"On Wednesday, the Drudge Report splashed an image of Hitler and Josef Stalin over a link to Vice President Biden’s contention that the White House may consider using its executive power if Congress proves unable to act."
This kind of overheated rhetoric from opponents of gun control is nothing new. There is reason to hope that this time it won't work:
"The White House declined to comment on the Drudge image, or the general comparison to Hitler’s regime that have popped up in anti-gun control corners since Obama began his push for new legislation. Most politicians who have talked openly about gun control have had the Hitler quotes thrown at them, and there’s a lot of reporting suggesting the most oft-repeated of these Hitler quotes are not in fact Hitler quotes. As for the underlying theory, that gun control hastened Hitler to power and helped facilitate the Holocaust — and that there’s a lesson in that for America — Tablet’s Michael Moynihan took a long look at that question last month."
"Now that weeks have passed since Newtown, the gun rights community that was briefly silent following the tragedy is back to full volume, pushing politicians not to give into the calls for new gun control. The Hitler comparison will doubtless be a part of that process."
"But gun control activists say their opponents have missed the mark with the Hitler stuff, and they’re going to find that post-Newtown, the public has no stomach for it."
"For the record, whatever executive orders Obama might be bale to do, will be-unfortunately-quite modest according to Slate:
- Directing the DOJ to prosecute more "prohibited purchasers" when they attempt to buy guns. In 2009, the FBI referred 71,000 cases of thse buyers, mostly felons. U.S. attorneys prosecuted only 77 cases.
- Appointing a permanent ATF director. The ATF has spooked the right ever since Ruby Ridge (before, too, but that's when the real agita started), and the Senate hasn't confirmed a permanent director since 2006.
- Requiring federal agencies to report mental health records. The NICS Improvement Act of 2007, passed after the Virginia Tech shootings, requires this. It hardly ever happens.
Greg Sargent warns the Dems of the kind of uphill fight they will have with the anti gun control operatives.
"Congressional Democrats are going to need a tremendous amount of outside backing from the left when this fight gets going. As Evan McMorris-Santoro notes, the coming gun battle has already produced one contentious town hall meeting held by a House Democrat in California, where gun control opponents gave him a real earful. As anyone familiar with the history of gun control well knows, one of the key advantages the gun “rights” side has is the speed and intensity of activism it’s able to mobilize against new gun regulations."
"While it’s true that the NRA’s influence is often overstated, it’s also true that the NRA has a long history of skillfully mobilizing extreme constituent pressure on individual members of Congress at a moment’s notice, and making their lives pretty hellish in the process. So what we very well may see here is something akin to rerun of the 2009 health care town hall wars, only about guns — perhaps an even more emotional issue. So groups like the new one started by Gabrielle Giffords won’t be important just in trying to match the NRA’s donations to Congress; they’ll also be critical in determining whether Congressional Dems will be given support and reinforcements when the NRA-fomented pressure starts in earnest."
It looks like the Dems are aware of this and are loading for bear:
"The White House is working with its allies on a well-financed campaign in Washington and around the country to shift public opinion toward stricter gun laws and provide political cover to lawmakers who end up voting for an assault-weapons ban or other restrictions on firearms."
"With President Obama preparing to push a legislative agenda aimed at curbing the nation’s gun violence, pillars of his political network, along with independent groups, are raising millions of dollars and mapping out strategies in an attempt to shepherd new regulations through Congress."
Heidi Heitkamp is being seen as a possible, early victory:
"A trial run for the burgeoning campaign came this week when the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence ran hard-hitting ads in North Dakota and Capitol Hill newspapers against Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), who said Sunday that some of the gun measures Obama is considering are “extreme.” After the ads — which told Heitkamp “Shame on you” — the freshman senator’s office issued a statement opening the door to supporting some gun-control measures."
“You have to get those members of Congress who think the easiest position is to be with the NRA to think that someone will walk up to them in the supermarket and say, ‘Why can’t we just have background checks?’ ” said Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank helping to coordinate the effort. “They have to think of these as mainstream issues.”
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