The People still run the country - be encouraged (Congress, generation, weapons)

[DRob4JC]

An instructive article on limits of presidential power.

After failure on gun legislation, Obama learning limits of his power

Six months after his triumphant re-election, President Barack Obama has run into the hard reality of the modern presidency.

The cheering crowds that helped vault him into a second term in the White House mean little, if anything, back in Washington. A close look at his most recent defeat – a series of proposals intended to curb gun violence – shows that election popularity does not automatically translate into legislative success. Nor do campaign-like efforts to win a vote in Congress. Obama put more effort into the proposals than he has most issues, but he still suffered one of his biggest legislative defeats.

...
“There’s not much presidents can do to change votes. It’s mostly a myth,” said George Edwards, a presidential scholar at Texas A&M University. “It’s never been that way and it’s less so now.”

His own election victory still fresh in his mind, Obama thought he had a clear path to bend Congress to his will after the horror of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., in December. His goal: the first significant new controls on guns in a generation.


The article all of his group's efforts - the speeches, the task forces, the first lady spoke, Biden... well moving on, the charts, the testimonies of victims, Bloomberg... all of that and the result?


He did not win support for a proposal to renew a ban on assault weapons or to limit ammunition in clips. But support for greater background checks for gun purchases topped 90 percent in the polls.


Believe it or not - the people still run the country. The balance of power is changing - so we need to watch it, but we still get what we want when we collectively make our desires known.

The 2014 election is huge. The left in DC knows it. The right in DC... well, we will see. Above all, the people need to know it - pay attention, use common sense and vote.

[skoro]

Months before the legislation came up for a vote, it was obvious that there'd be no assault weapon ban. It was pretty clear there'd be no limit on magazines. It came down to a vote on only background checks, and it failed.

So, why all the continued weeping and gnashing of teeth about "they're coming to get our guns?"

I own a lot of guns. I'm not worried. Maybe because I'm old enough I've lived through several cycles of this gun control nonsense.

What gives? Are so many gun owners really that out of touch?