Beltway Media Make It Official: Obama's To Blame For The GOP's Radical Gun Bill Behavior

 ERIC BOEHLERT/Media Matters For America

Looking back at the Senate's failure last week to pass gun safety legislation in the wake of the school massacre in Newtown, CT., Slate's John Dickerson writes that the bill fell victim to "the structure of the Senate, its partisan makeup, and pressure from gun rights advocates."

I guess that's one way of putting it. Another way of putting it is that Republicans continued to adhere to their unprecedented, four-year campaign of obstructionism and blocked a bill, whose central proposal, expanded background checks, enjoyed a stunning 90 percent support from the American public. But that's not the story Beltway pundits and reporters want to tell.

Instead, with the political postmortems continuing to come in, it's clear the press remains committed to blaming Obama and Democrats for the failure of gun legislation. It's clear the press will not budget from its preferred storyline that as long as Republicans obstruct Obama's agenda, the president will be faulted for not changing the GOP's unprecedented behavior.

And yes, in recent days the level of purposeful obtuseness has reached astonishing heights. In the wake of the bitter gun bill defeat, the DC press wants to tell one story, and one story only: Obama blew it. And they're so committed to the crooked narrative that they're now willing to completely write Republicans out of the story.

How committed? Slate's Dickerson wrote a 1,000-word piece about the gun bill and never once typed the word "Republican." (Or "GOP.") For Dickerson, Republicans weren't players in the gun bill saga, and they certainly weren't the reason it failed to pass. Instead, it failed because of the "president's limitations as a negotiator." And why was that? Because Obama "couldn't master the art of politics," Dickerson wrote.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd agreed, claiming the bill's defeat represented a "glaring example" of Obama's weakness. She ridiculed the president for not having "learned how to govern."

And an April 23 front-page New York Times report offered the similar refrain:

If he cannot translate the support of 90 percent of the public for background checks into a victory on Capitol Hill, what can he expect to accomplish legislatively for his remaining three and a half years in office.

The fact is that a majority of Republicans blocked the bill, and blocked even allowing debate on the gun safety bill. But that is now deemed to be irrelevant. Obama's supposed personal and professional shortcomings last week are the real story.  

Is the president fair game for criticism and second-guessing in the wake of the gun bill's failure? Of course. Is Obama the only reason the gun bill didn't pass? He is not. But boy, the pundit class and elite reporters sure like to pretend he is.

Indeed, all the savvy sages agree. If  Obama had just been better at being president, if he'd just asked Republicans nicely, or if he'd bullied them publicly (of if he'd created a "war room full of charts," claims Dowd) the gun bill would have easily passed. (Bipartisanship is possible!) And because he failed, the "smart" media take now is to blame the person who tried to get background checks passed, not the politicians who stood in the way of a legislation based around a proposal nine-out-of-ten people supported.

From Buzzfeed's McKay Coppins:

Read this smart story on Obama's missteps in the gun control fight.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/wher...

-- McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) April 22, 2013

What's so frustrating is that the press absolutely refuses to connect the dots. Rather than seeing the gun bill obstructionism as part of an obvious Republican continuum, and rather than noting the gun obstructionism followed the sequester obstructionism, which followed the Chuck Hagel confirmation obstructionism, which followed the Hurricane Sandy emergency relief obstructionism, which followed consistent obstructionism on juridical nominees, the press pretends the gun vote occurred in vacuum.

That's because if you connect the dots, if you explain what's really going on in Congress under Obama, you can't prop up the phony premise that Obama stands an actual chance of picking up lots of GOP votes on popular issues, and that if he just knew how to manage the levers of power, bipartisan agreements would blossom in Washington.

If the press tells the truth about Republicans' intransigent behavior, it can't blame Obama for lost votes. Instead, pundits like Dickerson simply write Republicans out of the story.

Top Republican: Conservatives Are Too Scared To Debate Popular Gun Safety Bill

By Igor Volsky/Think Progress

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) joined the growing chorus of lawmakers calling for conservative to allow a vote on gun safety legislation, telling CBS’ This Morning on Tuesday, “we have not seen the final draft of the legislation that was produced…I think it deserves an vote up or down.”

