President Obama embraces Nicole Hockley, who lost a son in the Sandy Hook shootings, after he delivered a statement on the Senate’s failure to pass a measure to expanded gun background checks
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Text of remarks here
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… with the Newtown families before the Rose Garden statement (Photo: Pete Souza)
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VP Biden embraces Mark Barden who lost his son Daniel at Sandy Hook
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So that’s how they act in the face of all the tragedies and in front of the families affected. Yes, I am angry, but anger and sadness do not move things forward. Here’s what I think I’ll do:
Step 1: Identify all Senators who voted NO (Harry Reid exempted because of his special role)
Step 2: Determine which Senators will be up for re-election in 2014
Step 3: Research all possible candidates for those seats
Step 4: Choose alternatives for each one – Democrat and Republican alike –
Step 5: Start active campaigning for the replacement candidates and keep at it until Election Day 2014.
I’m done reasoning with these cowards.
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The Manchin-Toomey Amendment: How They Voted
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…. with Newtown family members from left; Jimmy Greene, father of Ana; Nicole Hockley, mother of Dylan; Jeremy Richman, father of Avilee; and Mark and Jackie Barden, with their children Natalie and James, who lost Daniel
The Obama Diary 
I’m determined.
I am too. This is a shameful day in our nation.
Jennifer Rubin had a preposterous title to her column today: Is Obama Losing on Guns?”
What does PBO. Have to do with OIR doing the right thing about guns?
I’m determined too, LL.
“@JeffersonObama: Instead of fighting NRA…Chris Hayes has an Emoprog Gitmo terrorist rights show. No words for this epic fail. #Hayes”
Our media is useless.
Practically all of them are useless, LL! This what most people don’t understand about the differences between presidents operating in the media environment of the 1930’s, and 1960’s with this President operating in the current media environment.
And a lot of people think of Hayes as a progressive which he is not. He is a Rand-Paul admiring Libertarian who picks and chooses sexy topics from the “left” with which he can attack the President and his administration.
Any true “progressive” would be devoting a good chunk of their show this evening to the animals in congress that voted to keep our children unsafe. When our children are safe we’ll have plenty of time to worry about the terrorists in GITMO.
asswipes.
We will not forget or give up in defeat. OFA phone banks deferred from 4/16 will happen on Saturday. Look for or host one! Love our President who needs our collective action on this critical issue!
Thanks Judy.
Fantastic.
Fired up! Ready to GO!!!!
I can barely stand to see the look of pain on Nicole Hockley’s face. It’s almost as if she’s saying “I can’t believe they don’t care about my child.”
I know – it’s painful to see the anguish on her face.
Look at the anguish on that child’s face. 😦
I agree we must do what we can to get new Dems in there. I am one of those dems who senator voted no. Baucus is really powerful. I really don’t know what will happen here. I know that I will be making local calls. I really do think that the Repubs, NRA and all the tea baggers have really woken a giant with this vote. They may think they have won, but it is far from over.
Yes, amk, this ringleader of the corrupt has to be the main target. Whatever it takes to empower his opponent, we must do. For the health of the nation, his face must never appear on the Senate floor again after 2014.
Even TURTLES call him: Grandma Gummy McConnell
What an evil, evil man! He values the NRA more than he does hundreds of thousands of innocent American, and especially children, killed in senseless gun violence. This a man who has no problem with terrorism as along as it’s committed under the false claim of protecting the 2nd Amendment.
Sorry to cuss after being away from here so long but, what a ratf****r!! How those 46 ‘senators’ can turn their backs on what 90% of American’s support is just beyond me. They are trators and 100% gun lobby whores.
I support gun safety 1000% and stand by our amazing President and even more so the brave and courageous families who are fighting for this common sense legislation. I will be with you all the way in 2014 when (hopefully) elections will have consequences and these trators will be voted out. Bastards!!!!!!!
Is that McConnell up for re election does anyone know? HE is just the worst kind of terrorist-supporting nutjob that needes to be voted out.
Sorry to rant but I am just so sick to the teeth of the senseless obstruction by these people, even after all that has happened. Would they be the same were one of their loved ones had (heaven forbid) been lost to gun violence. Not that I would EVER want ANYONE else to go through such unimaginable pain.
We will eventually overcome, that’s certain.
