Dean takes some flak for opposition to gun control
Yesterday, I went through a litany of problems Howard Dean had on Meet the Press this past weekend, but I never got to the issue of gun control (I was trying not to pile on). But it looks like it was his position on the issue — and not his poor overall performance — that may have a lasting impact.
Russert’s questions for Dean about gun control didn’t exactly go well, regardless of the political angle. Dean was arguing that he’s an opponent of gun control, which he argues will help him in southern states that voted against Al Gore. Russert went on to note that Dean supports the Brady Bill, supports InstaCheck, supports waiting periods, supports closing gun show loopholes, and supports the assault weapons ban.
“So, you’re for gun control,” Russert concluded.
Dean resisted the characterization — which ended up sounding evasive — and made clear that he believes gun control should largely be “a state issue.”
“Keep the federal laws,” Dean said. “Enforce them vigorously and then let every state decide what they want.”
I mentioned two months ago that this could be a problem for Dean. After all, the “Democratic Party wing of the Democratic Party,” which Dean claims to represent, generally supports tougher gun laws and hates the National Rifle Association. Dean, meanwhile, boasts of an “A” rating from the NRA and opposes new federal restrictions on gun ownership.
Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, mentioned at a presidential candidates forum, “When a child is being killed by guns every three minutes, it’s not enough to say, ‘Let the states handle it.'” One can only assume Edelman intended the remark for Dean, with whom she was sharing the stage when she said it.
As the LA Times’ Ron Brownstein said in April, the gun issue is a “time bomb ticking beneath Dean’s embrace by the left.”
If this is true, it looks like the bomb may have gone off.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, for example, issued a press release after Dean’s MTP performance with a headline that read: “For backward thinking on gun policies, Dean is wrong for the White House; Americans who care about responsible gun policies should reject the former Vermont Governor.”
“Former Vermont Governor Dean says he’s from the ‘Democrat wing of the Democratic party,'” the group said. “As far as gun-safety advocates are concerned, give us a Democrat from some other wing of the Democratic Party, please.”
The Brady Campaign added, “Perhaps Dean will have success in convincing criminals to promise not to carry their guns across state lines, and convincing gun traffickers not to buy or sell them across state lines. Governor, guns cross state borders. Maybe it’s you who should stay at the state level.”
Ouch. That’s pretty tough language from a powerful Democratic constituency group. In fact, the group said it will send an alert to its membership this week, “educating them about Dean’s wrongheaded view of gun-safety policy, and advocates of reasonable gun-safety laws will be encouraged to attend Governor Dean’s campaign appearances and tell supporters about his extreme views on gun issues.”
Dean’s comments were also not welcome news to leaders of the Million Mom March. Mary Leigh Blek, president emeritus of the group, said, “Hey, Howard: We don’t need a pro-NRA president. We’ve already got one. Americans who care about getting guns off our streets need to know there is virtually no difference between Governor Dean and President Bush.”
Will these denunciations make a difference? Maybe. It’s hard to know for sure just how seriously Dem primary voters consider gun control as an issue. Still, if a Dem has to choose between a couple of candidates, and he or she is having trouble deciding between Dean and someone else, this issue could play a factor.