The slow march back to a gun control discussion continued with Harry Reid’s floor speech in the Senate. It was mostly opaque, but you had to read between the cliches.
“Every idea must be on the table” with respect to preventing another tragedy like the one that killed 20 children and seven adults, the Nevada Democrat suggested… “We need to accept the reality that we are not doing enough to protect our citizens.”
The people who want action and stirring words right now probably weren’t satisfied with this. But consider the source. Reid, in his march to power, was one of the Democrats ducking fights on guns to up his NRA rating. He didn’t support extending the assault weapons ban in 2004; the NRA endorsed him for re-election. He didn’t move on gun bills from the time he won a Senate majority, and the NRA stayed neutral in his re-election bid. Reid’s NRA grade was a “B,” remarkably good for a Democrat. If he’s blinking – well, it still doesn’t do anything to win over Republicans, but it represents a shift.
