Home
D&D
Music
Banner Archive

Marvel Comics Timeline
Godzilla Timeline


RSS

   

« Recap 52 | Main | I know i'm cheating on my Timeline project »

Is the White House driving the debate on gun control?

Justin Green, at David Frum's site, thinks so, emphasizing how the White House is bypassing the media by also using Twitter and linking to a series of posts that show how the buzz about gun control is staying alive much longer than after previous massacres.

I don't care about gun control. Not really. I'm for it, more or less. But it's not something i'd be pushing for right now, with ~8% unemployment. And it seemed like a lost cause at this point anyway (see this Tom Tomorrow cartoon). But i bring it up because previously, when we were discussing the size of the stimulus, or the Public Option, or Cap & Trade, or the Union Check Card issue, wild eyed liberals like me would ask "Why doesn't the president get out there and rally his supporters to push Congress to act on this stuff? Where's the bully pulpit?". And more sensible Democrats would pat us on the head and tell us that's a nice romantic view of the presidency we've got there but the president doesn't really have that kind of power.

Well, he sure seems to have it now. Granted, it might reflect the fact that we've reached critical mass on the gun tragedies. But i still think the president has the power to influence public opinion, or at least better focus his supporters, in all cases.

To end on a positive note, you may remember that prior to the first Obama campaign there were a number of online advocacy groups that were growing in power. MoveOn. Democracy For America. And those got subsumed by Obama For America, which was very successful at focusing online activism into getting Obama elected. But after that, instead of keeping the organization alive and focused on pushing Congress to enact Obama's agenda, they let it die. Well, they seemed to have learned their lesson (or plan to be less cautious during Obama's second term) and are converting OFA to "Organizing For Action".

By fnord12 | February 1, 2013, 1:03 PM | Liberal Outrage


Comments

that's what Teddy Roosevelt did when trustbusting was opposed by his own party that controlled Congress. he went right to the people, made his argument, and forced Congress' hand on the issue. and he did it 100 f-in' years ago without the media tools we have now!

i miss having you drop these bits of presidential history into the conversation. not that i retained any of it, ofc.

roosevelt, roosevelt, kennedy

I think you're right. No matter how many tragedies befall the US due to guns, having a gun is so ingrained in the American psyche - the 9 year girl shooting her gun instructor with an UZI is a prime example - that it'll never go away. Ever.

Reference from SuperMegaMonkey

Kerry has really made an ass of himself on the topic of Syria. Today is also the day of Obama's "media blitz" to get the public behind this. As Kevin Drum notes, this is a rare occasion where Obama is...    Read More: Can we bomb them just a little bit, huh? Can we, pleeease?