Nearly four months after the 12/14 elementary school slaughter in Newtown, Connecticut, the Senate voted 68-31 Thursday to move ahead with debate on gun legislation introduced before the spring recess.
Two Democrats, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mark Begich of Alaska, voted with 29 Republicans not to proceed.
I am very glad that this debate is moving forward.
I would have been proud that my Senator supported it.
But I guess the NRA is just a little too scary for our only Democratic Senator.
Fortunately for all of us there were Republicans who were less cowardly about standing up to the NRA. Of course now they have been targeted for daring to do the right thing.
RT @psychscriv: Make sure none of these people have seats in 2014. twitter.com/PsychScriv/sta…We are in trouble when these Rs side w/ Sen ReidSmitherman removed the image he had up earlier, fortunately it was captured before he could do so.
— Barry Smitherman (@SmithermanTX) April 11, 2013
As for Mark Begich.
I voted for this man.
I campaigned for this man.
I donated to this man's campaign.
Not anymore.
Update: Here is Mark's explanation. Reads just like a Republican wrote it.
No matter which position Begich would have taken, he'd have been admonished. I voted for him many times, know him, and will vote for him again!
ReplyDeleteoh, you like you senators spineless?
DeleteA La a Sarah Palin move, this asshat suggests attacks against people who disagree with him:
ReplyDeleteBarry Smitherman, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman, Retweets Noose With GOP Senators' Names
The chief oil and gas regulator in Texas tweeted a photo of a noose along with the names of the 16 Republican United States senators who voted to open debate on gun control legislation Thursday.
Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman (R) retweeted a photo Thursday afternoon as part of a flurry of anti-gun control tweets he sent out from his personal Twitter account. The retweet lists 16 GOP senators, then includes a picture of a noose and the word "treason." The original tweet was posted by Lissa St. Clair, a self-described "crazy writer" who tweeted that people should make sure the senators don't "have seats in 2014."
..."Barry Smitherman's reprehensible action is disturbing, disgusting, and has absolutely no place in our political discourse," Progress Texas executive director Matt Glazer said in a statement. "To suggest that any American, let alone a U.S. senator, deserves to be hung for a democratically cast vote is absolutely unacceptable."
https://twitter.com/StateImpactTX/status/322435560079777793
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/barry-smitherman-texas_n_3069881.html
I'm not happy about this either, but if the option is a Republican, I'll vote for him again. I did let him know what I thought of this, however.
ReplyDeleteWhile you may vote for him Lynne, I believe in 2014 Senator Begich will end up like Blanche Lincoln, another Blue Dog, a former Senator. To quote Harry Truman, "Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for a Republican every time." We have seen this over and over where a Democrat tries to tack way to the right to stay in office and loses anyway.
DeleteI appreciate your honesty G. I have to admit that I do not know much about your Senator Begich. But, and this is a very large but, do want offer that many of us have to vote "for" someone, because we are voting against an even greater threat.
ReplyDeleteThere are times when I truly feel good about my vote (our President would be an example here), and other times when I hold my nose.....more localized elections come to mind because I live in a VERY red state. Hopefully the next go around there will be a more suitable candidate besides Begich. If not, I hope you and others will understand that sometimes you have to vote for someone you don't like, in order to prevent someone you truly dislike from winning.
My comfort in all of this is that we as a society are slowly moving forward.
Where is the commentary about Murkowski's vote?
ReplyDeleteNo one knows how Begich would have voted if his vote was needed to stop the filibuster. As it was, it was a vote without consequence. Staying on the good side of hte NRA on a meaningless vote seems like a politically wise idea in Red Alaska. Would you rather have the senators the Repubs are putting up?
ReplyDeleteDamn right. This is a very shrewd move by Begich. He knows that the filibuster vote was a done deal and he needs the Red in AK to vote for him....well played Sen Begich, well played.
DeleteG I think you need to really look at the issue before jumping off the cliff.
1:52pm
Deletedidn't vote for Begich the first time and won't vote for him if he runs again. He's been caucusing with the right the entire time he's been in DC and is well known as one of the Blue Dog Dems. You can't convince me that his "long game" is anything other than acting like the Republican he's been acting like since elected. I said "anyone but Begich" in 2008 and I'll say it again in 2014.
He'll do just fine getting the Red Vote in AK because he is a Republican!
And he certain CAN'T SAY "I only voted for the filibuster because it wouldn't make any different. If it would have sustained the filibuster I would have voted the other way.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder if people like this understand what treason really is. Casting a vote based on one's thoughts and ideas and beliefs (even if I don't like them!) is NOT treason - and I hope it never will be.
ReplyDeleteThese diehards cannot get it through their thick skulls that a tremendous number of the amendments have legislated limits to them - including the FIRST amendment. I mean, photography is covered under the freedom of the First Amendment. Why is child pornography illegal even so? Because we properly legislated it into being illegal and because it is disgusting.
Kind of like murdering 20 children and 6 teachers with a completely unnecessary and easily accessible weapon I would say.