This effort needs more focus, however. People are still caught up in the media and who said what and how he said it. Things like general strikes and boycotts would be infinitely more effective. These cowardly politicians are bought and paid for. They don’t care about lives, they don’t care about children. Hell, they don’t even *really* have any principles when it comes to guns. The only loyalty they have is to the Almighty Dollar and to their own egos. Gotta hit ’em where they hurt: in the pocket, and in their pride.
Evening Chips, TOD… Dropping by say hello. All is well on the homefront….wanted to share this video, don’t know if it has been posted.
Thanks LP. Think of you and you family. Take care.
That’s incredible. So beautiful, just beautiful that the entire stadium sang it.
I’m such a pacifist so I always cringe at the “bombs bursting in air” and “rocket’s red glare” ; particularly in times like this. It would be a dream come true if they could change those out with some peace and love words from John Lennon’s “Imagine”.
I think of fireworks.
I do understand what you are saying. I’m a pacifist too but our country was born in strife & it’s early years were tenuous. Those words were written during a night of siege when Keyes thought all might be lost but through the tumult he could see the flag still flying & there was hope. I don’t see those words as glorifying war. I see those words as a positive promise that no matter what, we not only survive but good does triumph in the end.
Just my two pesos…..
That’s not only a helpful perspective but apparently a more accurate interpretation – Thanks aquagranny!
Francis Scott Key wrote those words when Baltimore was under cannon fire. He was decribing the attack from one of the British ships where he went to broker the release of some American being held prisoners during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814.
Lawrence O mentioned this on his show tonight. Maybe he’s following you. 😉
I am so glad to see Gabby continue to fight. She fought so bravely for her own life and now she’s fighting every day for the lives of others. A beautiful, inspiring woman.
Agree whole-heartedly with @Jefferson Obama’s comments about @ChrisLHayes.
His show got off to a shaky start and is sure to be cancelled soon.
One of @Maddow’s guests tonight will be: Patricia Maisch, Tucson shooting survivor who shamed Senate after gun vote.
If you were Patricia Maisch, whose invitation would you accept? Maddow’s of course; despite Maddow’s prof left tilt, she can be an extremely empathic interviewer, whereas Chris is so jumpy, the guest would feel uneasy.
Soon, only emo progs and self-promoters will accept an invitation to his show. I don’t even bother recording his timeslot in the off-chance something worthwhile might happen.
Anyone else wonder after Rachel’s opening about the arrests in shooting deaths in Texas and the arrest in Mississippi for ricin, why she didn’t mention whether suspects were dark skinned? King and cnn and fox have broken the news.
WP is at war w/ my gadgets again! Tried to leave a comment on previous thread & it went bye-bye-poof! Damn it! Hopefully this gets thru, so I’ll keep it brief. I wanted to totally cuss these effers today, but I & all of us are going to use our votes count in 2014. That’s it, done & adios effers. We The People need a representative govt. Period.
Nath, couldn’t comment on Night Owl thread last nite (had to crash) & then gadgets wouldn’t allow today, but I loved Donny Hathaway, such talent, and then gone. He was deep. RE: those “Let’s Move” Soul Train folks, damn! That’s how we stayed fit in the day! Hope your kid folk can enjoy. 🙂
If any of you haven’t watched Memphis Soul on PBS (Performance @ WH series), you just have to catch it! Fabulous! So glad my DVR didn’t let me down on this! We loved watching it this evening, & switching off the MSM noise.
xoxox, you all! Hang tough, it’s a long & winding road we’re on. And we’ll get there.
Hi, Gazelle, sorry to hear of your problems with WP! We keep missing each other. It was a delight listening to musical greats, Donny Hathaway and Curtis Mayfield, and those gorgeous Soul Train dancers! Thanks for sharing the clips. You are absolutely right about many of us staying in shape because of the dancing, and the Marching too! I Watched the Memphis Soul WH performance on PBS! Absolutely delightful!
PBO is to put it nicely, pissed off, and this is one guy I don’t want pissed off at me. He has rarely been as specific as he was today in calling out the GOP and putting it all on their shoulders. Rarely has he called the other side liars, but he did today. I fully expect the gloves to come off in a lot of ways.The sleeping giant I referred to meant more than the American people. It also meant a side of PBO that the GOP has not really seen before.
Yes, make no mistake, he was FURIOUS. Something deep in his soul has been offended and he will not let this go.
and he’s not alone in that.
Absolutely not alone.
