Senator Dick Durbin quipped in disgust, after watching several weeks of watering-down of proposed Wall Street Re-regulations, by their well-paid Lobbyists:
"[...T]hey [the Banks] frankly own the place."
Durbin was referring to the hired-gun Lobbyists' impact on the constitutional work of Congress. To get them re-legislate their new constraints on Wall Street, which would end up about as bothersome as a "parking ticket."
Well the same could be said now about the NRA hired-guns Lobbyists, who are in the process of making sure their NRA employer's bidding gets done -- in exchange for letting the Government get funded.
Senators 'quietly' do NRA's bidding in spending bill
by Steve Benen, maddowblog.msnbc.com -- Mar 15, 2013
Most lawmakers in both parties believe there will not be a government shutdown in two weeks, but to avoid one, Congress will need to pass something called a continuing resolution. It's a temporary spending bill that will keep the government's lights on through the end of the fiscal year. The House has already passed its version and the Senate is advancing its alternative.
[...]
Thing is, the NRA Lobbyists just made sure that several NRA-riders have been attached to this "routine" CR funding bill, which just passed by the republican-led House --
riders that block or curtail the government's ability
to monitor or even diagnose the on-going impact of guns on our social fabric.
Simply incredible.
These new NRA-sponsored riders, attached to a must-pass bill, permanantly provide for:
Congressional Committees Make Some Gun-Rights Provisions Permanent
by Jennifer Steinhauer, NYTmes.com -- March 13, 2013
[...]
The provisions, which have been renewed separately at various points, would prohibit the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from requiring gun dealers to conduct annual inventories to ensure that they have not lost guns or had them stolen, and would retain a broad definition of “antique” guns that can be imported into the United States outside of normal regulations.
Another amendment would prevent the A.T.F. from refusing to renew a dealer’s license for lack of business; many licensed dealers who are not actively engaged in selling firearms can now obtain a license to sell guns and often fly under the radar of the agency and other law enforcement officials, which gun control advocates argue leads to a freer flow of illegal guns.
A final measure would require the bureau to attach a disclaimer to data about guns to indicate that it “cannot be used to draw broad conclusions about firearms-related crimes.”
[...]
{Note: Martin Bashir just reported that there
were 6 NRA-sponsored riders attached to the Continuing Resolution.}
Simply incredible. Time for another small amendment to the Durbin principle, I guess:
"The NRA (along with the Banks) frankly still own the place!"
What is a
ripped and
torn social fabric ever to do, to
repair their on-going
damage,
to our social well-being?
A very tired and frustrated and shell-shocked country should really want to know.
Should demand better. We should demand OUR country back, from the Lobbyists doing the legislative bidding of well-paying special interests.
And we should let OUR representatives know how we feel. The NRA and the Banks continually do.