Why Republican Politicians Ignore Gun Owners

Republican politicians ignore gun owners for two prominent reasons. Money and political factionalism have marginalized the gun vote. The Republican leadership would rather oppose President Trump than support the grassroots. Most politicians are in it for the money, and the Republican leadership certainly is. Today, gun owners have to speak up if they want to move their agenda. Bills for national reciprocity and for making silencers more available languish in sub-committees.

That wasn’t always the case. Before the election, Republicans asked gun owners for help. Republican candidates said they needed control of Congress to block anti-rights legislation. Gun owners helped give them a majority in Congress.  Republicans said they needed the Senate to pass pro-rights legislation, so we gave them the Senate. We called, we put up yard signs, and we knocked on our neighbors’ doors. We gave Republicans the White House too, but there we ran into a problem.

Gun owners were useful during the election. Now that they are in office, Republican politicians don’t need to care what gun owners want. The reason is simple. Only the median voter has to be courted by competing political parties.

The right to self-defense used to be supported by both Republicans and Democrats. That changed a few years ago when Democrat leaders took money from anti-gun billionaires. Democrats campaigned as if honest gun owners were their enemy. Today, gun owners are no longer considered a swing vote that could go to either party.

Politicians are not competing for the gun vote, so gun owners can be largely ignored by republicans and democrats alike. Today, Republican leadership decided that alienating gun owners won’t cost them many votes.

In contrast, Trump pursued gun owners during his campaign. Republican leadership wants to thwart Trump’s agenda and to break that relationship between gun owners and Trumpism. The Republican leadership hates President Trump because Trump threatens to restrict the kickbacks and campaign donations that drive Washington Politics. I’m not being hyperbolic as I describe today’s political elites. That is simply what their actions show us.

The Republican leadership would rather be a corrupt minority party than a majority party doing the people’s work. The republican leadership decided that ignoring gun owners might cost them a few elections, but it won’t cost them much campaign cash. These career politicians looked at their bottom line and went for the money.

The solution is straightforward. Change the leadership in the House and the Senate. Remove incumbent politicians until they listen again. There is a useful rule of thumb in politics. Never vote for an unsuccessful incumbent. All politicians must deliver or be driven from office. Don’t vote for the devil you know.

Tell your elected representatives that you expect action on your interests and you won’t accept excuses. That is why you have a phone. Now is the time to use it.
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