Yes, meta, you are so right. We are touched on a Soul level when it comes to a matter which concerns all of us, all our children and the future of our country. In PBO, we have, finally, a leader who is capable of living and loving on a Soul level, and with him we are able to find our way to a higher place, where One Soul exists, and we are all a part of that work which must be done. We can only go there together. I am here with you all tonight, but am also deep in prayer and meditation. Words are too flimsy to express the depth, but I want to send my Love and Light out. There is so much pain in these photos; we cannot witness this element of human dignity and remain unmoved.
I wish I could reach out and capture your Love and Light and I will try to do so. I am very powerfully capable of bringing energy from the heavens or the earth into my body … maybe that will help tonight. The pain in these photos have touched me in a way that I cannot remember other photos doing … I need to do something. MightyPamela, I will be sending energy your way.
{{{{{daisydem}}}}}. I have no doubt you are fully capable of centering a great deal of the energy from heaven and earth, daisydem… And as Nath says just below, it is in the human heart the goodness of our Spirit can be found, or not. For those of us who live by he Heart, and emit life force from the heart center, like PBO, and this who serve close to him, it is almost impossible to fathom there are some who simply do not. Yes, you gather strength, spread it around, and thank you, I will gladly accept whatever you send my way!
You know, Meta, only people with really cold hearts could fail to be moved with the loss of 20 innocent children aged 6-7 years. The mild Bill that was defeated by the Republican filibuster wasn’t even the one I would have preferred, but I saw it as a first step. Now I think it’s time to go for broke! Any member of Congress who is not for comprehensive gun control must be targeted for defeat.
Just catching up w/ today’s news….I might have broke something earlier, after seeing what went down in the Senate. BTW thanks everyone for not giving me lip about the date…I have lost track of time over the last few weeks. Take care, GN TOD.
Good to hear from you, LP! How is your Dad? I hope he is feeling better. Wishing you and your family all the best!
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/04/17/1886151/after-newtown-more-senators-vote-to-weaken-gun-laws-than-strengthen-them/
Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) NRA-backed proposal to require all states to recognize out-of-state permits for concealed handguns received 57 votes, while the background check amendment offered by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) only achieved 54 supporters. Both fell short of the 60-vote threshold, however.
13 Dems voted FOR Cornyn’s bill
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00100
I am LIVID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And more determined than EVER.
Cornyn’s amendment received 57 votes ? For the love of God, these senators are NUTS !
Yes, they are. NRA whores is what I would call them.
” …these senators are NUTS !” You are absolutely right Lovepolitics!
I am LIVID TOO….Kay Hagan just lost my vote…yes, she voted for background checks but voting for this just did me in with her…..out of there…
Also, Maddow re-tweeted this:
Check out the number of re-tweets this got (the power of @Maddow).
This tweet did not originate from @Maddow – it originated from @Markknoller who was quoting Gabby Giffords. Maddow simply retweeted, as this thousands of others.
Good one amk!
wow, that picture of biden with his head against that mothers head, and her kids faces…that should sent constantly every day to those who voted against them today, especially those senators who are mothers. the cornyn admendment vote is especially crazy, with 3 democratic moms voting for it?!? i demand those senators who are moms to explain their votes right to that newtown mom’s face. i dare them.
“Thirteen Democrats supported Cornyn’s measure, including, Sens. Baucus, Begich, Donnelly, Hagan, Heinrich, Heitkamp, Landrieu, Manchin, Pryor, Udall (CO), Udall (NM), Tester, Warner.”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/04/17/1886151/after-newtown-more-senators-vote-to-weaken-gun-laws-than-strengthen-them/
these people are subhuman….truly.
Yes, I came down the comments to post: look at the faces. I am weeping, such pain, sorrow in those faces, our President and Vice-President included.
Here’s the thing. 90% of the entire country agreed that we need stronger background checks on guns. Even for the casual tv viewer, the casual newspaper reader, the not really engaged voter…THIS WILL BE PLASTERED ALL OVER THE PLACE. This news will be on the front page of every newspaper, the headline on every MSM outlet…it will be hard to escape, even for those less than engaged. Most people will be outraged at this, even if they don’t know all the details. I hope that their outrage translates to votes next year…and every single year that comes up to vote these people out of office. Once again, as sad and disappointed as we are, we are playing a long game here. This is the beginning, not the end. This should galvanize those that never thought of being politically active. I think that those that voted against this, should be planning their cushy lobbying jobs now….it’s our job not to let this drop and to keep the outrage going to the ballot box!
