Posted on 04/18/2013 5:45:28 AM PDT by apillar
Yesterday, the most modest of gun control proposals died in the Senate. It would have expanded background checks to people purchasing weapons at gun shows and online sales, enjoyed 90 per cent support among the public and came on the back of the tragedy at Newtown. Yet, despite all that it had going for it, the Toomey-Manchin bill raised just 54 votes – six short of the number necessary for passage. “This is a pretty shameful day for Washington,” said Obama afterwards. It wasn’t exactly a red letter day for him, either.
Barack Obama is a lame duck president. Nobody listens to what he says anymore, nobody is interested in winning his approval and nobody much cares if he thinks they have “let the country down”. This is typical for a second-term president who has lost all their leverage because they’re no longer running for office and everybody is patiently waiting for the day when he quits the White House. But Obama's difficult personality has doubled the size of the challenge. Gloating in victory, adolescent in defeat – the Prez doesn’t make it easy to work with him. Why should conservative senators give him a legislative victory after he has spent four years painting them as knuckle-dragging rednecks who hate women and the poor?
Whatever your position on gun control, yesterday’s events are a damning indictment of Obama’s presidency – a flash of style, lots of soaring rhetoric and, when the votes are actually counted, little show for any of it. America has four more years of this lame-duck president telling them that it has let him down. If only he could tear up the Constitution and rule by diktat he might save himself a little disappointment. Alas, American democracy is a stickler for rules.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.telegraph.co.uk ...
It’s not 90%. People like the idea of background checks, which we have already. They don’t like private sales restricted and once they know these bills are turkeys, vote accordingly.
The “90%” number came from a poll of 10 questions...Each question with a different level of existing and suggested gun laws. If only one of the questions was answered “yes”,
it was counted as in favor of the whole...
That’s the idiocy of most polls.......
I think you misunderstood my comment. They don’t need to wait for another shooting...they’re just waiting for Barry to float their states some cash.
The 4 dems who voted no could flip at any time....and there could be a plan in place already, to do just that.
I found this:
http://modernrifleman.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/do-90-of-americans-actually-support-more-gun-control/
I like this article. He stipulates that all of Obama’s talking points are true (90% approval) and then uses those points to show what a failure Obama is.
Did anyone bother to listen to his speech last night? It was the very WORST Presidential speech I have ever heard. He came across as a petulant adolescent. The tone was badgering, hectoring, rude, insolent, and whining all at the same time. It was not Presidential, and it was an attack, on moral grounds, on people who merely voted against him on a contentious issue.
Were I a GOP Senator I would not be encouraged to compromise on future Obama proposals after he publicly called me out as a liar, coward, fool and corrupt bribe taker.
Stick a fork in him, he’s done! That’s the main point of this column, and I think the author got it exactly right.
Does anyone have any idea where Obama is getting his statistic that 90% of the public approves of gun control?
It’s obviously, on its face, a flat out lie, but it would be nice to see what he’s quoting. Anyone know?
17. (PA, Jan 30 2013) Do you support or oppose requiring background checks for all gun buyers? |
|
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Support 95% 94% 96% 94% 94% 96% 96% 90% Oppose 5 5 3 5 6 3 4 10 DK/NA 1 1 1 - - 1 1 -Well we do have background checks and I’m sure almost all Americans want them to continue so sure, that makes sense. It’s a nonsensical question though, like asking “should we have electricity”. Yup, everyone likes electricity, except a handful of hillbilly nutcases. The question doesn’t talk about EXPANDING the scope of existing background investigations, but it’s being used as if it does. Bottom line, we do not have 90% support for gun control. For example, the same poll had this gem:
|
|
20. (PA, Jan 30 2013) Which of these do you think would do more to reduce gun violence in schools, having stricter gun laws or armed guards in schools?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk
Stricter gun laws 42% 19% 66% 36% 36% 48% 40% 58%
Armed guards 46 69 27 52 53 40 49 28
DK/NA 12 12 7 13 11 12 11 14
So it’s evenly split between people who say stricter gun laws are the answer versus those who say have an armed guard in the school. In fact slightly more people say armed guards is a better answer. But nobody is reporting that because 66% of democrats don’t like that idea so it’s off the table, no discussion necessary. Furthermore, Gallup has a poll too. Unlike the Quinnipiac ones, it wasn’t taken like the day after Newtown, it was taken last week. In that poll, which asks “What do you think is the most important issue facing this country today?” Guns/Gun control had just 4% saying they thought that was the big issue. On the other hand, 69% said their top concern was one of these: Economy (24%), unemployment (18%), Federal Debt (11%), or general dissatisfaction with government (16%). So Americans care most about economic issues right now. Gun control is waaaay down on their list. Immigration is also only at 4%. And absolutely nobody at all thinks gay marriage is the number one concern, that’s 0%. So what’s Obama working hardest on? Why, gun control, immigration, and gay marriage of course. Because he just doesn’t care what Americans really want action on. |
And 90% of people love arugula too!
