Just a little more than month after 20 6-and 7-year olds and six teachers and school staff members were slaughtered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Sen. Mitch McConnell sent a robocall to his supporters in Kentucky. Was he promising his constituents that he would do everything to protect their children? Ha. He was promising to protect their guns.
"President Obama and his team are doing everything in their power to restrict your constitutional right to keep and bear arms," he said on the call. "I want you to know that I will be doing everything in my power as Senate Republican leader, fighting tooth and nail, to protect your Second Amendment rights so that law-abiding Kentuckians such as yourself can properly and adequately protect yourself, your family and your country." Thus ended Obama's efforts to expand background checks, resulting in the ensuing deaths of nearly a quarter of a million Americans since Sandy Hook, thousands of them children.
McConnell was intent on shoring up his base back in January 2014, because he was running for re-election and because there was a very popular Democratic president to act as his foil. He doesn't need to take that kind of action this time around, even though he is again up for re-election. He's got Donald Trump to do the dirty work this time around. After two massacres in less than a day's time this month, in El Paso and Dayton, McConnell could afford to sound more reasonable. "Senate Republicans are prepared to do our part," he said.
That's what he said. What he actually put into the works were tried-and-true delay tactics, a game he and the NRA have been playing for a long time. It's all about digging in and refusing to budge until the momentum for action subsides, when other outrages take over the front pages and top slots on the news.
Thus, with the help of a few phone calls from NRA chief Wayne LaPierre, Trump has been managed and manipulated into backing down from his initial response for more background checks, now saying nothing really needs to be done. McConnell can now point to the White House and say there's no point in taking up legislation because Trump doesn't support it.
Between now and November 3, 2020, the only thing we can safely predict is that hundreds, maybe thousands, more people are going to be murdered. Their blood will be on McConnell's and Trump's hands.
This has to end. Please give $1 to our nominee fund to help Democrats end McConnell's career as majority leader.