This is spot on, DF, but I think the galvanizing of action has to be spurred by endless prodding on our part, starting with our own neighborhoods. We cannot allow another election where ANY Democrat stays home. The pain Congress has inflicted on the American people for the last two years is the result of 2010. This must never happen again. I hope there is a massive national movement to rouse all Democrats out of their stupor. We need to come out in numbers never seen before.
Well, Jackie, I don’t mean to be rude but I voted Democrat and loookie who I elected…NRA whore Kay Hagan….nope, not gonna happen again…I have made a major decision in my life. I am leaving the Democratic Party and reregistering as an Independent. Obviously, Democrats don’t pay any attention to other Democrats and Republicans don’t pay any attention to Democrats but they do pay attention to Independents. I’m rather disgusted with a good amount of democrats right now especially in my State. Yes, I still have Democratic values but don’t want to be taken for granted any longer….KAY HAGAN VOTED FOR A REPUBLICAN’S CONCEALED GUN AMENDMENT….You can’t imagine the depths of my anger.
This is a classic example of how the media covers for the Republicans.
Lying bastard.
Absolutely lying bastards of many media people, left and right!
Plenty of pushback.
Yes I noticed a lot of people are pushing back. Thanks 🙂
Does this guy know how to count? Only 4 Democrats + the procedural vote by leader Reid, out of 46 no votes, voted against the Bill. The Bill to pass, it needed to overcome the filibuster required 60 yes votes. Even if all Democrats voted for the Bill, that would not have been enough to overcome the Republican filibuster. This Andrew Kaczynski is either lazy about doing the math, or is trying to cover up the fact that 41 Republicans voted for the filibuster by blaming the President!
https://twitter.com/LOLGOP/status/324693840680329216
Can anyone report on how the network (not cable) news covered the Senate vote and PBO’s response today?
Unfortunately, I did not watch ANY news this evening.
Just posted something like that downthread. Great minds think alike and all that!
These photos are just crushing.
i’ll be inserting the other 3 dems who voted against this
Waco? WTH?
This was re-tweeted by @NYCJim, former managing editor at NYT, now an exec editor at Reuters:
I read that injuries are being reported.
Yes, @BrianStelter is now on the story:
Thank you Chips for posting these heartbreaking photos? Are they by Pete Souza?
Bringing this over from an earlier thread as an olive branch to lamh36 for being 100% wrong yesterday – I sincerely apologize (gave my apology to UTA on an earlier thread).
TODville needs to be aware of one of the reasons PBO’s *humanity* doesn’t get through to the other side:
“EVERY news net showed the President’s speech in it’s entirety, Fox News cut off the President’s after a few minutes.”
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/04/17/president-obamas-statement-on-senate-vote/
How many cups of coffee have you had?
On my second. 🙂
🙂
When the AARP sided with Bush a while back, that was it for me and that group. Why can’t the large percentage of NRA members, who say they want background checks, leave the organization ~ if Wayne LaPuke won’t give in because he’s bought and paid for by gun manufacturers?
Thanks Chips. It breaks my heart to look at the pictures in this post. PBO’s message was strong and clear that this is not over! I choose to continue to accept this mission with PBO and yes, we are gonna get this right. .we have to for the children! We won’t give up…we will prevail!
Yes we can. #FORWARD
via a BJ poster
All those that voted with the NRA have this blood on their hands as well. America needs to know and understand this connection.
so tired of the disinformation. i can’t believe more people don’t challenge the n.r.a. nuts with the simple statements in the US Constitution which explain what the 2nd amendment is for. 2nd amendment is obviously about militias. then article 1, section 8 clearly defines militias and how they need to be under the control of a democratically elected body, either the u.s. congress or state government (basically the way the national guard is today). it even clearly says militias are to be used to “suppress insurrection” which is the exact opposite of what gun nuts try to argue. so we just had a bunch of elected senators today literally thumb their noses at their own constitution. there isn’t any legal grey area here. the “original intent” about the “right to bear arms” is about as clear as the constitution is about any topic. just searched for more talk about article 1, section 8, and here’s a great explanation, and i ask anyone here who tweets/emails senators and congress people to send this constantly to them and ask them to reply to this basic logic…
http://portsmouth-nh.patch.com/blog_posts/interpreting-the-second-amendment#comment_6979987
You are absolutely right, 4morefor44! Like the late Senator Robert Byrd, I always carry with me a copy of the U.S. Constitution. Under Article I, Section 8, paragraph 15, “Congress shall have the power….To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.”