But 14 Republicans — including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) — have pledged to filibuster any comprehensive gun safety legislation, though all refused to appear on CBS to discuss their opposition, Norah O’Donnell reported. Gun advocates are running online campaigns calling on lawmakers to prevent the package from ever being considered, though a vote on the motion to proceed to the legislation could occur on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) — one of the only Republicans in the House to support the gun package — added that the filibuster effort is “wrong” and “makes it seem like they’re afraid of something.” “I don’t know what they’re afraid of, but if they’re so sure of their position, let it come to a debate,” King said on CNN.

Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have also condemned the obstruction, arguing that the measure should come to a vote since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will allow senators to offer amendments to the legislation. The bill will expand restrictions against gun trafficking, invest in school safety and provide for universal background checks of all gun purchases, though the final version of that provision is still being negotiated. Polls indicate that more than 90 percent of Americans support background checks on all gun purchases.

“They’re not just saying they’ll vote no on ideas that almost all Americans support,” Obama said Monday of the filibuster threat during a speech in Connecticut. “They’re saying they’ll do everything they can to even prevent any votes on these provisions. They’re saying your opinion doesn’t matter, and that’s not right.” Some pundits are making a similar case, arguing that the party is undermining its rebranding effort and siding with “rapists” and criminals in the gun debate.

Four Falsehoods About Doctors And Guns Pushed By Conservative Media

TIMOTHY JOHNSON/Media Matters for America:

After President Obama announced an executive action clarifying that doctors are permitted -- but not required -- to discuss gun safety with patients, conservatives in the media trumpeted a number of falsehoods, including the baseless claim that Obama is requiring doctors to report all gun owners to law enforcement.

Does executive action by the Obama administration require doctors to ask their patients about gun ownership?

Is the Obama administration requiring doctors to report individuals suspected of being a danger to the public to law enforcement?

Does the Obama administration executive action require doctors to report all gun owners to law enforcement?

Did the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 -- also known as Obamacare -- ever prevent doctors from discussing gun safety with patients?

CLAIM: Doctors Are Now Required To Ask Patients About Guns In The Home

Rush Limbaugh: "Now Doctors Are Being Ordered, Instructed To Talk To Patients And Get Information From Them About Gun Ownership." From a transcript of Limbaugh's January 16 show, titled on his website, "Regime Deputizes Gun-Snitch Doctors":

LIMBAUGH: So now doctors are being ordered, instructed to talk to patients and get information from them about gun ownership, where they are in their house, who has access to them, where the ammunition is kept.  Doctors are now, quote, unquote, "permitted," unquote, to do this. It makes 'em deputies, agents of the state. And if they don't do it -- let's look at this the other way around.  Let's say patient X goes to a doctor. The patient's got a sore throat, runny nose.  The doctor does not ask the patient anything to do with the patient's guns. The patient then goes out and uses the guns sometime later and then the regime learns that the doctor didn't report that this patient indicated that he might be dangerous.

Look at the position this puts the doctors in. The doctors are now under the thumb of Obamacare. They had better comply. This is not a choice. Can you say hello to rapidly increasing, even higher and faster, malpractice insurance? They'd better comply. They'd better do as they're told. [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 1/16/13]

REALITY: Obama Executive Actions Clarifies That Doctors May Ask About Firearm Ownership At Their Own Discretion

Obama Administration: "The Affordable Care Act Does Not Prohibit Or Otherwise Regulate Communication Between Doctors And Patients, Including About Firearms." In a report issued by the White House outlining the Obama administration's proposals to curb gun violence announced on January 16, the administration clarified that doctors are permitted to ask their patients about gun safety but did not create any mandate requiring doctors to do so:

