Do Over

Last year, he had been considered the Democrat least likely to vote for any gun safety legislation. But then, Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) eventually backed a very modest background checks package. And the NRA still conspired to kill it.

But now, he's back. He wants to try expanding background checks again. And he's not alone.

After all, Senator Manchin wasn't the only Senate Democrat who evolved on gun violence. So did Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In fact, he went further, way beyond a mere milquetoast background checks compromise. But now, he may be ready to try for those mere milquetoast background checks again.



So what's happened since then? Sunday, for one. Jerad Miller was able to access firearms despite his felony convictions. And now, three innocent people are dead.

What's also happened since then? Well, we've just experienced 74 more school shootings since Newtown. Troutdale just happened to be #74. We don't remember which number Sparks Middle School is.

What else has happened since then? More extremism. More senseless tragedies. More family losses. And even more blood shed.

Now, the only question is: What's changed on Capitol Hill since then? Has Senator Dean Heller (R-NRA) grown a spine yet? Hell, has he sorted out his relationship with Cliven Bundy yet?

We shall find out soon. Last year, Congress put on one of the worst sh*tshows in American history (actually, one of several). Now, they have a chance at a do-over. Will they take it? Or will we have to endure 74 more unnecessary and horrifically bloody tragedies?

Another Bloody Tragedy

Another one? Already? Another one is happening? Already? How can this be so?

But alas, it's happening. Again. This time, it's at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon.

Just outside Portland, Troutdale has typically been known as a quiet and peaceful suburb. But today, that's no longer the case. Today, Troutdale became the latest in a string of armed battles on what was supposed to be civilian territory. Today, Troutdale became another notorious gun violence statistic.



It probably won't be long before we see the usual tweets of condolence from the usual politicians. It probably won't be long before the usual suspects in the "mainstream media" start bloviating on whether the shooter "had enough dates" and/or video games. And it probably won't be long before the NRA tries to "redefine" this latest "unfortunate accident".

In Troutdale, the shooter killed a student before killing oneself. And when the first flurry of media reports surfaced, parents throughout Greater Portland were scrambling to figure out whether it was their kids' school. For some unfortunate parents, it was.

Less than 48 hours ago, Metro Police Officers Alyn Beck & Igor Soldo were murdered. Shortly after they shot these officers dead at CiCi's Pizza in the Northeast Las Vegas Valley, Jerad & Amanda Miller moved to the nearby Walmart, where they shot Joseph Robert Wilcox dead before killing themselves.

Jerad Miller had felony convictions on his record. He had also made it clear for some time that he wanted "the start of the revolution". Yet somehow, he was able to obtain firearms anyway. All he had to do was rant on Facebook.

Governor Brian Sandoval (R-NRA), Senator Dean Heller (R-NRA), Rep. Joe Heck, and other G-O-TEA politicians have boasted about being "what stood in the way" of better gun safety laws. Just as the NRA has allowed the likes of Open Carry Texas to call the shots at its headquarters, far too many politicians have allowed the NRA to call the shots on Capitol Hill and in state capitols across the nation (including ours).

It's only a matter of time before someone else who obtained military grade weapons under suspicious circumstances opens fire in another public place and leaves a bloody trail behind. It's only a matter of time before the next tragedy occurs.

How many more of these must occur? What else must happen before our elected "leaders" stop being cowards and start taking action? When will we finally reach the day when we wake up without experiencing yet another bloody tragedy?

Something Must Change.

Sorry. I couldn't help it. I just had to say it today.



What happened in Connecticut this morning was tragic. And it was horrific. And yes, it didn't have to happen.

That's what makes the series if events today even more tragic. 18 innocent children are dead, along with at least 8 adults. A small town in Connecticut has been devastated by horrific violence. And it really didn't have to happen. And if we want to prevent future tragedies like this one, then we must act.

You’re not supposed to say this on days like today, but political action is exactly what’s needed. The usual voices will try to shut down the debate by warning against “politicizing” the tragedy. But we should “politicize” it, if by that we mean undertaking a discussion about how our elected officials can act to stop this madness.

