MSNBC/The Last Word:
A bipartisan deal to expand background checks on gun buyers, forged by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, is a step forward in a Senate debate on gun laws beginning Thursday. While the agreement falls short of what President Obama was hoping for in his gun proposals package, it may set out a promising path for meaningful gun control legislation — something that the president has pushed hard for since since the Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown, Conn.
Reuters:
The Senate will cast its first vote this week on President Barack Obama's proposals to curb gun violence, which face a rough ride in Congress due to opposition from Republicans and gun rights activists.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid scheduled a procedural vote for Thursday to open debate on gun control and Democratic aides said they expect to defeat Republican efforts to block the bill from reaching the Senate floor.
LA Times:
Gun control efforts in Congress cleared a significant hurdle Wednesday as the Senate prepared to open what could be a weeks-long debate, even as opponents plotted a shift in strategy aimed at undermining a comprehensive package of legislation.
Gaining enough support simply to open the debate has required extensive negotiation and legislative maneuvering, testimony to the difficult politics of gun control. If the Senate proceeds as scheduled Thursday, it will mark only the third time in a generation that a significant gun measure has come to the floor.
All the doom-and-gloomers need to read this and understand it: this is an uphill battle. Recognize success, such as it is, and build on it. The Newtown families have been an extraordinary force, as has local activism and the tireless work of advocacy groups around the country. This is a long term commitment.
Mandating seat belts took 19 years from Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed to the 1984 NY State first-in-nation law. Sensible gun legislation will take however long it takes.
Chris Weigant:
Democrats seem to be showing slightly more enthusiasm these days for attacking the endless filibustering in the Senate by Republicans. If this truly is the beginning of a trend, it would be notable, but it's too early so far to say that it's going to gain political traction or not. We're still waiting for the votes to be counted, to put this another way. But while the glimmerings seen recently from Democrats may not be sustained, it's still worth pointing them out, if only to encourage such behavior among the party at large.
Gail Collins:
Wow, there’s a lot going on in Washington! Budgets are flying all over the place. The Senate might actually start voting on a gun bill Thursday. And immigration reform has now gotten so far that the House of Representatives has a bipartisan Gang of Eight working on it.
Personally, I think they just wanted to have a gang.
“It’s a good day for guns and immigration, and who knows what tomorrow may bring,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, a member of the Senate bipartisan Gang of Eight on immigration reform. It’s like a little legislative West Side Story in Congress these days, minus the dancing.
Charles Blow on Rand Paul's speech at Howard:
Paul acknowledged that his wooing of African Americans “is an uphill battle,” and his hour with the students confirmed this. Talking about the Republicans’ historical support for civil rights, he said: “I’ll give you one example. The first, one of the African American U.S. senators was a guy named, uh, I’m blanking on his name, from Massachusetts — ”
“Edward Brooke!” several in the audience called out.
“Edwin Brookes,” Paul repeated.
The students broke out in hysterics.
Dana Milbank:
Tea party titan Rand Paul, visiting Howard University on Wednesday, told students that he had been called “either brave or crazy to be here” at the historically black college.
Probably some of each: brave, because he’s trying to sell himself and fellow Republicans to African Americans, a singularly resistant demographic; and crazy, because he based his pitch on revised history and airbrushed facts — and the Howard kids weren’t fooled.