I guess it is kind of like those idiots who cannot figure out that this country is SECULAR and not christian. They cannot grasp that even with clear statements stipulating that and a history to go along with it.
Begich told media he was hearing from Alaskans that they opposed background checks. I called his D.C. office, local office and emailed him and expressed my extreme displeasure. Contact info is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.begich.senate.gov/public/
Idiot can't even get the state abbreviations right.
ReplyDeleteWhat a couple of morons! Smitherman has "apologized" because he got caught... oops, I mean he said he didn't notice the very noticeable hangman's noose on the image...
ReplyDeleteAnd the original Tweeter, Lissa StClair (@PsychScriv), who by the way, has a lovely far right-wing nutjob blog that eerily mirrors many of Palin's drunk scribblings, has ALSO apologized because she got caught.... oops again, I mean she said she didn't notice the very noticeable hangman's noose on the image either.
Just further evidence that these right wing lunatics can't SEE something when it's right in front of them.
Rick Warren Says Son Used ‘Unregistered Gun’ Purchased ‘On The Internet’ To Commit Suicide
ReplyDeletePastor Rick Warren, the influential leader of the Evangelical Christian Saddleback Valley Community Church, has been reeling from the sudden, tragic suicide of his 27 year-old son, Matthew Warren. Last Friday, Matthew took his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and on Thursday, Pastor Warren revealed, via Twitter, that “Someone on the internet sold Matthew an unregistered gun,” adding that “I pray he seeks God’s forgiveness. I forgive him.”‘
According to police, the gun Matthew used could be difficult to trace. From The Associated Press:
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is trying to find the seller but it won’t be easy. The gun’s serial number was scratched off, making it impossible to trace, spokesman Jim Amormino said.
“We can’t tell if it’s registered or not because the serial number is scratched off,” he said. “At one point in time, it may have been, but it’s going to be impossible to find out.”
It’s illegal in California to buy a gun without a background check and purchasers are supposed to register their firearms. Defacing a gun’s serial number is a federal offense.
....
http://www.mediaite.com/online/rick-warren-says-son-used-unregistered-gun-purchased-on-the-internet-to-commit-suicide/
Excuse me?
DeleteIf a serial number is STAMPED on a gun (as most are) there is a magnetic test which can raise the S/N quite easily. Who's trying to pull whose leg here?
If the local police can't do it, the FBI lab certainly can. I believe they just don't WANT to!
Background checks in Colorado stop 38 from buying guns who were convicted of homicides, 600 burglars, 1300 who committed felonious assaults, 400 had existing restraining orders were stopped, and 236 showed up to pick up their guns but were arrested because of existing warrants for violent felonies.
ReplyDeletehttp://video.msnbc.msn.com/the-daily-rundown/51415523#51415523
looks like entire page was taken down!
ReplyDeleteWe need to watch out for and oppose the Manchin-Toomey bipartisan background check bill. I keep reading praises for the compromise but it looks like a huge loophole that will create black market gun trade.
ReplyDeleteWe need to stop people from being able to purchase the large clips and do thorough background checks - stop the sales of guns where needed after having the results of the check - and have more control of the private sales.
DeleteAlaskans as a whole are not in tune to that - which is typical of a Republican controlled state. Vote in more Dems guys - we are in dire need of them on the state and local levels.
I expect both of my Senators, Moran and Roberts, to be idiots and puppets of the NRA, but I had hoped that Begich would be different. So much for hope.
ReplyDeleteDid Begich have a choice? Are there enough Alaskans who favor gun reform calling him?
ReplyDeleteI favor gun reform and think what the Alaska Legislature just passed regarding guns/federal the most asinine thing I've ever heard!
DeleteWe need more Republicans voted OUT of office in Alaska...they are down there in Juneau passing bills and spending our money like there is no tomorrow. The newest example is the proposed Knik Bridge.
They are amazing to watch - people should be watching their moves on Gavel to Gavel if they have the time...it's a real eye opener! .
John Oliver's comment on gun control nails it -- "One failed attempt at a shoe bomb, and we all have to take our shoes off at airports. 31 school shootings since Columbine and not a single thing has changed."
ReplyDeleteYes,indeed.
DeleteCall your Senators to support the 2nd Amendment and the NRA.
ReplyDeleteParticularly if your Senator is one of the traitors who has committed treason.
You are stupid!!
DeleteScorpie
Asinine, ignorant, un-American, un-patriotic comment. You should be ashamed.
DeleteWhat do senators have to do with representing the NRA? The NRA is not a government office, they are not voted in by citizens, and they do not have any rights to the support of senators elected to represent US citizens.
You are a traitor, and the NRA is a treasonous organization.
You forgot to add the bit about the noose, you moran with no understanding of the meaning of treason.
DeleteG - the bill has certainly not "passed." You did this once before.
ReplyDeleteThis is a procedural step toward getting a vote on it. All that has happened is that the fillibuster was overcome - which even McCain supported. Let's see what Mark does when it counts.
