Political scribe: Gun Control a Losing Issue for Dems

Why is federal legislative action on gun control close to impossible? Josh Kraushaar at National Journal explains that it goes beyond GOP control of Congress: “It’s more instructive to look at certain Democrats — the red-state variety who haven’t joined their national brethren in denouncing the National Rifle Association.” Indeed, not one of the six rural red-state Senate Dems up for re-election next year came out for more gun control after Las Vegas. Gun-control opponents “are often single-issue voters who are well-organized and well-represented” across the country. In fact, the National Rifle Association is powerful “not because it buys off politicians but because of the ideological commitment of its members.” And “a good political rule of thumb is that the party that’s divided is the one that’s on the losing end of public opinion on an issue.”