You know, calamities so often seem to start with a spark, especially political and social ones. For Germany, WWI started with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. For the Japanese, WWI started with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. For abusive men, it started with six simple characters, "#metoo." For Rush Limbaugh, it started with a college woman named Sandra Fluke. And for the NRA and the GOP, it's starting with Stoneman Douglas high school in Florida.
This is by no means over, it's barely beginning. Actually, it's a beginning for both sides. For the kids of SD and gun control advocates, it's the first step on a long awaited march to common sense gun legislation. And for the GOP and their NRA overlords, it's the start of a long, slow slide from national despotism on guns.
You know what an aide to Florida Governor Rick Scott told Stoneman Douglas students in his office a couple of days ago? "The Governor is too big for you to take on." Hey! You want a little whipped cream to go on top of your humble pie? Rick Scott, dragging the GOP state leadership with him, kicking and screaming now wants to raise the age for purchasing assault rifles to 21, ban the sale of "bump stocks," and give judges the rights to take guns from mentally ill people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. And he ain't gonna turn teachers into Chuck Norris either. It's not every thing students wanted, but it's more than anybody pushing for gne reform in Florida would have dreamed of.
Because, this is Florida fer Crissakes! Florida is the laboratory where the NRA sends their embryo gun laws to see if they can survive outside of the test tube. The land of Pulse nightclub, and offing German tourists. This is a state that wants to let you set up an outdoor shooting range in your back yard, and not be liable if you pop a cap in your neighbor two doors over's ass. And now they're going to ban bump stocks, and up the assault rifle purchase age? What next, capping ticket prices at Disneyworld?
This is a political nightmare scenario for Rick Scott. Scott is seriously considering a run against Democrat Bill Nelson in November for the US Senate, and early polls are showing a razor close race. Rick Scott's GOP are the ones who told George Zimmerman that a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea are deadly weapons if they're in the hand of a black kid who has his back turned to you. The reality is that Florida is a summer cottage for the NRA. And now Scott wants to tell a bunch of social troglodytes that their monkey spawn can't have an AR-15 until they turn 21? And now they gotta pull the trigger 20 times instead of letting a bump stock turn that deer into swiss cheese? Good luck with that, buddy.
The NRA is in deep kimchi here for two reasons. First, if they can't keep Florida, which is so covered with NRA pocket lint that dry cleaning won't even help, under their thumb, where are they safe? The GOP leadership in Florida have clearly decided that it's necessary to cut off this toe to save the foot. But there are nine more toes, which one becomes expendable next? If the GOP ldeadership is willing to defy the NRA on this legislation, they do so knowing that it will make them unreliable votes in the future, and cost them NRA donations. If the threat of withholding campaign cash disappears for the NRA, what leverage do they have left? And if Florida voters reward lawmakers for standing up to the NRA, you think this weakens their grip on legislatures and politicians in other states where guns are a hot button topic?
And the NRA has an equally pressing problem brewing, and this one concerns their pocketbook, and their prestige. I wrote yesterday that the NRA was going to rue the decision to start victim shaming "crying white mothers," and arrogantly "gunsplaining" to a bunch of traumatized kids how the world really works on this whole gun thing. Oh, I'm sure they looked as tough as nails to the rockhead NRA members who think they're Trump with a trigger, but to everybody else, they looked like the asshole that kicks his puppy. And it's already costing them.
Mutual of Omaha bank announced yesterday that it will not renew its agreement to issue NRA Visa cards, which the NRA touts as "The official credit card of the NRA." And ethey did so due to customer pressure. Three different rent a car companies announced that they will no longer offer NRA discounts starting at the end of March. And it's only going to get worse for the NRA, they can just ask Rush Limbaugh. These kids are social media savants, and they can get the list of companies giving NRA discounts right from the NRA website. The Oxycontin Kid reached the point where civic groups wouldn't even let him run their public service announcements on commercial breaks for God's sake, waddaya think is going to happen when these companies start getting serious Facebook and Twitter pressure on their platforms about allowing NRA discounts? And polling shows that a vast majority of NRA members actually support common sense gun control measures, you think membership may start to drop when gun owners with a conscience decide to start disentangling themselves from Pee-Pee LePew and his band of pocket Hitler's?
So no, this is not over, not by a "long shot." (pun intended) But after Columbine, and Sandy Hook, and Virginia Tech, and Umpqua community college, it sure is a breath of fresh air, isn't it? The true beauty of youth is that children and young people don't believe in limitations. Anything is possible if you believe in it strongly enough, and you're willing to put yourself on the line to get it done. And right now, these kids are showing us that just because it may not be "easy," doesn't mean it isn't "possible." Our kids are teaching us to dream big and believe again. What did I say yesterday? "And a child shall lead them." Hey Mr President! THIS is how you lead!
It’s here! The moment you’ve been dreading looking forward to. My new e-book President Evil. A common man looks at Trump and the 2016 primaries. You can get it now on Amazon. And please feel free to leave a review at either Amazon or goodreads, every review helps, positive or negative.
Cross posted on The Trump Impeachment.