Gun control is a loser, politically speaking. Which is why Democratic politicians haven’t been speaking about gun control for quite some time. Instead, they’ve been polluting the airwaves and internet with talk about “gun violence prevention.” And “gun safety.” And the big one: “I believe in the Second Amendment but….”
As I said, the gun control lobby’s effort to cloak their civilian disarmament jihad in Orwellian doublespeak isn’t going too well. So they’re doing what Democrats do when their rhetoric conflicts with the will of the people: they’re doubling down on mainstream media misdirection. With the help of highly-paid consultants, of course. Politico’s Dems urged to retool their guns message tells the [tall] tale . . .
While Democrats think they have a winning election-year issue, a group led by former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) and her husband, Mark Kelly, is pushing to rebrand their effort — based on poll and focus-group data — in the hope that it will take root in an American culture that has long accepted gun ownership, if not revered it in parts of the country.
Gun control for gun owners! Fudds of the world unite, your “gun safety” is at hand! Like this:
With that in mind, representatives from a broad mix of progressive groups sat around a table last week at the Washington offices of Global Strategy Group, where they received a tutorial on how — and how not — to talk about guns. Leading the lesson were top officials from Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC, the campaign wing of the group Giffords and Kelly founded after the Sandy Hook massacre . . .
“We’ve stepped away from a debate about guns that was sort of postured pro-gun or against-gun,” said Peter Ambler, the PAC’s executive director, “into one that’s centered around data-tested ideas like the background checks that we know increased public safety and save lives, but don’t sort of disapprove of the individual gun owner and don’t disapprove of the responsible use of firearms in society.”
“Don’t sort of disapprove.” Even when the antis are telling the truth about their lies, they’re lying. And it’s no more “Let’s take on the NRA” for Dems. They’re going to . . .
Stick to stressing “the gun lobby” as a special interest out to “protect the profits” of manufacturers, Pollock told the assembled representatives of Priorities USA, NARAL, AFSCME and the Senate and House Majority PACs. A strategist from the Democratic side of Google’s political consulting operation was also there.
Wait. The”Don’t Be Evil” folks at Google are taking money from left-leaning orgs to tell them how to use the world’s largest search engine (and its ancillary social media companies) to further their progressive agenda? I wonder if that has anything to do with charges, a la Facebook, that they’re skewering their news feeds to left-leaning sources? I also wonder if there’s a Republican side to Google’s political consulting organization.
Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC spokesman Mark Prentice said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has also been briefed on the new strategy, as has the House’s Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) distributed ARS’ glossy new strategy booklet to every House Democrat last week, according to Prentice, and they’re planning briefings for the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses, as well as the LGBT Caucus.
I’ve got $100 cash money for anyone who can email thetruthaboutguns@gmail.com with a PDF or JPEGs of that tome. Meanwhile, we now know why Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has been so quiet lately.
“Essentially, we co-opted their language,” [Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Dave] Walker said. Similarly, another point stresses that “as adults, we have a responsibility to make our country a safer place to live.”
ARS’ strategy also subtly suggests that its allies are overplaying some strategies. “Relying on victims’ and survivors’ stories alone can amplify feelings of hopelessness,” its strategy booklet cautions.
“Mothers have also been powerful advocates for stronger gun laws, but we need to show through our messengers that they are not the only ones who want to reduce gun violence,” it advises, before suggesting bringing in more men, gun owners, hunters and experts like ER doctors and police.
There’s more, but you get the picture. And if all this smacks of an organized, well-funded conspiracy to degrade and destroy Americans’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, that’s because it is.
Just don’t expect the mainstream media to stop waving the bloody shirt for their friends in the Civilian Disarmament Industrial Complex. They like blood and guts too much. See that picture of Gabby Giffords at the top of this post? Same one sits at the top of politico.com’s post.