And here is exactly what the entirety of the 2nd Amendment says:
“A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
Neither Article I, Sec. 8, par 15; nor the 2nd Amendment says that any Tom, Dick and Harry has a right to bear arms without regulation? Moreover, the right to bear arms is all about executing “the laws of the Union” putting down domestic “insurrections” or repelling foreign invasions.” There is absolutely no word in the Constitution that provides for the right to bear arms in rebellion against the government of the United States, in defense of “Freedom” and “Liberty,” NO WHERE! Moreover, the whole rationale for Lincoln’s fight to save the Union was his rejection of the assertion that States, or people in various States, have a constitutional right to bear arms in rebellion against the U.S. government. The nonsense about “the blood of patriots” watering the “tree of liberty” by fighting against the government of the United States does not appear in any sections of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or any subsequent Constitutional Amendments.
I really wish we had a big “LIKE” button here because I would be checking mine 100000X for this comment.
Thank you so much, Aquagranny! So good to see you here! I follow all your fabulous commentaries on TPV & POU! I am just so sick of the con men who lie to their idiot followers that the Constitution gives them a right to stockpile arms to fight the U.S. government. Jefferson Davis and General Lee tried that and they failed. As Abraham Lincoln repeatedly said there is no Constitutional right to take up arms in rebellion against a duly elected U.S. government! Actually, the opposite is true. The Constitution mandates that Congress and the President can authorize the formation of militias, or mobilize existing militias (I think they are called National Guards these days) to “Suppress” domestic “insurrections.” This would include all these gun nuts calling for armed “Insurrection” against the U.S government, supposedly in defense of “Freedom” and Liberty.” To repeat, there is absolutely no provision in the U.S. Constitution that says that disgruntled people, who lost elections, have a right to pick up arms to overthrow a duly elected government of the United States. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! So any one calling for rebellion against U.S. government is a traitor. Sections 2 & 3 of the 14th Amendment are very clear about that!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
The Obama Diary wrote:
> a:hover { color: red; } a { text-decoration: none; color: #0088cc; } a.primaryactionlink:link, a.primaryactionlink:visited { background-color: #2585B2; color: #fff; } a.primaryactionlink:hover, a.primaryactionlink:active { background-color: #11729E !important; color: #fff !important; } /* @media only screen and (max-device-width: 480px) { .post { min-width: 700px !important; } } */ WordPress.com Chipsticks posted: ” President Obama embraces Nicole Hockley, who lost a son in the Sandy Hook shootings, after he delivered a statement on the Senate’s failure to pass a measure to expanded gun background checks **** **** Text of remarks here **** … with the N”
John King? 😉
Fabulous Toon.
Sorry that I couldn’t get the photo to show. I am still new at posting a tweets.
WilTal, the only time a tweet photo will show is if it’s a photo native to twitter with a URL that starts with pic.twitter.com/
Meta, thank you very much!
I thought republicans considered themselves PRO-LIFE. I guess they are only pro-life when a child is still forming in the womb. Their definitions of pro-life need to be reevaluated in the face of their shameful behavior today concerning the gun control issue. I am not really going to fret too much about this because I believe in the end we will get it done. I am even more determined than ever to work tirelessly in 2014 to gain back the House and retain the Senate so we can pass substantive legislations that will advance this country in the right direction. We cannot continue this way whereby a few crazy minority in congress continues to hold the rest of the country hostage because they hate the brilliant man in the white house.
Damn shame.
Aside from the Newtown parents and siblings, I really feel for VP Biden in particular. He knows what it feels like to have to bury a young child – something no parent should have to go through. And he put so much effort in trying to get this legislation passed. 😦 But It won’t be all in vain, VP Joe. We have your back and we will continue to fight.
I agree totally – this is taking a toll on VP Joe, on a personal, gut level. We will have his back all during the long fight ahead.
You can bet the farm on that.
Hopefruit, as someone who had to bury a child, as a result of unexpected illness, I absolutely feel VP Biden’s pain and the pain of all the Newtown parents and other parents throughout the country. Of Course their pain is more horrendous because it was totally senseless! Thank you for highlighting VP Biden’s experience with losing a child. For him this is not abstract debate.
Very touching, nath. Took my breath away. Thank you for sharing such a poignant personal tragedy with all of us, in such an empathetic manner toward our VP and the Sandy Hook families.