Gun violence is one area where something approaching a bipartisan consensus has formed among commentators and observers that reform is imperative, even as the only people who continue to refuse to act are those in a position to actually change things. This time, our public officials —the president included —simply must start an actual policy discussion about the appropriate response to the slaughter caused by the easy availability of guns. Not just a “conversation” about how screwed up our culture is or the usual argument over whether Evil and/or mental illness are the real culprits (as the gun rights advocates tell us) that require addressing. It’s easy access to guns that translates the darkest of human impulses, whatever their cause, into the massacre of innocent children.

Greg Sargent makes a great point here. Even though we've heard plenty of people declare on the cable news channels that "now is not the time" to discuss better gun safety, we just can't do that. How many times have we heard this before when other incidents of mass gun violence occurred? How many more of these must we endure as a nation before we finally take action?

Just this past Tuesday, someone opened fire inside a mall in the Clackamas County suburbs of Portland, Oregon. Two people died, and many more were frightened just as they were doing their Holiday shopping. And then, less than 72 hours after that gruesome act of violence in Oregon, someone else opened fire in an elementary school in Connecticut. And Desert Beacon has a full list of even more mass shootings that occurred just this year. Again, this is truly disgusting. And both events should show us that we can no longer blithely ignore this growing problem of domestic terrorism carried out by easily accessible guns.

While today should be a day to allow those who lost loved ones to grieve, today should also be a day to ponder what happened... And address what's wrong with our gun policies. Here's Salon's Joan Walsh.

Guns in national parks. Guns in church. Guns in schools and day care centers. All over the country, the spaces that used to be gun-free zones are now open to them. According to Mother Jones, in 1995 there were an estimated 200 million guns in private hands. Now there are about 300 million, a 50 percent jump. Yet BuzzFeed found that President Obama only mentioned gun control three times in the last campaign.

It’s not just the NRA who are political villains in this story: the right-wing Koch-funded ALEC has been pushing to weaken gun laws too. In fact, the lame-duck right-wing GOP-controlled Michigan Legislature just passed an ALEC-backed bill allowing concealed loaded guns in schools, churches and day care centers,and abolishing the county panels that controlled concealed-pistol licensing.

After the Aurora, Colo., shootings,in which formerly banned assault weapons were used, even Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper dismissed talk of renewing the federal assault weapons ban. Stricter gun control measures wouldn’t prevent “acts of evil,” Hickenlooper insisted: “If there were no assault weapons available and no this or no that, this guy is going to find something, right?” In fact, the Aurora shooting inspired more gun control legislation, but it went nowhere, as Alex Seitz-Wald reported this week. Only three days ago, formely banned assault weapons were used in the Clackamas, Ore., mall shootings. Will that trigger a new push to restrict and ban assault weapons and their ammunition? Probably not.

But today, a day when children as young as kindergarteners were told to hold hands, close their eyes and walk past scenes of unspeakable carnage –that’s a perfect day to begin a new conversation about what’s wrong with our gun culture. Clearly, we are getting numb to massive gun violence. It’s hardly inappropriate that the murder of at least 18 children, reportedly between the ages of 5 and 10, might shock us out of our numbness and inspire more activism and legislation –and political courage.

Sadly, we as a society have become far too numb to the brutal reality of gun violence. Can that change today? If the events of this week can't, then I don't know what can. For goodness sake, not even elementary schools are immune from this any more! Children were shot dead inside their classroom! If that isn't repulsive, then I don't know what else can be.

Again, today is a day to grieve lost loved ones. And today is a day to share condolences. However, today is also a day to reflect on this metastasizing crisis of rampant mass shootings and out-of-control gun violence. Something must change.

NV-Sen, NV-03: What a Difference 4 Months Make!

