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Question For Democrats Or Others On The Left

Would you soften your stance on gun control to steal Republican Votes?

  • Total voters
    32
Moderate Right said:
Just curious. Please only lefties vote. Would you give up your gun control fight in order to make the Republican party irrelevant in order to further your other left wing policies? Caveat: You could not later change your stance on gun control. You would have to accept no additional gun control forever.
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I would soften my stance for compromise legislation that accomplishes at least some of my goals for common sense gun laws. I want a bipartisan gun bill even if does not accomplish a whole lot. We don't need to steal republicans. Unless they were pretty darn moderate on most issues, they would be more trouble than they are worth to have and they would not stay Dems anyway. Especially these white nationalist or trumpster types. They are totally toxic to our values on issue after issue. I don't envy the GOP at all these days.

Caveat. I do not believe in negotiating with Donald Trump. He brakes agreements and promises, so this compromise bill has to happen after he leaves office.
 
Last edited:
Politics is the art of the possible....

Having that philosophy will EARN you Republican votes.... although we all wonder if there are any Republicans left?
 
Gina said:
It was a an unbelievable premise that anything like that could ever happen, but I answered the OP's question as it was asked.

I think Democrats should press on with gun control because it's the right thing to do. If the GOP wants to come along, welcome.
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Sure; I don't think for a second that a Democratic party unwilling to pursue any kind of further gun regulation would actually mean a substantive positive change in its electoral fortunes; I just don't know whether he means literally that in this theoretical instance the GOP would be rendered irrelevant or such a change would progress towards making them irrelevant.

I interpreted it as him effectively asking that if you were given the choice between continuing to work towards more gun control, or being able to pass other Dem legislation due to a weakened GOP as a consequence of no longer supporting further gun control, which would you pick? In that case, I would certainly abandon gun control initiatives if it meant having Medicare for All and free state-college and trade schools in exchange for example.
 
Gina said:
I don't know what the DNC could say. I've tried to lightly approach gun control here, years ago. It didn't go anywhere and I was shut down, nicely. No one was rude to me, but it was over as it began. Some folks don't want it, in any form, whatsoever. So from that experience, I cannot imagine what would entice GOP voters who are pro-2a to vote Democrat. There may be other issues that hold greater appeal, but I don't see gun control as a siren's song for them.
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The overwhelming majority of the public supports additional gun control laws, so it's remarkable how the DNC allows itself to spooked by the NRA and Republicans on this issue.

Part of the issue is that Democrats constantly ignore the nonvoting demographic, which traditionally supports more liberal causes. Instead of reaching out to those people, the DNC tries to snatch conservative voters that have zero interest in ever supporting them.
 
vegas giants said:
Of course not. What would you give up to further your right wing policies?
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It was just a question. If you want to start another thread with a specific similar poll please feel free. But, generally speaking, I am a moderate Republican card carrying RINO so, yes, I would trade some policies for others. I feel this way anyway. I don't believe in either side ramming all of their policies down the other sides throat. We need to work together in a bipartisan way to solve the country's problems.
 
Gina said:
Why would I want to make the Republican party irrelevant? A healthy democracy needs two functioning parties (ours nation has been running on two parties, but a third strong party would be fine too). One party having all the power is not healthy. Give and take in the process of governing keeps the nation from tipping too far to one side.

So no. I wouldn't give up fighting for gun control to end the GOP's relevance.
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I totally agree.
 
Moderate Right said:
Just curious. Please only lefties vote. Would you give up your gun control fight in order to make the Republican party irrelevant in order to further your other left wing policies? Caveat: You could not later change your stance on gun control. You would have to accept no additional gun control forever.
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We have a Second Amendment and should have no security problems in our free States.
 
Surrealistik said:
Robbing the Republican party of any and all relevance wasn't on the table per this theoretical.
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Yes it was. Republicans showed up in force in 2016 for their 2A rights. If Democrats didn't want to take everyone's guns away, many people would have voted for Hillary. This is one of the most important issues for those on the right. Take that issue away, and many more would vote Democratic, making Republicans irrelevant.
 
Moderate Right said:
Yes it was. Republicans showed up in force in 2016 for their 2A rights. If Democrats didn't want to take everyone's guns away, many people would have voted for Hillary. This is one of the most important issues for those on the right. Take that issue away, and many more would vote Democratic, making Republicans irrelevant.
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If you actually believe that the only thing keeping the Republican party from literal, straight up irrelevance is 2A rights, I don't know what to tell you other than that you're wrong.

