17 April 2014

Fifty million to fight the NRA


Dava Castillo has an AllVoices article about politics:
Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, launched a plan to invest fifty million dollars this year developing a nationwide grassroots network aimed primarily at women voters and others who are passionate about curtailing gun violence. The organization is specifically designed to confront the National Rifle Association, according to The New York Times.
The organization, known as Everytown for Gun Safety, is a common-sense movement to reduce gun violence, increase citizen activism, and save lives. In addition, Bloomberg did not mince words regarding politicians’ lack of advocacy, even Democrats, who have given in to the power and influence of the NRA lobbyists. The Democratic-controlled Senate failed to pass gun legislation that would have expanded background checks for the purchase of guns in 2013.
“They say, ‘We don’t care. We’re going to go after you,’” Bloomberg said about the NRA. “'If you don’t vote with us we’re going to go after your kids and your grandkids and your great-grandkids. And we’re never going to stop.’”
Bloomberg’s approach is different from how gun control advocates have traditionally addressed the issue through congressional legislation. The majority of the resources will be used to mobilize voter field operations to increase voter turnout in support of politicians who favor gun control. But Bloomberg’s agenda has some hurdles in the fifteen states he will target.
A Pew study reveals Bloomberg’s plan could meet resistance. In their study, 54 percent to 43 percent agree that stricter gun laws would reduce the number of deaths caused by mass shootings, according to a February of 2013 survey.
However, by comparable margins, the public also says that stricter gun laws would make it more difficult for people to protect their homes and families (by 58 percent to 39 percent) and give too much power to the government (57 percent to 40 percent), they said.
Statistics show that Bloomberg’s efforts to promote a gun-control agenda, while admirable, will probably be challenged. Developing grassroots movements could take years to gain traction in some states, which might render it ineffective in the short term, but could make a difference moving forward to the 2016 elections, given the national mood to curb gun violence.
In Texas, if Everytown’s campaign could have been initiated sooner, it might have prevented Wendy Davis, the Democratic candidate for governor who supports open-carry of guns, from backpeddling on her liberal campaign agenda. She came out in favor of the relaxed gun proposal when her Republican opponent, Attorney General Greg Abbott, was advancing in the polls supporting open-carry gun laws.
A poll this week by progressive polling firm Public Policy Polling found Davis trailing Abbott by double digits, and her favorability was dropping among women, the same population being focused on by Bloomberg’s gun control group.
In addition to caving on gun control, she also regressed on her abortion stance regarding procedures after twenty weeks gestation, saying she would support sharp restrictions on abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy.
Davis told the Dallas Morning News editorial board she believes that only a half-percent of all Texas abortion occur after twenty weeks of gestation and, in most cases, only after identifying fetal abnormalities or health risks to the mother.
Currently, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, Abbott is leading in the race with 50.3 percent and Davis at 38 percent.
Davis’ position on guns, abortion, and the death penalty are synchronized with her opponent, so why is she continuing to lose support? Texas observers are saying she infuriated the Democratic base by her decision to support open-carry gun laws.
According to a February report in the Texas Tribune, she faced opposition from liberals and fellow Democrats over gun rights.
Davis embracing open-carry laws surprised women voters in the state. Frances Schenkkan, board member of Texas Gun Sense said: “I’m surprised by it. I don’t think it’s a good signal to our children in this state that people can openly carry something that is so dangerous and intimidating to others.” Schenkkan’s group opposes open-carry legislation. “It sends a message that this is the norm and children are not as able to get away from it,” she said.
Bloomberg’s coalition Everytown for Gun Safety and its fixed direction focusing on women is admirable but, in Texas, where Davis’ platform has evolved to the point where there is little difference between the Democratic and Republican candidates, positive outcomes favoring gun control in the November elections are not promising. Davis has become a victim of her own placating political agenda. She alienated women, the precise population for whom she initially advocated for so passionately, and became a chameleon on gun control and abortion, issues that propelled her onto the national political stage.
Despite the fact that Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said he did not support open-carry, he inferred that many Democrats in Texas are members of the National Rifle Association and have been strong supporters for expanding gun rights.
Furthermore, Hinojosa said Davis could lose support from some gun control advocates, but he predicted liberals would keep up their “intensity” for her campaign because they’re more concerned with bread-and-butter issues such as education and health care.
The current twelve-point spread between Abbott and Davis, however, does not support Hinojosa’s assumptions that other issues will be sufficient to carry her campaign.
Davis miscalculated voter support and put her base in a precarious situation. She was betting on support from pro-gun groups, which has not manifested, and now she has all but lost the Democratic women’s vote.
If Everytown had been a grassroots benefactor in Texas last year when campaigning started, Davis might have perceived the pulse of her constituency more accurately. Instead of bowing to the competition, she could have been a force for change in a state characterized as a gun friendly state.
Everytown for Gun Safety is a step in the right direction, but advocates will need to exercise patience in the process to appreciate its full value in the future.
Rico says and people say money doesn't buy influence... (And this isn't exactly a neutral article, either.)

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