled like Nancy Pelosi.

11 posted on 02/24/2018 5:43:36 PM PST by haircutter
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To: unlearner

They’re racist.

17 white dead kids sends them into frenzied outrage but they’re silent on the deaths of black kids at the hands of guns in Chicago.

If it can’t be blamed on Republicans or the NRA, human suffering isn’t an issue for them. Its not a human issue for them, its about politics.

Too bad Americans who buy their spin about the NRA don’t get it.


12 posted on 02/24/2018 5:45:15 PM PST by goldstategop ((In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Forever))
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To: Kaslin

“the state of Florida, the governor’s office, gave financial incentives for the Colt corporation to come to Kissimmee to manufacture AR-15s, the same one that wreaked such havoc here and that you all are suffering so terribly from.”

Do they treat cars and alcohol the same way when people get killed by drunk drivers?

Insanity.


13 posted on 02/24/2018 5:45:30 PM PST by unlearner (You will never come to know that which you do not know until you first know that you do not know it.)
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To: Kaslin

That won’t help Democrats with the midterms, if news of this scandal is propagated to enough news companies for publishing. It will be useful for many debates to come, too.

Several Broward deputies waited outside during Florida school shooting, report says
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3634978/posts


14 posted on 02/24/2018 5:46:47 PM PST by familyop (President Trump said that we're all important, so let's do something!)
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To: Kaslin

Simon Says (now the Democratic Party) hate the NRA.
Simon Says (now the Democratic Party) hate Trump.
Simon Says (now the Democratic Party) tax cuts are crumbs.
Simon Says (now the Democratic Party) hate Republicans.
Think for yourself or you are brainwashed, but Simon didn’t say!


15 posted on 02/24/2018 5:47:33 PM PST by FreedBird (C)
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To: goldstategop

“human suffering isn’t an issue for them. Its not a human issue for them, its about politics”

Correct. They lie and pretend like they care about suffering and death of the innocent. But if there were any truth to that they would oppose abortion.

The left’s lust for total power is insatiable.

They want to dictate what everyone does, says, thinks, and feels.

And that is the REAL reason they push for gun control. Armed citizens make it very difficult for them to achieve their dreams of a North Korea styled, totalitarian state.


16 posted on 02/24/2018 5:49:46 PM PST by unlearner (You will never come to know that which you do not know until you first know that you do not know it.)
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To: unlearner

Let’s ban people from living... anything could kill them.

Oh wait, they already support abortion. So why they are so upset at kids outside the womb being aborted?

Its probably callous of me to say but those 17 kids gone favorably impact climate change and is voiuntary human extinction.

The Left has been telling for years we would better off without fewer humans around. I don’t really get the fuss.


17 posted on 02/24/2018 5:52:37 PM PST by goldstategop ((In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Forever))
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To: unlearner

I am reminded of the 1970s series World at War. Specifically, the footage of bashing in the windows of Jewish businesses and denigrating Jews on the street.


18 posted on 02/24/2018 5:54:18 PM PST by combat_boots (God bless Israel and all who protect and defend her! Merry Christmas! In God We Trust!)
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To: unlearner

A lot of people have a hard time believing that Florida has liquor stores with drive-thrus.


19 posted on 02/24/2018 6:11:27 PM PST by gundog (Hail to the Chief, bitches.)
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To: unlearner

Thee are no Constitutional amendments having to do with cars, and the net for the two amendments about alcohol is zero.

But because their real goal is to do damage to the Constitution and the other underpinnings of this nation, they will attack guns.


20 posted on 02/24/2018 6:13:32 PM PST by savedbygrace
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