Thank you Bob for your kind words! The depth of your humanity is truly awesome. The worst thing that can happen to any parent is the loss of a child! As time passes you learn to cope, but the pain never completely goes away; especially when you hear the news about the loss of other children. I wish these 46 Senators had the kind of empathy that you display here all the time. What these senators did today was tell those parents, whose pain is still raw, that the loss of their children did not matter! Today the Senate could have honored the memory of the lost children, just as we do with fallen soldiers. This would have been a major help in aiding the healing of the parents and other family members who have lost children and other loved family members as a result of senseless gun violence. Instead, a minority of senators chose to dishonor those children by doing the dirty work of a gun lobby. As the Parents and the President said, we all must remain strong in our spirit and determination to make sure that what happened today is just round one. The struggle to curb gun violence must go on. The memory of all the precious children taken away from us from senseless gun violence must continue to inspire us.
Nath, I’m sorry to hear that you had this experience. My deepest condolences to you and I can only imagine that time just eases the pain a bit, but does not erase it.
“@JeffersonObama: I would help finance that!! RT @TheReidReport: Could Mark Kelly run against Jeff Flake? Now that would be epic…”
Unfortunately, Mark Kelly is a drained man at present, in my opinion. He has his hands full, since he is prime caregiver to Gabby. Maybe he can, in the future. God bless both of them.
I think Kelly said today he might. That will be in 2018.
Oh, okay. Four or five years out should work! Right now, I don’t think the extent of Gabby’s ongoing recovery has fully been absorbed, in his heart and mind. You can tell by the very painful look in his eye that he’s barely over the incident – if you ever “get over it.”
I agree with you jacqueline – Mark will be the main support of Gabby for the rest of her life – as I mentioned below – the congress can’t even take care of their own where guns are involved. Just looking at and listening to Gabby should be all for any sane person needs to call for a change in gun laws.
Sad that her standing up for gun safety has gone totally unnoticed by so many of her uncaring former colleagues. Gabby and Mark are in a league all their own.
I think most of them would prefer to forget Gabby – that she lived – and lived to be seen and heard – is one small miracle amid the hate that attacked her.
She’s a shining star. They are now blinded by power and greed, but maybe her light will get through ~ eventually.
I think that he said he was not interested in that. Damn shame. Flake would get his sorry ASS KICKED. I’ll make sure that he does anyway. Coward.
This is none of those idiots trying to say why today’s vote protected the 2nd amendment and my respons. I kind of have fun with these, although they occasionally get tiring.
Sorry, here is the full exchange.
And even that didn’t work, but you get the gist of it.
send the link i left below and tell him to do his own research on what the constitution actually says, which is that the 2nd amendment was written to PREVENT insurrection, not facilitate it, as the gun nuts having been lying about for years.
please send them this link and ask them to respond.
http://portsmouth-nh.patch.com/blog_posts/interpreting-the-second-amendment#comment_6979987
the 2nd amendment is about “militias” later defined in section 1, article 8 as being under the control of federal or state governments. the constitution explicitly states that the 2nd amendment is about “suppressing insurrection” among other government-controlled uses. no, the 2nd amendment was directly spit upon by those senators today and all the gun nuts. they’ve been knowingly try to confuse the public about the “original intent” of the 2nd amendment for decades.
Good declarative way to frame it, meta:
Conservatives Sure Are Gloating Gleefully About Blocking the Gun Bill
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A lot of people are understandably upset about what the Senate did to gun control on Wednesday afternoon. Put bluntly, the Senate voted down a gun control bill that the majority of Americans supported. Everybody probably knows by now how President Obama feels. Standing next to Gabrielle Giffords who is “furious” at the White House, the president scolded the Senate for failing to move forward with gun control reform and said it was “a pretty shameful day in Washington.” A very vocal group of gun control supporters echoed the sentiment in the minutes that followed — more on that in a second.
But conservatives seem predictably pleased. And hey, why shouldn’t they be? They took a measure like expanded background checks — a measure that 90 percent of Americans support — and more or less filibustered it out of existence. They even pulled some sympathetic Democrats across the aisle in the process. That’s a quite a feat, politically speaking! However, if you agree with the president, it’s also quite a betrayal. Stonewalling the popular legislation not only betrays the majority of Americans that support it. It also betrays the victims of gun violence whose friends and family have been pleading for Washington to do something productive about the problem.
————————————
Read more here ……..
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/04/conservatives-sure-are-gloating-gleefully-about-blocking-gun-bill/64336/
Mitch has taken it down, but this Watson his FB page,
Ron Conway pledges to oust senators who rejected background checks
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Legendary tech investor and political mover Ron Conway has a stern warning for the 46 senators who rejected an amendment to expand background checks on firearms sales on Wednesday, a vote that flew in the face of public opinion.