Remember those cold, dark, frightening days of January? When Republicans turned Massachusetts red for a night and I went off on my infamous angry tirade? I had regained composure by the morning, and I was starting to see a way out of the hot mess that national Democrats threw us into.

So what happened? It was a combination of things. Massachusetts Democrats spent too much time infighting and not enough time organizing. Martha Coakley ran a lousy campaign. President Obama's "triangulating" and capitulating to the corporate right have demoralized the base. And if Nevada Democrats can learn these lessons, organize early & well, and work in Washington & Carson City to give us good reasons to get out and vote, we won't have to be afraid of November.

And in the coming days and weeks, something changed. Democrats organized... Even if it meant doing some rabble rousing in the primaries in some states. Health care reform passed. Financial reform will hopefully be on its way to passage soon. Climate and energy may FINALLY get a Senate vote soon. After all that dithering last year, we're seeing more action this year.

And the result? This:

Mark Critz (D-PA) appeared to narrowly win a special election today to fill the late Rep. John Murtha's seat, a victory the Democrats believe means the fall midterm elections might not be so bad after all. He'll be quickly seated by House leadership once results are finalized.

Critz was leading Republican Tim Burns with 53 percent of the vote to Burns' 45 percent and 70 percent of precincts reporting, and Burns conceded the race around 10:30 p.m. In an unusual twist, both candidates are aiming to be on the November ballot. Critz was on track to prevail in a party primary to be the nominee in the general election, and if Burns' lead for his primary holds steady, these two candidates will be matched up again in November.

The Dem turnout was boosted by a competitive Senate primary between Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak, one reason the majority party had been sounding quite confident about the race for several days. Critz was fueled as well by labor activists and Democratic volunteers who made calls and knocked on doors for weeks to help keep the seat. Former President Bill Clinton stumped for Critz over the weekend.

Although, RNC Chairman Michael Steele was once talking a pretty big game on the race as well, telling the Washington Post last week "We're going to win."

Democrats believe this is a bellwether district since it voted narrowly for John Kerry in 2004 (51%-49%) but for Sen. John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008 by by less than one percentage point. Al Gore handily won the district in 2000.

And speaking of those primaries... I know the establishment Dems around these parts were freaking out over it, but look what we got out of it. The Sestak v. Specter race won us both a House seat AND a more viable candidate for November! And look at the turnout in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Oregon. In all cases, Democratic turnout far exceeded Republican turnout! So much for that "depressed Democratic base"...

OK, so what does this mean for Nevada? Here you go:

- If Democrats can hold onto the only district in the country that went from Kerry in '04 to McCain in '08, we can most certainly hold a state (Nevada 55-43) and district (NV-03 55-42) that went strongly for Obama.

- Harry Reid has been the one leading the charge on health care, Wall Street, climate and energy. It was initially thought of as a liability, but he can now make these into strengths.

- Local issues still matter, and Harry Reid & Dina Titus have proven to be up to the challenge in dealing with the foreclosure crisis, Yucca Mountain, promoting gaming & tourism, and stopping the Sloan Hills gravel pit that would destroy the ecosystem of Sloan Hills conservation area and disastrously pollute most of Henderson (where I live).

- Dina Titus is an expert at constituent outreach, and this election is showing so far that "staying in touch" will matter a whole lot when we start voting.

- And finally, it was the ground game that led to strong Democratic turnout in all these races, especially in the PA-12 special. And as we learned here in 2008, Nevada Democrats have a good ground game while the GOoPers... Well, don't. Those "angry voters" that the media like to talk about aren't actually the ones who just go on their own to "throw the bums out". It takes good campaigning and a good field program to make it happen. Trust me, I've been there. And I'll tell you now that Dems here are running way ahead of the GOoPers when it comes to field operations and getting out the vote.

See now? Things don't look so scary these days. It isn't the end of the world. And what's happened in Pennsylvania may turn out to our benefit here in Nevada. I have a feeling 2010 won't be what Nevada Republicans were hoping for... Especially with fabulous(ly wackadoodle) candidates like these...