Oops I missed that. Thanks.
DeleteFixed now.
"I am very glad this bill passed,"
ReplyDeleteSorry the bill has not passed yet.
They only voted to "allow" the debate to happen.
Later they will have to vote again to allow an end for the debate and for a real vote.
And if they luckily got 60 votes for that, they can finally vote on the bill itself.
-Meg
I heard Mark Begich on a radio spot a few weeks ago stating that he will emphatically oppose ANY restrictions on gun ownership. Lots of second Amendment blah blah but the gist was he believes in everyone's right to own major murdering firepower. I've written to them all more than once on this issue but I guess up here in AK we need to hunt our animals with as much firepower as we can get. No limits! Yeehaw, that's what makes us great!
ReplyDeleteOnce debate is over, they only need a simple majority to pass it. At least it will come to a vote.
ReplyDeleteI hope that was a deal between Begich and one of the Republicans who voted against the filibuster and not just Begich giving the Democrats a big middle finger again.
ReplyDeleteyou folks in alaska may as well vote for a corrupt republican in that that's all you have in begich anyway..and he's a pussy too...
ReplyDeleteatypical of begich not to have much of a backbone
ReplyDelete3:26
ReplyDeletewaterass is more like it
He supports *this* kind of thinking? (comment from column on register.com "Checks Threaten Gun Rights":
ReplyDelete----------------
My freedom and liberty is far more important than the lives of those kids in Newton.
Period.
End of discussion.
------------------
Pretty much distills the whole issue down to the basics--and as long as Begich stays on the side of those who believe that, he'll never have my support again.
would you rather have another Republican Senator who votes wrong on health care, banking regulation, wars, and is beholden to the Republican Party powers-that-be, or would you rather have a Democrat who doesn't vote wrong as often, and who if his vote is critical is subject to pressure from the Democratic party powers-that-be. I guess I'm assuming another competitive Independent Party Candidate isn't likely.
DeleteNor mine. I hope he's listening.
DeleteWoo Hoo! Did you see my Tennessee senators voted with the Democrats. It is very rare that I can be proud of what they do.
ReplyDeleteI've written and called Pat Toomey several times (never got a response, not even a form letter) and was pleasantly surprised he did this.
ReplyDeleteFirst crosshairs, now a noose? What's next, a mushroom cloud?
I emailed a comment to Begich through his web site, not that I expect a response as I am not a constituent. I lived through Columbine, and had a family member violently commit suicide; I pointed out to Begich that none of the current laws he wants enforced more deal with the 40% of guns purchased online without a background check. Guns often used in the majority of gun death cases: suicide and domestic violence.
ReplyDeleteAnd his press release touts the bill he and Lindsay Graham are proposing, written with the NRA. Coward.
CO almost Native
I'm sorry gryphen. I know that stings.. this guy, like all others, wants to preserve his seat and it's not easy for him given his constituency.
ReplyDeleteI had such high hopes for him, but I won't be voting for him again either. It kills me to watch good people sell out. Just think how great our country could be if corrupt politicians were replaced by people who actually care about fellow human beings instead of about courting the corporations with the most money. :(
ReplyDeleteBegich has been saying in a radio ad where I live that he is against any kind of gun control and states that those people in the lower 48 just don't get Alaska. I am so sick of that crap about doing things different in Alaska. No one is trying to take guns from those who are hunting and protecting themselves. I gave up on Begich a long time ago after he lied to me twice. People warned me about his propensity for lying and I did not listen. I froze my ass off and put my life in danger to help him get elected.
ReplyDeleteI live in Chenaults district. The number of fully automatic weapons going off on New Year's eve out here was frightening. There's an armoury's worth of assault weapons out here, half are owned be RWNJ, the other half by meth dealers. In any given weekend, you can hear artillary rounds going off, practice for the imagined Obama invasion. This is who those ignorant legislators are fighting for, pounding their chests flaunting their "pro gun" so called rights. Sure Alaska needs guns. We hunt, we hike in bear country, we live out in the woods... but NRA is giving their backing to those who support assault weapons capable of killing hundreds using only one clip. NOT NECESSARY. I've never seen anyone take down a moose with an assault rifle. I'm a gun owner. I do not support ownership of military grade assault weapons. Begich will not have my support if he sides with this bill.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that it would be dumb to vote out Mark Begich in favor of a Republican. On the other hand, I just sent him an email saying that although I too had contributed money to him and worked on his campaigns, that I could no longer vote for him, that I would feel like I had the blood of small children on my hands the next time a Sandy Hook happens.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, it's about being able to look at yourself in the mirror in the morning.
Perhaps it's all for show and he's only doing it to keep office, with no real effect on the outcome of the bill. I certainly hope so. But his rhetoric is just giving power to the NRA. a gun manufacturers front joined by wackos. He certainly does not have to wholeheartedly endorse their crazy influence while playing his tightrope act to get re-elected!