Toomey: Background Check Plan Failed Because of Anti-Obama Republican Politics

It is what it is--or what it has become--but it's neither honorable nor defensible, nor in service of our country's express desires or best interests. It's ugly and disreputable, but it's apparently good politics in much of the Republican Party. It's part of what government has become in the US. And at it's heart, it's about denying a black, Democratic president with an African father and name any chance of leading or sharing in responsible government. With other Democratic presidents, these kinds of agreements have been easily brokered. But not with this president. The unspoken difference, the unspoken truth--in part at least--is that this time it is about a black president.

 

After all, this was not about denying hunters or gun enthusiasts any particular type of weapon, including assault weapons with high-capacity magazines, or the right to keep a weapon in one's home for protection. This was simply about extending the requirement for background checks required for sales by legitimate, registered gun shops to gun shows and on-line sales, the dark frontiers where anyone can buy any kind of weapon or ammunition without a background check.

 

And it should come as no surprise that those persons of questionable associations, convicted felons and the unstable will avoid legitimate gun shops and repair to those don't-ask-don't-tell sites to purchase their weapons of choice, and be exposed to no background check at all. That 90% of Americans, including American gun owners, supported this bi-partisan legislation brokered by Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) should have been an overwhelming mandate for passage. You'd think. But in the end even the will of the people didn't matter.

 

That's because this was principally about one thing: denying a black, Democratic president with an African name any success at all--not even shared success in a negotiated deal brokered by bipartisan leadership, not even if those hurt most or put most at risk are the American people at large, and not even if the American people overwhelmingly supported the legislation.

 

Sen. Toomey shares with us the reasons for his failed initiative to broker what should have been an easy deal to reach. And in the past, with a different GOP and a white president, it would have been easy. But today, in the context of this Republican Party and this very talented, if very different president, there is no such thing. 

Link to article:
 

Toomey: Background check plan failed because of Republican politics

( http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/01/18003597-toomey-background-check-plan-failed-because-of-republican-politics?lite )