“We will employ the most sophisticated social media campaign ever built to remove these people from office,” he said in an interview with The Chronicle.
“Mark my words,” he said. “It is shameful and the United States of America should be embarrassed by its Senate.”
——————————————-
http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2013/04/17/ron-conway-pledges-to-oust-senators-who-rejected-background-checks/
Is This The Greatest Commercial For New Gun Laws You’ve Ever Seen?
By LOLGOP
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This new ad from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America perfectly makes an argument that you’ve probably been thinking about for years: Our guns have changed, so why shouldn’t our gun laws?
More than 30,000 Americans die from gun violence every year. And as you might already know, more Americans have died from gun violence than in all the wars in American history.
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http://www.nationalmemo.com/is-this-the-greatest-commercial-for-new-gun-laws-youve-ever-seen/
To the 46 NRA cowards, I hope you all enjoy the big donation from the NRA. Heart-less bastards.
I think we are going to win this fight, it’s just the first round, we will win.
Darn shame there weren’t a whole bunch of PATRIOTS at the Boston finish line with their guns! They could have………..
Oh, right. DIED.
Asswipes.
perfect!
Great, great tweet, AMK! No more nonsense about fixating on 4 out of 45 Democrats who voted against the bill, when 41 out of 45 Republican Senators refused to stand with the 90% of the people and would have been enough to sustain the filibuster.
Do anyone know what time POTUS and FLOTUS will be in Boston tomorrow?
All I know is that the service starts at 11AM.
America should be ashame how many Americans lose their lives to gun violence, compare to any other country.
Let me change the subject for a minute, are there any pictures of FLOTUS today in Maryland? I saw one picture of her as she was greeting the Governor of Maryland, and FLOTUS look lovely in her red Michael Kors dress and red shoes. I think I spell the designer name right.
Video of First Lady In Maryland today:
http://www.livestream.com/statemaryland?cachebuster=59613984
My hope is they will turn out because this country can not continue with those Republicans. We have to turn out.
Exactly, AMK! The looney left, represented by MSNBC’s Chris Hayes. was today occupied with Guantanamo.
https://twitter.com/atmoreno/status/324713672490508288
h/t to mccain, kirk, collins and toomey for bucking the #nra ‘whip’.
As much as I dislike Sen. John McCain, today he showed courage and should be applauded! On the other hand, may be he is thinking of retiring in 2016 which means that he will not be beholden to the NRA. The other three GOP senators are to be commended also but they also are aware that they represent States that voted for President Obama twice.
Thanks Amk for providing the pictures of this vote.
4 democrats..
.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/04/17/manchin-toomey-gun-amendment-fails/
The bill, which was expected to come up short, lost the support of four Democrats on Wednesday: Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.), Mark Begich (Alaska), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Mark Pryor (Ark.). All four face difficult reelections in 2014 in rural states with strong gun cultures. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) voted against the amendment for procedural reasons.
REMEMBER THESE NAMES AMERICA!
Baucas- Montana
Begich- Alaska
Heitkamp- North Dakota
Pryor- Arkansas
Reid- Nevada
I’m the most confused with Harry Reids vote. Unreal!
Sen Reid HAD to change his vote to a no vote so that this bill could be bought up again at a later date. You may want to be peeved at him for other reasons…but it shouldn’t be for this.
Ok, sorry, I didn’t understand his reason for voting nay. Thanks desert flower.
You’re welcome…it was discussed earlier here.
Some arcane senate procedure. reid has to vote with majority to bring back the bill. Senate is not wired for democracy.
thanks amk, I was confused on his vote so understand now why.
Purely procedural, Joy, as df and LL amk have noted.
HOWEVER, the core issue is that Senator Reid and the Democratic ‘Leadership’ in the Senate have allowed a RADICAL, EXTREMIST GOP INSURGENCY to destroy a core tenet of democracy – MAJORITY RULE. See my tweet below. I cut Senator Reid ZERO SLACK on this fundamental FAIL.
BTW, though I’m not a resident of Nevada, I supported Senator Reid with as much $$ and other support as I possibly could to enable him to be re-elected in 2010. I will always support a reasonable candidate over a right wing fanatic, i.e., the ONLY type of candidate that has any chance of winning a Republican primary.
I agree Bob, and I don’t feel he is doing his job in the Senate as a true Democrat.
Harry Reid changed his vote for procedural reasons so that he could bring it up again.
