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Question For Democrats Or Others On The Left

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

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Moderate Right

Moderate Right

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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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Well, don't keep us in suspence!;)
 
"steal Republican votes"


:bravo: :good_job: :2funny:
 
Sure (assuming a softer stance could do that).

I don't feel particularly strongly about gun control in the case of the States both because:

A: There are _far_ more important topics of concern (infrastructure, job guarantees, healthcare and post-secondary for all).

B: Unfortunately, most forms of gun control are essentially hopeless in America due to the massive existing proliferation of guns everywhere, and gun permissive states; islands of sane policy are quickly swallowed up and overwhelmed by a sea of munitions and firearms via porous state borders, and existing supply.
 
Surrealistik said:
Sure (assuming a softer stance could do that).

I don't feel particularly strongly about gun control in the case of the States both because:

A: There are _far_ more important topics of concern (infrastructure, job guarantees, healthcare and post-secondary for all).

B: Unfortunately, most forms of gun control are essentially hopeless in America due to the massive existing proliferation of guns everywhere, and gun permissive states; islands of sane policy are quickly swallowed up and overwhelmed by a sea of munitions and firearms via porous state borders, and existing supply.
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Basically the same thing, it's not a top priority for me.
 
What is an example of an actual leftwing gun position held by mainstream Democratic polticians which would need to be softened?

I'm not aware of typical leftwing gun positions being extreme.


Lots of fear-mongering on the right. But the left isn't actually trying to do what the fearmongers are accusing them of.



So, in my opinion, what's needed is not softening gun positions, but articulating them well in a way which cuts through rightwing noise.
 
Surrealistik said:
Sure (assuming a softer stance could do that).

I don't feel particularly strongly about gun control in the case of the States both because:

A: There are _far_ more important topics of concern (infrastructure, job guarantees, healthcare and post-secondary for all).

B: Unfortunately, most forms of gun control are essentially hopeless in America due to the massive existing proliferation of guns everywhere, and gun permissive states; islands of sane policy are quickly swallowed up and overwhelmed by a sea of munitions and firearms via porous state borders, and existing supply.
Click to expand...

So you don't consider on average a shooting a week this year and over 33,000 firearms deaths a year a problem. Don't get me wrong what you stated is important particularly healthcare but policy making and consideration of these issues can occur simultaneously.
 
goldkam said:
So you don't consider on average a shooting a week this year and over 33,000 firearms deaths a year a problem. Don't get me wrong what you stated is important particularly healthcare but policy making and consideration of these issues can occur simultaneously.
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Of course it's a problem, and yes, pursuing one goal isn't necessarily mutually exclusive with the other (though one must keep in mind that political capital is finite).

In this case, I'm giving an answer to a theoretical question: if you could gain Republican voters in exchange for making policy concessions on gun control, would you? My answer is yes, so long as doing so would result in a net gain of votes over the GOP, and didn't result in riding losses.
 
Surrealistik said:
Sure (assuming a softer stance could do that).

I don't feel particularly strongly about gun control in the case of the States both because:

A: There are _far_ more important topics of concern (infrastructure, job guarantees, healthcare and post-secondary for all).

B: Unfortunately, most forms of gun control are essentially hopeless in America due to the massive existing proliferation of guns everywhere, and gun permissive states; islands of sane policy are quickly swallowed up and overwhelmed by a sea of munitions and firearms via porous state borders, and existing supply.
Click to expand...

I'm going to go along with Winston and agree with this post. Gun control is not a priority for me. I voted other because "forever" is not something I care to deal with.
 
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.
Click to expand...

Of course not. What would you give up to further your right wing policies?
 
I am against many of the proposed gun control measures anyway. I think Democrats have to get more realistic in regards to guns in this country. Sure, most people agree with them on guns, but its not a big issue with them. Its a huge issue with those that disagree with them.
 
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
Click to expand...

Robbing the Republican party of any and all relevance wasn't on the table per this theoretical.
 
Surrealistik said:
Robbing the Republican party of any and all relevance wasn't on the table per this theoretical.
Click to expand...

My bad, I thought that's what this said:
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?
Click to expand...

I didn't see a limitation and it doesn't read as very straight forward to me. I plead fatigue.
 
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Define "GUN CONTROL".
If you don't define your terms, it's impossible to vote.
 
vegas giants said:
Of course not. What would you give up to further your right wing policies?
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ROROROROROROROROR

LOL-ROR.jpg

They've already given up almost everything.
 
Gina said:
My bad, I thought that's what this said:


I didn't see a limitation and it doesn't read as very straight forward to me. I plead fatigue.
Click to expand...

I think that's an unbelievably over-optimistic assessment of ceasing further action on gun control policy even as theoreticals go, assuming he means that it would actually make the GOP irrelevant rather than this would work towards making it irrelevant.

That said, even in the former case I'd be certainly willing to press forward because the Republican party is going to adapt and change in response; they might even end up getting their increasingly influential lunatic fringe under control; one can dream.
 
Honesty is the best policy.
 
Amelia said:
"steal Republican votes"

:bravo: :good_job: :2funny:
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IKR? As if it were our side that were the ones trying to break the electoral system. :lol:
 
i am not an advocate of gun control.

i believe the rare mass shooting by crazy white guys are a policy problem. our management of the mentally ill is much to blame.

and the majority of the rest are directly related to our war on drugs.
 
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
Surrealistik said:
I think that's an unbelievably over-optimistic assessment of ceasing further action on gun control policy even as theoreticals go, assuming he means that it would actually make the GOP irrelevant rather than this would work towards making it irrelevant.

That said, even in the former case I'd be certainly willing to press forward because the Republican party is going to adapt and change in response; they might even end up getting their increasingly influential lunatic fringe under control; one can dream.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
Click to expand...

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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