Doctors and other health care providers also need to be able to ask about firearms in their patients' homes and safe storage of those firearms, especially if their patients show signs of certain mental illnesses or if they have a young child or mentally ill family member at home. Some have incorrectly claimed that language in the Affordable Care Act prohibits doctors from asking their patients about guns and gun safety. Medical groups also continue to fight against state laws attempting to ban doctors from asking these questions. The Administration will issue guidance clarifying that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit or otherwise regulate communication between doctors and patients, including about firearms. [The White House, accessed 1/17/13] 

CLAIM: The Obama Administration Is Changing The Rules Concerning When Doctors Can Report Dangerous Individuals To Law Enforcement

Fox's Sean Hannity: Obama Executive Action Is "Urging Doctors And, Quote, Other Health Care Providers, To Contact Authorities If They Arbitrarily Deem That A Patient Is A Threat To Themselves Or To Others." From the January 16 edition of Hannity on Fox News:

Limbaugh: Doctors "Must" Report Dangerous Individuals To Law Enforcement. From the January 16 edition ofThe Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Mental health professionals, therapists, if they detect that you might leave the office and go grab a gun and do something, they have to call and report you. And now doctors must do the same thing. [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 1/16/13] 

REALITY: Obama Executive Action Reiterated That Federal Law Does Not Prohibit Doctors From Reporting Individuals Who Threaten Violence To Law Enforcement

Obama Administration Clarifies "Public Confusion" Over Whether Doctors Are Prohibited From Reporting Dangerous Individuals To Law Enforcement. The White House report contains no mandate that doctors must report suspicious individuals to the authorities, and rather it clarifies that doctors are not prohibited from contacting authorities about dangerous persons:

Doctors and other mental health professionals play an important role in protecting the safety of their patients and the broader community by reporting direct and credible threats of violence to the authorities. But there is public confusion about whether federal law prohibits such reports about threats of violence. The Department of Health and Human Services is issuing a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits these reports in any way. [The White House, accessed 1/17/13] 

CLAIM: Executive Action By The Obama Administration Will Result In All Gun Owners Being Reported To The Authorities

Limbaugh: Obama's Goal Is To Ensure "What We Do Or Say" Is Reported To The Authorities. From the January 16 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Again, folks, this is pushing people's buttons on purpose. This is gonna cause some people to snap. It might. This is going after the very reasonableness and sanity of people. It seems like the goal here is to get everybody on some kind of list and to have all kinds of people that we interact with end up reporting on what we do or say to hear to the government, to the, quote, unquote, the authorities. The authorities. That's a totalitarian word, "the authorities."

Why is Obama doing this? Why is he deliberately making people so upset? What's driving him? Don't ask me where the ACLU is. I mean, anything to get rid of guns, the ACLU's right there. Leftists are leftists, and that comes first with them. The ACLU as a civil rights organization is a bit of a laugher. They're just another branch of liberalism. [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 1/16/13] 

Fox Regular Mark Levin: Executive Actions Part Of Obama Plan For "National Database" That Includes "All Innocent Law-Abiding Citizens Who Purchase Guns." During a January 16 appearance on Your World with Neil Cavuto on Fox News, Levin also urged Americans to "rise up" over his claim that the executive actions will "have doctors reporting their clients to the federal government":

LEVIN: I think there are a couple things in here that are poison pills, though. The attempt to nationalize the medical profession and have doctors reporting their clients to the federal government. This is 1930s stuff. The American people need to rise up against that. The medical profession needs to say no. Also he clearly wants a national database where all innocent law-abiding citizens who purchase guns are in a national database. [Your World with Neil Cavuto, 1/16/13]

REALITY: There Is No Mention Of Gun Owner Data Collection In The Obama Executive Actions On Gun Violence

A Summary Of Gun Violence Prevention Measures Proposed By The Obama Administration Makes No Mention Of Requiring Doctors To Collect Information About Gun Owners. [The White House, accessed 1/17/13]

The Affordable Care Act Prohibits The Secretary Of Health And Human Services From Collecting Data On Gun Owners. [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, accessed 1/17/13]

CLAIM: The Affordable Care Act Prohibits Doctors From Asking Patients About Gun Ownership

