Democrats are finally doing politics the way Republicans do

[DonViejo]

By Paul Waldman May 3 at 1:24 PM

For many years, Democrats have been convinced that the American people, and even their Republican opponents, are open to persuasion. If they could just have the opportunity to explain why their policies are morally right and practically effective, they could win almost anyone over.

Republicans, on the other hand, harbored no illusions about persuading Democrats of anything. Instead, they had a much more hard-headed view of how politics works. And now it seems that Democrats are finally coming around to the GOP’s way of thinking.

That has broad ramifications for the future of American politics, not just in how elections are run but how policy is made.

Let’s take one example: Today, Rep. Swalwell of California has an op-ed in USA Today in which he proposes a genuine ban on assault weapons — not just the manufacture of new weapons, as was the case in the temporary ban passed when Bill Clinton was president, but a genuine effort to make military-style rifles illegal for civilians:

Instead, we should ban possession of military-style semiautomatic assault weapons, we should buy back such weapons from all who choose to abide by the law, and we should criminally prosecute any who choose to defy it by keeping their weapons. The ban would not apply to law enforcement agencies or shooting clubs.

You can guess the reaction from gun advocates: Aha, see! They really are coming for our guns!

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/05/03/democrats-are-finally-doing-politics-the-way-republicans-do/

[ffr]

1. IT'S ABOUT GD TIME!!!

Any democrat that doesn't get onboard with this way of thinking, at least until some level of cooperation is found, deserves to lose to their hard headed republican opponent.

Fight fire with fire until such time as the other side doesn't like having our side play by their rules. PERIOD!

[wasupaloopa]

2. I would like to see it be an exception if the gun is kept by a third party like a shooting range.

As long as you could not carry it in public.

[vi5]

3. This is good, but we'll see how it is when and if we actually get power back.....

...I fear there will be an "all is forgiven" or a "lets let the healing begin with our friends across the aisle" type approach which wins over nobody and which is always met with little more than being slapped away.

[CrispyQ]

4. Swalwell is one of our bulldogs.

Not afraid to speak out! We need more like this in the party.

[deurbano]

8. I saw him on Tuesday night when he was a special guest at an event in support of Eleni

Kounalakis who is running for CA Lt. Governor. He's great! I have only recently started to take note of him, but I think he's excellent at communicating a coherent, easily comprehensible message. And as you said, he's not afraid to speak out!

[sandensea]

5. Absolutely. Just make them illegal, and make anyone who holds on to them automatic felons.

There'll be no need to "come" for them; the minute the wingnuts find they can't get a loan, housing, or keep/find a job, they'll turn their assault weapons in themselves.

I'd reward anyone turning them in within a given deadline, with full market-value reimbursement.

Anyone who waits past the deadline would get progressively smaller payouts - and of course face potential jail time.

[mountain grammy]

6. I'm in favor of legislation like this.

[notdarkyet]

7. I really like Swawell. He was on msnbc today discussing the Giuliani statements. He shows up

A lot to discuss our side of issues. He’s young, handsome, smart, a lawyer, a good speaker. I like him for president.

[Caliman73]

9. That isn't the way Republicans do politics.

Gun Safety and gun control are not as controversial as made out to be. The majority of Americans, even the majority of NRA members support restrictions on certain guns. It is just that the NRA has a lot of money to throw around from the gun industry and scares particular people.

Most of where the population is in California is pretty safe to propose restrictions on firearms, within limits. California has a ban on assault weapons so it isn't going to cost Swalwell much to try to make it national. California recently enacted a ban on one of the workarounds for assault weapons, the infamous bullet button which locked magazines into place unless you applied a tool to depress the magazine catch. So there was already legislation to make it slower to switch out magazines (already capped at 10 rounds), and California voted to do away with that work around because it wasn't enough. Now, any assault style rifle has to have the magazine pinned into the well and load through the top of the magazine.

I think it is fine what Swalwell is doing but I wouldn't tout it as "what Republicans do".

REPUBLICAN CHEAT. All the time. They have lobbyists like ALEC write bills. They LIE. They suppress votes.

Swalwell is doing what Democrats should be doing, knowing where the American sentiment is and going for bigger changes.

[Blue_true]

10. I agree with the legislation.

Assault weapons should only be available to SOME on duty police officers and registered, certified and regularly inspected shooting clubs. Anyone else that has an assault weapon, even an off duty cop, should have the guns taken away for good and be sent to jail for owning them.