Politics: Why Newtown Wasn?t Enough

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Politics Why Newtown Wasn't Enough Gun control advocates won't win until senators fear them as much as they fear the NRA. By John Dickerson Posted Thursday, Apr 18, 2013, at 12:05 AM ET In the final days before gun control legislation collapsed in the Senate, supporters of the effort were making a grim argument: It's going to happen again. There's going to be another Newtown shooting and those who blocked the bill will face an even greater public outcry. On a call arranged by the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday, pollster Geoff Garin offered a corollary to this point. "If Republicans are betting that people don't care, they're betting that we have a placid situation in perpetuity and that sadly is not the case." Newtown was not enough. On Wednesday, Democrats could not round up enough votes to overcome a Republican filibuster of a proposed compromise on background checks, which was the centerpiece of their legislation. The tragedy last December at Sandy Hook Elementary was supposed to tip conventional wisdom, which held that supporters of gun rights were more passionate and likely to hold their lawmakers accountable than supporters of gun control. In the end, the conventional wisdom held. Now gun control advocates like Michael Bloomberg will have a chance to make good on their threats to hold these legislators accountable in the next election. It may be even more difficult than getting a bill passed. President Obama, speaking in the Rose Garden after the vote, was visibly angry, saying that the gun lobby and its allies "willfully lied" about what was in the bill. He charged that a minority said it wasn't worth it to protect children ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Sanford and Sons Why Do We Use Explosive Fertilizer? Watch the Country Get Fatter in One Animated Map	Advertisement
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