Possibilities???
I've been thinking about the NRA's statement(s) and possibilities. Yep, a clear and blatant betrayal...or is it??
I wound up watching one of the liberal anti gun, anti trump, anti everything but their way, tv shows, and they did talk about guns, and politics.
It was rather enlightening. They are stunned by the NRA's "reasonableness", and don't know quite what to do, and are arguing amongst themselves over what is the best way to proceed.
PERHAPS, the NRA's position was intended to do this. TO buy time.
TIME for emotions to cool, facts to be determines, and hopefully reason to prevail.
Face it, what are the "standard" tactics of the gun haters after such a tragedy? Scream, often and loudly that
#1 SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!!
#2 The NRA and the gun lobby is evil because they resist something being done.
Then they trot out bills they have been preparing for just such a crisis, with their entire wish list, in whole, or part, and anything we oppose, is opposition to "common sense".
By calling for a review (especially since the administration that ALLOWED bump fire stocks was Obama, and beloved of so many,...on their side, anyway, they cannot blame Republicans "controlled by the NRA" for the LEGAL existence & sale of the item.
They also cannot just come out and say the decision was wrong, or flawed or faulty, because that also reflects poorly on that administration. They are trapped, because they cannot appear disloyal to the party, and besides, the decision WAS the correct one, legally. Like free speech for Nazi's they may not like the item, but if it does not violate existing law (and the stocks don't), they're stuck with accepting it, or being publically exposed as hypocrites.
The only acceptable political path now open to the "Ban it! BAN IT NOW!" crowd is to WAIT for a review (or they will be seen as even more unreasonable than they currently are), and AFTER a review, they will, sadly admit that they previous administration erred in allowing the stocks. (of course they are assuming they can pressure the ATF into a different finding than they made before.
And having to wait takes a LOT of the wind out of their sails. If they don't get to pass their ban them all laws while people are still very upset and not thinking long term, they usually lose. After things cool down, people start thinking about their rights, and not about the body count.
Striking while the iron is hot is best, the more it cools, the less malleable it is.
SO, PERHAPS the entire point of the NRA's change of tactics is to buy time for the "iron" to cool??
It has, at least the novelty of being something different, and may actually work out. Doing what we have been doing, has been a losing proposition for our side, while emotions are running high. We make gains when emotions are cool and logic and reason prevail. After a mass shooting, emotions prevail, and the tactics we have been using have not been very effective, particularly in metro areas.
My point here is that anything, even a perceived "betrayal" that delays the other side getting bills PASSED (they can introduce as many as they want, introduction of a bill machts nichts) is a good thing for our side.
In the eyes of the public not already in one camp or the other, if the NRA is being reasonable, calling for further review, then the ones wanting to pass bans NOW, become the unreasonable ones.
In other words, the "betrayal" might just be a clever ruse. I'd like to think so.
America is the land of "if it seems stupid, but it works, its not stupid". I hope this is one of those, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But what if I'm not, and it works???