Massachusetts Senate Race Turns to Gun Control

[Robb]

Six months after the shootings in Newtown, and one month after the Manchin-Toomey gun control legislation died in the Senate, we already have a test case of how the gun control might play out with voters. It has emerged this week as a major issue in the the special election for John Kerry’s vacated Massachusetts Senate seat—and the Republican candidate’s somewhat comical inability to effectively defend his position is perhaps a promising sign for reformers.

Last week, Representative Ed Markey, the Democratic candidate, released a fairly standard campaign ad promising to “fight for common sense laws to stop gun violence.” It noted that the Republican candidate, former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez, “is against banning high-capacity magazines like the ones used in the Newtown school shooting.”

(snip)

Gomez’s over-reaction suggests awareness of serious vulnerability on this issue. And what’s his actual response? He’s not debating a policy point—not attempting to explain why he opposes a ban on high-capacity magazines—but haphazardly trying change the conversation with an inflammatory attempt to play the victim.

His failure to conjure a sensible, post-Newtown argument against better gun laws might be an important tea leaf for the 2014 midterms, as well as the ultimate future of real gun legislation....

Read more: http://www.thenation.com/blog/174504/massachusetts-senate-race-turns-gun-control

[sheshe2]

1. Gomez whines every time, Markey puts out an ad.

The former Navy SEAL called the video an "insult to my service and an insult to the intelligence of the people of Massachusetts," demanding his opponent take the video down immediately.

But Markey's campaign sees things differently, pointing to Gomez's past work for the special interest group called Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund, which accused President Barack Obama of "politically capitalizing on U.S. national security operations and secrets" after the bin Laden raid.

"Gabriel Gomez is now attacking Ed Markey for a web video containing video footage of Gomez's own advertisement that accused President Obama of politicizing the death of Osama bin Laden, and risking Americans' lives," Markey's campaign said responding to Gomez's demand for the ad to be taken down.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/04/gomez-calls-on-markey-to-take-down-despicable-video/

Yet Markey is only posting ads based on what the whiner said and did.

Poor child

Thanks for posting this, Robb.

Vote Markey 2013!