Last night Conservative David Frum, a former Bush speechwriter, and pundit appeared on Lawrence O’Donell’s Last Word and said something about gun control one usually don’t hear from conservatives. His forthrightness was shocking.
Conservatives like David Frum are the key to force politicians that are on-the-edge to lead society into a place where gun control is a good thing.
Conservative Frum in support of gun control?
This Conservative wants gun control: You are a bad parent if you have a gun in the house pic.twitter.com/MgWPGgNqDE
— Egberto Willies, Politics Done Right host 🇺🇲🇵🇦 (@EgbertoWillies) October 4, 2017
Lawrence O’Donnell played a video that I had never seen of former Chief Justice Warren Burger appointed by Richard Nixon. O’Donnell said it illustrates how far the Republican orthodoxy has moved on the gun control issue.
“This has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud,” Chief Justice Warren Burger said. “I repeat the word fraud on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. Look at those words. There are only three lines to that amendment, a well-regulated militia. If the militia which was going to be the state army was going to be well regulated why shouldn’t sixteen and seventeen and eighteen or any other age persons be regulated in the use of arms the way an automobile is regulated.”
That is a prescient statement, and I am surprised more Progressives do not add these words but the wisdom of the former Chief Supreme Court Justice appointed by a Republican to the narrative.
David Frum pointed out that after every massacre instead of a tightening of gun control, politicians expand rights. He said what is needed is a culture change, persuasion. Frum noted that technical fixes wouldn’t work. He said there is something wrong with the American gun culture. Three percent of people own 50% of guns. He then went for the jugular of the gun control issue.
“Until you persuade people that it is just dangerous to themselves, their children,” Frum said. “You are not a good parent if you’ve got a gun in the house. You are not protecting the family. You are a bad parent if you have a gun in the house. Until you drill that idea into people’s heads and persuade them to change the way we change them about cigarettes and seat belts, these technical fixes are not going to accomplish a lot. And public opinion, you can make it look like it is on your side if you ask the poll question the right way, but operationally it is not.”
Frum is absolutely right. It will take a lot of persuasion break away the masses from the intimidating cult to force politicians to do the right thing. It must be done.