Jon Ossoff gets it. I think.

[pablo_marmol]

So like all Democrats, I developed an early interest in the runoff election in Georgia’s 6th district – and as a liberal supporter of the RKBA I was especially interested in Ossoff’s stand relating to gun violence. Why? Two reasons. Georgia, is, well……..Georgia, and gun ownership correlates directly with income. (I think that nearly everyone is aware by now that Georgia’s 6th district is wealthier than most.) As a result, I was pleased to see how he handled two interview questions relating to “gun control”:

While the interviewer is clearly unimpressed with Mr. Ossoff’s response, I believe that it was truly artful. His opening sentence represents a nod to the Democratic position – good move. From there he pivots to support for gun rights, and he threads the needle especially well with his ‘sensible safety’ comment --- avoiding the toxic “common sense gun control” line while still leaning toward a variant of ‘sense’.

The next link takes you to his interview with Rachel Maddow. Again, he sends code to gun owners by stating that he is disinterested in ‘divisive national issues’ --- a common refrain throughout his campaign:

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/georgia-s-jon-ossoff-builds-local-strategy-in-national-spotlight-926054979820

Now here is where I get nervous, given that the race is too close to call. W/regard to campus carry he states his objection in the typical language that “gun control” favors, despite the fact that he could have stayed true to form and taken a softer approach. The chosen words he uses here will send up big red flags to gun owners:

“As we prepare young people in Georgia for the high-tech economy, they should be able to sit in class without worrying whether the student next to them has a Glock on their hip,” he said. Handel said through a spokeswoman that the measure “is in keeping with the personal protections granted in the Second Amendment.

http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/04/30/ossoff-handel-split-over-georgias-campus-carry-measure/


If Ossoff wins, I think it’s safe to say that his relatively moderate stance on the RKBA contributed directly to the win. If he loses, I think it’s honest to say that his comments on campus carry MIGHT HAVE made the difference. Let’s hope for great Democratic Party turnout tomorrow and a WIN in Georgia’s 6th!!!

Edited to amend for a silly oversight: Of course, the mere fact that Ossoff has a 'D' after his name is a serious liability anywhere, but especially in Georgia's 6th.........given that gun owners have every reason to believe that he'll vote party on "gun control" issues -- despite whatever his says during his campaign. So I think it's honest to say that a narrow loss could be attributed to Democratic Party positions on the RKBA.

http://www.newsweek.com/georgia-special-election-between-handel-and-ossoff-too-close-call-poll-627208

[pablo_marmol]

1. So Jon was on Lawrence tonight, as you might be aware.

He stayed on message, and he's clearly learned from the 'deplorables' brain cramp -- as he's been extremely clean and avoided any 45 bashing. Fast forward to the 37 minute mark and you have the interview:

[pablo_marmol]

2. Another thought occurred. What do *you* think?

It should have occurred to me much sooner, but the dissembling of the Democratic Party re. gun violence could well have been enough to cost Ossoff the initial election outright.

Thoughts?

[pablo_marmol]

3. No thoughts? I've got a closing one.

The election was fairly decisive tonight, so there were obviously multiple issues at play in Ossoff's loss.

That said, I think that it's far from a stretch to suggest that he would have won the election outright on the first pass but for Dem spin and prevaricating on the gun restriction issue. He was a camel hair away with the first election.