With Republicans Like These, Who Needs Democrats?

“Kevin McCarthy elected House Minority Leader over Jim Jordan,” Roll Call reports. “Promotion to top GOP spot improves his chances of one day being speaker.”

In other words, look for more do-nothing “moderation” along the lines of Paul Ryan’s deliberate swamp deference, especially as it relates to the two key issues that got Donald Trump elected president in 2016: Immigration and guns. That McCarthy’s election signals a victory for the status quo is evident by his 159 - 43 blowout, especially when you look at how he compares with Jordan on those issues. The RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) seem to be active once again.

At first glance, McCarthy’s “A-” rating from NRA ought to ease gun owner’s minds that they haven’t been forgotten. That is until they find out that the more hard core Gun Owners of America gave him a “C.”  At this writing, immigration watchdog Numbers USA gives McCarthy and “F-“ grade on its “Reduce Unnecessary Worker Visas” and “Reduce Amnesty Enticements” categories, and “C” for “Challenge Status Quo.”

Jordan gets an “A” from GOA and “A+” across the board from Numbers.

And yes, immigration is directly related to that “single issue.” It’s actually the greatest threat, although you wouldn’t know it from listening to any of our “gun rights leaders,” who avoid it like the plague. 

It’s relevant because such populations favor gun restrictions by an overwhelming margin, and this is also proven in the real world by the California experience. Further, after over 20 years the needle barely moves to the right, so the “assimilation” argument has had decades to work and hasn’t, despite “welcoming” moves up to and including “progressives” creating so-called “sanctuary cities.” 

Here’s a challenge for anyone who wants to tell you otherwise: Audit all credible polls against experience in places like California and then produce credible data – not isolated examples, but something that can be independently validated – demonstrating that “amnesty” and a “pathway to citizenship” for millions of foreign nationals in this country illegally (and legally, with current culturally suicidal policies) will not overwhelmingly favor Democrats and anti-gunners. Show your sources and methodologies for determining this will not result in supermajorities in state and federal legislatures that will then be able to pass all kinds of anti-gun edicts. Show how this will not result in confirmations of judges to the Supreme and federal courts who will uphold those edicts and reverse gains made to date.

I guess talking that way can make the Southern Poverty Law Center smear you as a hater, and then no “respectable” Republican will want to be seen with you, let alone want you to rate them as a friend.

Speaking of which, it’s not like NRA ratings haven’t failed us in the past -- or that politicians haven’t failed the ratings. Not so long ago, Wayne LaPierre was lauding Harry Reid as “a true champion of the Second Amendment” and Fairfax gave democrat senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York an “A.” For those of you who are not familiar with Gillibrand, she has an 8% rating from the American Conservative Union, a 90% rating from the ACLU, and is rated as a “hard-core liberal” from OnTheIssues.org according to her page on Wikipedia. Thanks again NRA. More recently we see Republican turncoats like John Kasich, who voted with Brady until he voted with NRA until now, where he’s threatening to veto “Stand Your Ground” legislation. And formerly “A+”-rated Rick Scott beating über gun-grabber Bill Nelson for a Florida Senate seat hardly inspires confidence after he made a big media to-do signing legislation to authorize due process-denying “risk protection confiscations, banning bump stocks, raise the age to buy a rifle to 21 and impose a waiting period on gun transfers.

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The Democrats, the Swamp Republicans, the media and the gun-grabbers (but I repeat myself) would have us believe the House midterm losses were a rejection of “Trumpism,” and what Republicans need to do to stay in the game is become more moderate, make more concessions and act more like Democrats. 

Bull.

Remember all the “across the aisle” praise for John McCain on his passing? It made political sense for Democrats to tell everyone what a great guy they thought he was, if for no other reason than to get media creds, but also to con gullible Republicans into thinking compromise buys you props and holds you a seat at the table. Leftist-to-the-point-of-Marxist Jacobinmag.com (and that’s the direction the party is increasingly going) was less kind, remembering the so-called “maverick” as “a reactionary, bloodthirsty warhawk.”

What the Stupid Party never seems to learn is a “moderate” can give the Evil Party every concession it demands and at the end of the day he’ll still be smeared as a right wing extremist. Meanwhile, and this is part of the plan, his base will have been demoralized with any fire in its belly doused. Under those conditions, you’ll be lucky if they bother to even vote. Forget about them making campaign contributions or helping out on phone banks, precinct walks and the like, all the things that distinguish an inspired campaign from a half-hearted and defeatist one.

That’s what the Republicans seemed bent on doing in so many races. And that had been building since the 2016 GOP sweeps. Because what did we get?

Has anyone seen funding for the wall? What about much-ballyhooed national concealed carry reciprocity or movement on the Hearing Protection Act? Rep. Thomas Massie said Speaker Ryan told him the timing wasn’t right, as if under that non-leadership it would have ever been.

Instead of pressing their majority advantage to roll back infringements, we see citizen disarmament advancing and even picking up speed now that November results have spooked the herd.

We see an increasingly distancing Donald Trump taking his cue from NRA and NSSF, and his Justice Department  enacting an Intolerable Act on “bump stocks” that will require Americans to dispose of lawfully acquired property or face becoming prohibited persons for life not to mention years in prison. We see prior restraint “background checks” being expanded. We see due process-denying “extreme risk protection” and “red flag laws” whittling off who can have a gun. We see dissemination of data for so-called “3D” guns being blocked. We see “80%” precursor receivers up for prohibition.

 

It's fair to ask "Where is President Trump as some states reduce RKBA to sub-foreign levels?" Look at what's going on in Washington state with the absurd and offensive Initiative 1639, that among other things, denies full enfranchisement to citizens old enough to vote and go to war. Look at similar efforts (not to mention Republican betrayals) in former "Gunshine State" Florida, or Vermont. We could start a whole 'nother column on all existing and developing state infringements, including on bans in California, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, etc., on firearms the Founders would have recognized to be "the birthright of an American."

 

Why would it not be appropriate for Trump -- who I could make the case owes his election to gunowners -- to use the bully pulpit of the presidency to educate, to lead and to inspire on the Second Amendment, and to condemn all efforts to eviscerate it? And speaking of which, has anybody heard a peep out of that "gun advisory commission" we were promised?

Meanwhile, we see banks openly discriminating against the firearms industry and no serious effort to discourage that. We see tech oligarchies enjoying protected status as they stifle voices they don’t want heard. And we see deer-in-headlight Republican “leaders” paralyzed, afraid to move, let alone lead a counteroffensive. Some are offering up infringements all by their own selves.

Is it any wonder we see Nancy Pelosi threatening that more disarmament is on the way once she picks up the gavel again? Do we really expect to see Republicans who didn’t fight yesterday and won’t fight today suddenly find their fighting spirit tomorrow? More likely, one more mass slaughter in a “gun-free zone” by some mutt whose been giving out warning signs ignored by everyone will be all it takes for many of them to cave and throw their gun-owning constituents under the bus.

In fairness, much of that can be blamed on gun owner detachment and apathy. Can we really expect those who will not lift a finger aside from making anonymous “Molon Labe!” comments to make good on those when their detachment from peaceable means of redress makes being put to the test inevitable?

Then again, it’s on those presuming to lead to inspire and give people something to follow.