Even if it would have made a difference in the case of Clinton's campaign, that doesn't mean the GOP suddenly and magically becomes irrelevant; the fight for the soul of this country is about far more than just guns.
 
Fledermaus said:
The issue is the DNC has been painted (rightly or wrongly) as a bunch of "gun grabbers".

The likes of Feinstein and others have done little to dispel those concerns. And there are always the "usual suspects" hogging the microphones whenever any shootings of note happens. "Gun control, gun control, gun control" being spouted by people who don't know a bump stock from a bump and grind.

It may only take a softening of the rhetoric to persuade some GOP voters to go DNC in the next election cycle.
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Exactly. Democrats could take this issue and make the Republican vote irrelevant. But, they are either too stupid or too hard headed or too stuck with their morals to figure this out. In 2016 with a Supreme Court vacancy very much hanging in the balance, Trump would have never won the election if 2A wasn't such an important issue. The Russians had nothing to do with it. If Democrats got the 2A vote, Republicans would have no power left for a very long time. The poll question is, "would it be worth it"?
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
Define "GUN CONTROL".
If you don't define your terms, it's impossible to vote.
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Not impossible at all. I'm not going to go into some stupid lengthy description. How about this, we leave the current laws regarding guns on the books FOREVER. No new gun control legislation of any kind. If Democrats and the left ran up the white flag on further gun control issues, would you be willing to do this in favor of grabbing many Republican votes, making the Republican party irrelevant, and furthering all other liberal policies? Does the end justify the means? Would you sell your soul to the devil for the greater good?
 
Gina said:
I don't know what the DNC could say. I've tried to lightly approach gun control here, years ago. It didn't go anywhere and I was shut down, nicely. No one was rude to me, but it was over as it began. Some folks don't want it, in any form, whatsoever. So from that experience, I cannot imagine what would entice GOP voters who are pro-2a to vote Democrat. There may be other issues that hold greater appeal, but I don't see gun control as a siren's song for them.
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It is the reason Trump is president. Don't forget all of those rural red maps. They want their guns and they vote Republican to keep their guns. If they didn't have to be afraid of Democrats taking their guns away, many might opt to vote Democratic, sending the Republican party into nothing but the history books.
 
I would be willing to give up any chance of 50 State reciprocity in exchange for the promise that gun laws would never get worse.

But yeah... let's see if we can't get universal healthcare and post-secondary education out of it.
 
Korimyr the Rat said:
Well, I feel vaguely attacked-- I am to the Left of the Democratic Party, I have always held a stronger position on gun rights than the Republican Party.

I'm not voting, for the sake of not ****ing up your poll, but no... I am not willing to compromise on gun rights to attract Republican voters.

I just want gun rights organizations to acknowledge that pro-gun progressive leftists like me exist, and stop trying to actively alienate us with Culture War politics.
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My thoughts and prayers are with you.
 
Moderate Right said:
Not impossible at all. I'm not going to go into some stupid lengthy description. How about this, we leave the current laws regarding guns on the books FOREVER. No new gun control legislation of any kind. If Democrats and the left ran up the white flag on further gun control issues, would you be willing to do this in favor of grabbing many Republican votes, making the Republican party irrelevant, and furthering all other liberal policies? Does the end justify the means? Would you sell your soul to the devil for the greater good?
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No because I have ideas, and I don't know if you or other conservatives are going to call my ideas "gun control" or not and I don't much care if you do either. I don't support "gun bans" and I am already on record as having made quite an excellent case as to why attempts at gun confiscation can never ever succeed.
But my idea is centered around proactive risk control and mental health management.
But it requires input and help from law enforcement, the mental health community, the courts and gun dealers.
The one thing it does not require is "gun registration".

But since you're "not going to go into some stupid lengthy description", I don't see the point in me going beyond that, thus I think the poll question is useless.
Besides, the idea is stillborn anyway. Democrats need votes from independents, other Democrats and liberals, not votes from Republicans.
In fact, attempting to get Republican votes would require a lot more than just raising a white flag on the gun issue.
It would require, in the words of Richard Mourdock "Democrats coming around to Republican ways of thinking."
(That was his famous definition of "bipartisanship" - an insult)
 
Cardinal said:
How would softening my position on gun control "steal" Republican votes?

