Orlando Massacre (And Murder of Children at Newtown) Do Not Sway Senate Republicans

Click image to enlarge

If one wants proof of the moral bankruptcy of today's Republican Party, look no farther than the vote this evening in the United States Senate on a bill that would have allowed the U.S. Attorney General to prohibit the sale of fire arms to suspected terrorists. EVERY single Republican except Senator  Ayotte of New Hampshire and Senator Kirk of Illinois - who are each facing a difficult re-election fights - voted to kill the bill.  Even so-called "GOP moderate Susan Collins.  NRA - think gun manufacturer - money meant more to these horrible Republicans than the 49 lives lost in Orlando a little over a week ago and the 20 elementary school children massacred in Newtow, Connecticut.  Likewise, the vote showed the lie of GOP claims that Republicans want to protect Americans from future terrorist attacks.  As I often say when talking about today's Republicans, the nastiest tawdry whore has more honesty, integrity and virtue than this hypocrites and cheaply bought political prostitutes do.   Huffington Post has details:

WASHINGTON — Just over a week after the worst mass shooting in American history, the Senate failed Monday to advance a pair of modest and popular gun violence reform measures.

One would have barred gun sales to anyone who has been on a terrorist watch list in the previous five years or who is “reasonably” suspected of posing a terrorist threat. Another would have tightened the background check system to cover the so-called gun show loophole and all internet gun sales. About 90 percent of the public favors such steps.

But neither of the proposals could get the 60 votes needed to advance.

The background checks amendment failed, 44 to 56. Sen. Mark Kirk (Ill.) was the only Republican who supported it. Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) were the only Democrats who opposed it.

The terrorist watch list amendment failed, 47 to 53. Kirk and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) were the only Republicans who voted for it. Heitkamp was the only Democrat who opposed it.

A pair of competing amendments by Republicans also failed.

The votes were scheduled after Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) took control of the Senate floor last week in a 15-hour filibuster-style marathon aimed not at stopping something, but at spurring action on gun violence.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) saw the failure coming, and condemned it Monday, after reciting a long list of recent mass shootings.

“Instead of getting help from their elected officials, our constituents see a disturbing pattern of inaction,” Reid said. “It’s always the same. After each tragedy we try, we Democrats try to pass sensible gun safety measures. Sadly, our efforts are blocked by the Republicans in Congress who take their marching orders from the National Rifle Association.”

When the next "lone wolf" terror attack occurs, just remember that Republicans likely made it possible. If you find this behavior as sickening as I do, vote against Republicans at every opportunity and make it clear why you are doing so.  Encourage all you friends and family members to do so as well.  The Republican Party puts no value on American lives and the party needs to be defeated at every front.  As for the Democrats who voted against these reasonable measures, the next calls I get from the Democrat and Senatorial fundraising arms, they will get a piece of my mind and it will be very clear that I will give NO MONEY until these three Judases are out of office. 

The Victims of GOP Insanity on Guns

GOP victims - click image to enlarge

In the wake of two high profile mass shootings - actually, one now happens every day somewhere in America - and a mass shooting in Savannah on the same day as the massacre in San Bernadino, Republicans have rebuffed any measures to change America's gun laws.  So beholden is the GOP to the NRA and gun crazies in the party base that even a proposal to restrict gun sales to those on terror watch lists went down in flames. Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malikmay have pulled the triggers at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, but they had accomplices in the GOP who likewise have blood on their hands.  The photos of above are those who Republican intransigence against any form of sane gun control helped to murder.   A piece in Politico looks at the Republican refusal to do anything to stop the carnage.  Here are highlights:

Never mind that massacres in Connecticut, Colorado, South Carolina, and now, California have forced uncomfortable questions about the widespread availability of weapons in the United States. And forget the fact that the 14 dead in San Bernardino, California, drowned out an otherwise successful week for the GOP, in which Speaker Paul Ryan laid out his vision for the future of the party, after helping guide two major bills across the finish line.

The reality is quite plain on Capitol Hill: There's still no appetite among Republicans for new gun laws. 

They say there are enough laws on the books as it is. Many believe increasing background checks is akin to trampling on the Constitution and that there are better ways to combat gun violence. And few Republicans are worried about the political risk of alienating a younger generation of voters that is growing up with a backdrop of almost weekly mass shootings.

A seemingly endless wave of violence has not scrambled the politics when it comes to more stringent gun laws. 

Democrats and Republicans are still living in alternate universes, a divide driven by culture and geography. The GOP is a mostly Southern and Western party, and its House districts are overwhelmingly rural. Democrats are increasingly concentrated in big cities.

On Thursday, the Senate rejected a pair of gun measures, one from each party. A proposal from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would have barred people on the terrorism watch list from buying guns failed with just 45 votes.

Some Republicans — such as New York Rep. Pete King — have suggested strengthening the background check system for gun purchases, and they have been rebuffed. 

In the wake of the California massacre, some are advocating for a law that would prevent people on the no-fly list from getting a weapon. It’s unclear that even that bill will get a vote.

"I don't think we have a gun problem in this country," said Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. "I think we have a problem with radical Islamic terrorism. And every indication of this latest incident, it's exactly that.”

Note that for the GOP it is preferable to fan the myth of a war between Christianity and Islam that plays well with the GOP's lunatic base than it is to say no to the NRA and gun nuts.  Yet another reason I am no longer a Republican and have no plan to return to the party.