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There is a great moment in the Stephen King novel SALEM'S LOT in which King describes the old Marsten house in the middle of the Maine town of Jerusalem's Lot which eventually becomes the center of evil in the town. King gives us the brief history of the house and we learn that a fire once swept some of the town and threatened the old house which was right in its path until almost magically the winds came up and shifted the direction of the fire when it hit the borders of the grounds sparring the old house. And in doing that, the future fate of the two and its inhabitants was sealed.
Several movies feature scenes where the writers demonstrate a sea change in events when the winds change - often in battle scenes. Its a metaphor used to great effect.
In Washington DC today, the winds have changed - dramatically. For many years following the Gingrich led GOP take over of the House and then the Al Gore defeat, Democrats were convinced that gun control cost them their majority control. It was never really proven - but it was accepted just the same so it became something of a cautionary tale for Democrats to discourage them for taking strong stands on guns.
But today we see House Democrats sitting in their own chamber demanding a vote they know they will lose on universal background checks for all gun purchases and a "no fly/no buy" rule for other gun purchases.
So what happened to cause these winds to change?
The easy answer is Sandy Hook and Orlando and all the other gun massacres in between. But the real answer is Dems in the House believe that their party is set to win big in November keeping the White House and retaking the majority in the Senate. But almost everyone has written off the House going Democratic. Guns could be the key to changing that.
The Democratic Party and those in the House who are Democrats have made a very calculated decision that they can win by exposing thirty to forty Republicans in purple districts in swing states when they will have to vote what they believe is the wrong way on universal background checks and the no buy/no fly provisions. They have made a calculation that they can exploit that GOP vote and when Trump goes down to a stinging defeat in the fall - that extra push will also cause enough GOP House members to lose that it will give them the magic number of 218 to shift that chamber also.
The winds of change would have to be powerful to do that as few thought it was a real possibility before now. And the Dems believe the winds of change have weakened the power of the NRA and they no longer can shift elections and cause them to go down in defeat.
But that is what the House sit in is all about and that is goal of its end game. And it shows that what is happening here is a tremendously seismic shift in politics in this nation - not just gun politics which have been quiet for almost 20 years, but the greater politics as well.
The measure of the success of the current Democratic House sit in will not come in any vote in the House. It will only come in November when we see if this strategy paid off. If the Dems win - gun politics will never be the same for a very long time - at least a generation. If the Dems lose - we could see a return to the days of relative silence on gun issues and the NRA will again ride high.
And the Democratic Party - like the fictional Marsten House in Jerusalem's Lot in Maine - stand before the flames.
Several movies feature scenes where the writers demonstrate a sea change in events when the winds change - often in battle scenes. Its a metaphor used to great effect.
In Washington DC today, the winds have changed - dramatically. For many years following the Gingrich led GOP take over of the House and then the Al Gore defeat, Democrats were convinced that gun control cost them their majority control. It was never really proven - but it was accepted just the same so it became something of a cautionary tale for Democrats to discourage them for taking strong stands on guns.
But today we see House Democrats sitting in their own chamber demanding a vote they know they will lose on universal background checks for all gun purchases and a "no fly/no buy" rule for other gun purchases.
So what happened to cause these winds to change?
The easy answer is Sandy Hook and Orlando and all the other gun massacres in between. But the real answer is Dems in the House believe that their party is set to win big in November keeping the White House and retaking the majority in the Senate. But almost everyone has written off the House going Democratic. Guns could be the key to changing that.
The Democratic Party and those in the House who are Democrats have made a very calculated decision that they can win by exposing thirty to forty Republicans in purple districts in swing states when they will have to vote what they believe is the wrong way on universal background checks and the no buy/no fly provisions. They have made a calculation that they can exploit that GOP vote and when Trump goes down to a stinging defeat in the fall - that extra push will also cause enough GOP House members to lose that it will give them the magic number of 218 to shift that chamber also.
The winds of change would have to be powerful to do that as few thought it was a real possibility before now. And the Dems believe the winds of change have weakened the power of the NRA and they no longer can shift elections and cause them to go down in defeat.
But that is what the House sit in is all about and that is goal of its end game. And it shows that what is happening here is a tremendously seismic shift in politics in this nation - not just gun politics which have been quiet for almost 20 years, but the greater politics as well.
The measure of the success of the current Democratic House sit in will not come in any vote in the House. It will only come in November when we see if this strategy paid off. If the Dems win - gun politics will never be the same for a very long time - at least a generation. If the Dems lose - we could see a return to the days of relative silence on gun issues and the NRA will again ride high.
And the Democratic Party - like the fictional Marsten House in Jerusalem's Lot in Maine - stand before the flames.