Also, define gun control. What I mean by gun control and what gun owners mean by gun control aren't necessarily the same thing.
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Trump is president now largely because there was a vacancy on the Supreme Court and 2A very much hung in the balance. Didn't have a damn thing to do with Russians. Democrats as a whole are largely in favor of much more stricter gun control legislation while Republicans, in general, are pretty much against gun control. If those rural Republican voters who were so afraid that Democrats would take their guns away, no longer needed to fear that, many might switch tracks and vote Democratic. Gun control is basically defined as no new gun control legislation of any kind being introduced FOREVER in exchange for sending the Republican party into the dustheap of history. If you can't see that then, well, you're totally blind.
 
Moderate Right said:
They want their guns and they vote Republican to keep their guns. If they didn't have to be afraid of Democrats taking their guns away, many might opt to vote Democratic, sending the Republican party into nothing but the history books.
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Yuuuup. I am never, ever going to vote Republican... but the main reason I don't vote Democrat is their opposition to my right to keep and bear arms. It would take a full-blown progressive like Sanders to make me vote against my gun righs... so imagine how enthusiastic I might be for a left-liberal who treats gun rights like the left-liberal issue it always should have been.
 
btthegreat said:
I would soften my stance for compromise legislation that accomplishes at least some of my goals for common sense gun laws. I want a bipartisan gun bill even if does not accomplish a whole lot. We don't need to steal republicans. Unless they were pretty darn moderate on most issues, they would be more trouble than they are worth to have and they would not stay Dems anyway. Especially these white nationalist or trumpster types. They are totally toxic to our values on issue after issue. I don't envy the GOP at all these days.

Caveat. I do not believe in negotiating with Donald Trump. He brakes agreements and promises, so this compromise bill has to happen after he leaves office.
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Violation! The compromise is setting aside any new control measures FOREVER, giving those rural red Republicans no huge issue to continue voting Republican, thereby making the Republican party irrelevant and being able to achieve basically most all other liberal policies.
 
upsideguy said:
Politics is the art of the possible....

Having that philosophy will EARN you Republican votes.... although we all wonder if there are any Republicans left?
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LOL. Seriously? Have you forgotten that even before Trump became the nominee many lefties had written off the Republican party as has beens and then doubling over in hysterical laughter when Trump became the nominee? How soon we forget.
 
MovingPictures said:
The overwhelming majority of the public supports additional gun control laws, so it's remarkable how the DNC allows itself to spooked by the NRA and Republicans on this issue.

Part of the issue is that Democrats constantly ignore the nonvoting demographic, which traditionally supports more liberal causes. Instead of reaching out to those people, the DNC tries to snatch conservative voters that have zero interest in ever supporting them.
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Ummmmmmmmmmm. Have you forgotten about the 2016 election where rural Republican voters were motivated to vote because there was a vacancy on the Supreme Court and 2A very much hung in the balance? Are you really that naive?
 
Moderate Right said:
Trump is president now largely because there was a vacancy on the Supreme Court and 2A very much hung in the balance. Didn't have a damn thing to do with Russians. Democrats as a whole are largely in favor of much more stricter gun control legislation while Republicans, in general, are pretty much against gun control. If those rural Republican voters who were so afraid that Democrats would take their guns away, no longer needed to fear that, many might switch tracks and vote Democratic. Gun control is basically defined as no new gun control legislation of any kind being introduced FOREVER in exchange for sending the Republican party into the dustheap of history. If you can't see that then, well, you're totally blind.
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Had nothing to do with 2A.

Trump won by just a few thousand crucially placed votes. All those votes are explained by the "Never Hillary" contingent.

If Democrats had run anyone other than Hillary, they would have beaten Trump.
 
Uncle Joe would have beaten Trump going away. He wouldn't have been afraid to campaign in Wisconsin.

Nothing to do with 2A.
 
Surrealistik said:
If you actually believe that the only thing keeping the Republican party from literal, straight up irrelevance is 2A rights, I don't know what to tell you other than that you're wrong.

Even if it would have made a difference in the case of Clinton's campaign, that doesn't mean the GOP suddenly and magically becomes irrelevant; the fight for the soul of this country is about far more than just guns.
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I respectfully disagree and I say that as a registered Republican. If Republican voters didn't have to fear Democrats inacting gun control legislation, many of them could very well ditch the party. Of course there would be a core who believe in far more than just gun control issues, (hell, I'm one of them) but they would become too much of a minority to be relevant.
 
Amelia said:
Had nothing to do with 2A.

Trump won by just a few thousand crucially placed votes. All those votes are explained by the "Never Hillary" contingent.

If Democrats had run anyone other than Hillary, they would have beaten Trump.
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This.

The 'Bernie or Bust!' people cost us the SCOTUS in the end; unless there's a move to expand it.
 
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