Reid- procedural vote, so it can be voted on again!
Please stop this nonsense! Even if all four of the Democrats voted for the Bill, the Bill would still have been defeated! Your comment is intended to put all the blame on just four Democrats! Why didn’t you list 41 GOP senators, out of 45, who voted against the Bill? Most of the people at TOD are not stupid and know exactly what Harry Reid’s procedural No vote was all about! It’s you who is “unreal” for focusing on 7% of the Democrats who voted against the Bill instead of focusing on 91% of Republicans who voted against the Bill.
Comment from a local AZ blog I frequent: Sen. Flake had the temerity to speak at the dedication of a conference to honor the memory of Gabe Zimmerman, and
then turned around the next day to vote to obstruct a bill to expand background checks.
So, on Tuesday he honors Gabe Zimmerman, and on Wednesday he honors Jared Loughner.
Sen. Flake is a hypocrite as well as a coward.
Asshole is too kind.
Unreal! 😦
DF – tweet it!
#NoMore60Votes
Agree Bob! Reid needs to do better! It will be nice to see him go.
I’m sure many are aware of the catastrophe in Waco, Tx. tonight—-fire and explosions at fertilizer plant—-many dead, scores injured, many homes and businesses destroyed, mandatory evacuations etc. etc. Another horrific event.
The paranoid part of my mind sez, “Waco??”
BBC is not reporting any deaths. So far.
Not hearing anything on deaths on CNN. I’m sure they will be talking about the deaths tomorrow morning.
Who knows—-can’t always trust the early reports, as we know—–but I saw estimates of 60-70 deaths, 200 injured, 75-100 homes and biz destroyed, dangerous fumes, school now on fire, etc. Does look horrific in photos.
Why am I not surprised about this? The batshit crazy Bachmann should get together with the batshit crazy Palin. The 2 of them could make a porn movie together. They are just about the most disgusting women in todays politics.
Evening all.
Wonderful thread, and wonderful comments. Your comments are giving me ideas for the post I’m working on. (Yes, I’m a writer; I steal shamelessly.)
But for now I’m going to go read and contemplate. I leave you with a Buddhist prayer.
Unfortunately, much work, and some asskicking, will have to be done before this is true.
nite folks
How can these poor excuses for politicians look at Gabby Giffords and still vote against gun control – they cannot even take care of their own.
I just hadda unload a BIG OLE RANT on someone on the Ole BookOFaces:
I fired me a gun beeefore!!!! I Sure did! Chrome 3-fiddy-7 MAGNEM!! And that’s utterly NOT THE POINT. And the fact that you a responsible person have fears and concerns and therefore you own guns IS NOT THE POINT. Our national gun culture is sick, cancerous and absolutely THE POINT. I abhor the fact that imbeciles and hotheads and doofusses and psychos and F*CK I’M ANGRY AT EVERYONE TODAY people next door to my family and in any public place can get any type of murder implement with virtually no checks. 30,000-40,000 Americans die EVERY YEAR from guns right inside the USA? WTF??? THAT’S just ok? FREEDOM?!? Yeah, my 6 year old just got freedom-ed by the neighbor kid. That’s how it goes so we can all be FREE!!! THE ANSWER TO THIS NASTY, PERVASIVE THREAT IS: WE ALL GOTTA GUN-UP!? (Never mind that legitimate self defense shootings are rare, rare, RARE. Close to zero statistically.) Get you and your momma a whole buncha big ass guns!!! YET….THE most bad ass, well trained and well armed police men and women are murdered by guns ALL THE TIME in our country. Recently an ultimate badass, famous SPECIAL FORCES legend, ARMED AT THE TIME f*cking shot dead by a gun in our country! It’s just ALL GOOD? MORE AND MORE AND MORE AND MORE DEADLY GUNS IN OUR SOCIETY? This is how we want America to be for our kids and future generations FOREVER? We just f**king pack heat and shoot each other, that’s how we roll!!! Haven’t you SEEN TOMBSTONE?? WE ARE BAD!! WE CARRY GUNS SO WE CAN KILL WHEN THE TIME ARISES! Makes me sick.
New post.
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/04/18/this-effort-is-not-over/
I think this sounds about right coming from them: h/t Political Carnival
“I am the senator. You are the citizen. You need to be quiet.”
– North Carolina State Senator Tommy Tucker (R), quoted by the Raleigh News and Observer, to Goldsboro News-Argus publisher Hal Tanner who was opposing legislation to change public notice requirements for local government.