Fox News Legal Analyst Peter Johnson Jr.: "Explicitly [The Affordable Care Act] Says That There Cannot Be Questions About Guns In Homes." From the January 17 edition of Fox & Friends on Fox News:

JOHNSON: But when you say to a doctor, "We're going to clarify your role under one of the executive orders," clarify whether doctors can ask patients about their guns in homes. We know under the Obamacare Act in 2010 explicitly the statute says that there cannot be questions about guns in homes, lawful possession of firearms in wellness programs, in programs dictating how people are feeling, and questionnaires and the like. So the subtle, or not so subtle, indication in this executive order memorandum is, yeah doctors you should really be looking at the issue of lawful guns in people's homes because it is in fact a health hazard. [Fox & Friends, 1/17/13]

Brietbart.com Contributor AWR Hawkins: "The Government Cannot Use Doctors To Collect 'Any Information Relating To The Lawful Ownership Or Possession Of A Firearm Or Ammunition.'"[Breitbart.com, 1/9/13]

REALITY: Firearm-Related Provisions In The Affordable Care Act Concern Prohibitions On Data Collection Of Gun Owners, Not The Doctor-Patient Relationship

Affordable Care Act Refers To Data Collection By The Secretary Of Health And Human Services, Not Doctors Conferring With Patients About Firearm Ownership. From the consolidated Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010:

 '(2) LIMITATION ON DATA COLLECTION.--None of the authorities provided to the Secretary under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or an amendment made by that Act shall be construed to authorize or may be used for the collection of any information relating to--

''(A) the lawful ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition;

''(B) the lawful use of a firearm or ammunition; or

''(C) the lawful storage of a firearm or ammunition [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, accessed 1/17/13]

NBC News: "There Are Some Who Believe The Health-Care Law Outlaws Doctors From Asking Patients About Guns In Their Homes. But That's Not True." From a January 16 article by NBC deputy political editor Domenico Montanaro:

The vagueness of some of the directives may cause controversy, but only one specific one jumps out that may get some talking -- No. 16: "Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes."

There are some who believe the health-care law outlaws doctors from asking patients about guns in their homes. But that's not true.

What it does prohibit, however, is "employers and the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services from asking about gun ownership in many instances, and it prohibits HHS from collecting such data," according to the Kaiser Health Foundation. [NBC News, 1/16/13]

Right reacts as Obama proposes gun changes

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Gun extremists hinting at bloodshed to stop changes

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Gun Advocates Resort To Lies About Hitler To Push Their Agenda

By Nathaniel Downes/Addicting Info

There is an old law on the internet. It was coined by Mike Godwin in 1990:

In short, in a heated argument, eventually someone will bring up the Nazi’s, Hitler, etc, and the moment they do, the argument is over because the side that does it has just lost it. This is because, no matter how bad the other side is, nothing can compare to the systematic, methodical and calculated genocide perpetrated by the Nazi’s in their goals for racial purity.
Absolutely nothing.

So, it was amusing when the Drudge Report posted this headline earlier this week:

Andrew Kaczynski@BuzzFeedAndrew

You know who else got a splash on the Drudge Report? pic.twitter.com/dTUNia9y

9 Jan 13

• Reply
• Retweet
• Favorite

Note the not-so-subtle attempt to compare firearm regulation with Nazi Germany and Joseph Stalin. In addition, there is a quote going around the right-wing blogosphere being attributed to Hitler:

This year will go down in history! For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!

This is of course complete bunk. Hitler never said such a thing. Germany had enacted tough gun control laws in 1928, years before the Nazi rise to power. Instead of banning guns, Hitler insteadexpanded gun ownership for German citizens (he’d stripped the citizenship of undesirables already) to levels which one cannot even get inside of the United States. The 1938 German Weapons Act actually relaxed all gun ownership restrictions save on pistols. A German citizen could own a fully automatic weapon complete with grenade launcher, legally, under Nazi control.