Also what they do is ask questions that get the answer they want with little bearing on whether people even give a damn or how the questions relate to the real legislation. When most people don’t think gun control is a problem it doesn’t matter if they agree with the concept of more background checks because when it comes down to it they just don’t care. It is heartening that the anti-gun crowd went all out and just totally failed. Bloomberg spent 12 million dollars on ads and basically pissed the money into the wind for any effect that it had and just thinking about it is delightful.
Also what they do is ask questions that get the answer they want with little bearing on whether people even give a damn or how the questions relate to the real legislation. When most people don’t think gun control is a problem it doesn’t matter if they agree with the concept of more background checks because when it comes down to it they just don’t care. It is heartening that the anti-gun crowd went all out and just totally failed. Bloomberg spent 12 million dollars on ads and basically pissed the money into the wind for any effect that it had and just thinking about it is delightful.
The 90% figure was always fluff and push polls. Of the people who have any substantive knowledge of the issues (about 25% of the population) they were opposed to this legislation five to one. President Obama and the Democrats could easily have had universal background checks if they were willing to forego a path to universal registration and slow confiscation, such as has happened in the UK over the last hundred years.
They insisted on the proto-registration route and were defeated.
Everyone told President Obama that if he wanted this done, he would have to do it quickly, before emotions cooled and people had time to think about the issues. Once rationality started to return, the initiative to weaken the Second Amendment was lost.
President Obama has only himself to blame. If he had given up a few rounds of golf and a vacation or two, he might have pulled off another anti-constitutional coup.
Fortunately, President Obama does not have the will and work ethic of a Lenin, Mao, or Hitler.
90% support from who?”””
Exactly!!!
Where I live, the support is more like 5%, with 95% AGAINST Obama.
It was this poll. They managed to come up with a population, 53% of which supports stricter gun control.
59-36 in support of Assault Weapon ban.
“24. Do you support or oppose - requiring background checks for all gun buyers?” 91-8.
But this preys on the ignorant. Most would say that we already have such background checks, and answer yes assuming that they are supporting the status quo. And the Senate bill had far more than just expanding background checks.
My poll question would be: Some gun owners are worried about government registration leading to confiscation and tyranny. To protect gun owner privacy would you support a measure to prohibit the recording of a gun’s make, model, and serial number when purchased?
90% isn’t what it used to be. Must be the sequester.
I saw one poll whose question was "Do you support background checks for firearms purchases?" That was it - nothing in that question about increasing or changing anything. Since that's the status quo of course you're going to get a high number, but to suggest that it indicates that 90% of American voters were behind this train-wreck of a bill is simply an outright lie.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Sequester.
exactly., the way it is questioned to the low info voters sounds great and or those polled couldn’t e bothered either way.
Ask the question of should those who come here illegally be given welfare or should those who have a constitutional right have their names taken and be stripped in some cases or their rights, or even should marriage be between one man and one woman or should it be redefined to what anyone wants?
Ask in those terms and the left does not get the results it wants.
Talking politics with a liberal, especially a family member, is as productive as gathering moonbeams with a butterfly net and a lot less fun.
Talking politics with a liberal, especially a family member, is as productive as gathering moonbeams with a butterfly net and a lot less fun.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.