Can't help of the phrase Steve Keen uses about Neoclassical economists talking about Minsky and banking: like a dog on its hind legs.
This phrase also seems apt for the House actually putting together its own gun control bill. What has been proposed is not enough. It says nothing about background checks. Yet this seems to underscore again that gun control will happen. This is just an opening bid. It makes it even less likely that it will end up being killed in the House as some have worried.
http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2013/02/could-house-gop-torpedo-immigration.html
That someting was proposed at all is very notable. It shows the GOP knows it can't avoid negotiating on gun control despite the worries.
"House lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled their first bipartisan bill targeting gun violence in this Congress: a measure to make firearms trafficking a federal crime."
"During a press event, the bill's sponsors -- Reps. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Scott Rigell (R-Va.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) -- said their legislation would create a single section of federal code to give law enforcement the ability to prosecute gun traffickers. It would also impose up to 20 years in jail for "straw purchasers," or those who buy guns for people prohibited from buying them on their own. Their measure is among the recommendations included in the gun violence package put forward last month by President Barack Obama."
"As a lifetime member of the NRA, as a firearm owner, as a father ... I've got a problem with people who break the law using firearms because it inevitably puts pressure on my rights," Rigell said. "When we punish the bad guys, we're protecting the good guys. That's really the essence of the bill."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/05/gun-control-bill_n_2624644.html
"Their bill is significant because it shows that something, anything, related to guns has at least some bipartisan support in the House. But the real question is whether or not House Republican leaders plan to let any gun bills come to the floor for votes."
My guess is: they will. As I've explained in previous posts the big change in this Congress is the Hastert Rule is over. Indeed the GOP is now accepting that they have to negotiate-as we've seen on the debt ceiling, immigration reform, and now gun control. Refusing to negotiate simply means that they won't have any ability to impact legalisation. It would get passed by the Senate working with the White House which would then be rammed through the House with a large enough slither of GOP votes to pass with near unanimous support of the Democrats.
While it's a welcome start, it's not enough as the White House understands. The Administration has given a statement that insists that an assualt ban must come to the floor to be voted on. It must and it's good to see that while many see it as a heavy lift, they aren't giving up on it.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/white-house-assault-weapons-ban-needs-to-come
Overall, I see this as a negotiation. The GOP suggests a bill without background checks despite how popular it is with Americans including Republicans and NRA members.
The White House demands that an assault ban be passed-it's the measure with the most opposition. They'll meet somewhere in the middle, probably a little closer to the President as elections have consequences.
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