Why was Hitler comfortable doing this, when all common wisdom is that dictators eliminate gun ownership? Because Hitler ruled from a popular standpoint. He had little to fear from German Citizens, and for those who would stand against him, he made sure to strip away their citizenship, therefore their rights to firearms. This left him with a well armed nation who worshiped the ground he walked on. This is one of the reasons why the closing days of World War II were so bloody. The majority of German citizens, however, were untrained, so ineffective on the battlefield against the well trained Allied forces.
Hitler did discuss gun confiscation in 1942, but not against his own citizens, but against the people who he had conquered:

The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.
Indeed I would go so far as to say that the underdog is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let’s not have any native militia or police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order.

Everything in it has to do with the fact he conquered them, and they were subject races, little better than slaves.
As for the gun control discussion in the United States, Obama has not discussed eliminating gun ownership. To the contrary, his policies so far have expanded gun ownership opportunities for law abiding US citizens. What is being discussed instead are restrictions on gun manufacturers and importers. The Assault Weapons Ban passed under President Clinton was just that, a regulation on the manufacture of weapons, not on ownership. The problem is, the gun manufacturers lobby, through their front group, the National Rifle Association, the gun manufacturers paint any form of restriction of the manufacture of weapons, any form of weapon, as something unpatriotic, an attempt to eliminate freedom, to enact a police state, and, as Drudge here did, the first step before the rounding up of people into FEMA camps and wholesale extermination of “pure blooded Americans” as one commentator put it.

Godwin’s law is still in effect, and by throwing the Nazi argument, gun advocates have lost the fight.

State suspends gun permit for CEO who said he would ‘start killing people’ over gun control

By Samantha Kimmey/Raw Story

The CEO of a weapons and tactical training company has had his gun permit suspended by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security after he published a video on YouTube in which he threatened to “start killing people” if President Obama pushes forward with increased gun control, reported News Channel 5.

James Yeager, who heads the Tennessee-based company Tactical Response, issued a video Thursday in which he said, “I was mad when I said it” and “probably allowed my mouth to overrun my logic” but does not retract his statements. He admits he cut his controversial video by eliminating the part where he says he will “start killing people.” He claims he does not “condone anybody doing anything rash” or “committing any kind of felonies, up to and including aggravated assaults and murders, unless its necessary. Right now, it’s not necessary.”

In addition, more videos of Yeager are on YouTube.

He published a video on Oct. 30, 2012 titled, “Who is James Yeager?” which appears to be a advertisement for his company.

In it, he says, “If the world collapses, not only am I going to survive, I’m going to be the fucking king.”

“I’m James Yeager, and I’m prepared for everything,” he says while holding a large gun.

He claims to have enough food, guns and medical supplies to last a year but that he has told his daughters not to reveal the stockpile. “And they would ask ‘Why?’ And I say, ‘You want me shooting your friends in the face?’”

He shows two “AK”s that he has, then an assortment of weapons including two AR-15s and a grenade launcher.

Training with him is not for the lighthearted, he argues, as “the guns are real, the bullets are real, and the danger is real.” He then shows the “team room,” which he describes as a “frat house, but with machine guns.”

Another video, published in July of 2011, is an audition video for One Man Army, a TV series on the Discovery Channel.

It begins with Yeager shooting an AK-47 machine gun. He claims at one point to be standing in front of his house, where his door bears the greeting, “Welcome To The House That Guns Built,” and he says that “every dollar I have earned as an adult comes from the caring of a gun.”

He says his “winning strategy, both physically and intellectually, is about having a fighting mindset” and says that “all the things that make us a superior warrior are what I try to use in every aspect of my life.”

In the original video that Raw Story reported on Thursday, which brought scrutiny to Yeager, he said in response to his belief that President Obama may attempt to enforce gun control by executive order, ” I’m not letting anybody take my guns! If it goes one inch further, I’m going to start killing people.”

UPDATE (7:02 p.m.): The Department of Homeland Security is allegedly investigating whether Yeager’s displayed “criminal intent” in the video published on Wednesday, according to theSouthern Poverty Law Center.

Watch the videos below.