Dana Milbank: Impotent Moron

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Yeesh

I knew Dana Milbank was a scummy liberal without principles, but I had no idea how ridiculously bad it was. Usually I ignore Democrats with by lines unless I can riff off them on a topic I see normal people discussing. This… this is a bit of that, and also so far insane I cannot imagine for a minute he’s not either: a) a batshit crazy moonbat, or b) evil. He titled his blog post at WaPo (it’s not a paper anymore, even if they print it): A week after Orlando, Republicans protect terrorists’ right to bear arms. Which isn’t wrong so much as it’s intentionally dumb.

On May 24, the House Appropriations Committee took up a proposal “to deny transfers of firearms to persons known or suspected to be engaged in conduct related to terrorism.” In a party-line vote, Republicans defeated the plan 29 to 17.

On May 24, the House Appropriations Committee took up a proposal “to deny due process to persons on arbitrary government watch lists.” In a party-line vote, Republicans saved due process 29 to 17. As an aside, once Ted Kennedy was on the watch list, and thus would have been denied a gun under this proposal but not his weapon of choice: alcohol and a car.

Nineteen days later, a man whom the FBI had investigated as a possible terrorist went into an Orlando nightclub and, claiming solidarity with the Islamic State, shot 49 people to death with weapons he bought legally.

He had been investigated and cleared. The FBI, under Obama’s Justice Department, totally dropped the ball. It should also be noted that the administration initially wanted to scrub mention of ISIS or terrorism from 911 transcripts.

The legislation couldn’t have prevented the massacre; it wouldn’t have taken effect for months. But it highlights an absurd situation: Lawmakers have known for a long time that those suspected of terrorist activities can legally buy guns, but the Republican majority, putting Second Amendment absolutism above modest national-security considerations, is refusing to fix the problem.

We are a nation of laws. We do not deprive rights based on unproven suspicions. Further, chalking up requiring due process to refusing to fix a problem is rich. Would the administration agree to reviews, checks, and balances for citizens on the list by mistake?

Republicans defeated Democratic legislation to keep those on terrorism watch lists from getting guns.

“Republicans defeated Democratic legislation to arbitrarily suspend due process rights for American citizens based on watch lists without any oversight.”

The “no fly, no buy” proposal from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was a modest idea: If you’re not allowed to board a plane because of suspected terrorist ties, you also can’t buy a gun. The total number of Americans and legal residents who would be blocked from gun sales under the provision: about 5,000 — in a nation of more than 320 million.

How many people’s civil rights have to be violated before it’s a problem for people like Dana Milbank?

But Republicans responded as if President Obama himself were going door-to-door, confiscating every American’s guns. The no-fly-no-buy legislation “violates the Second amendment, because a fundamental right cannot be infringed upon without due process of law,” proclaimed Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

Exactly.

Monday night was the best chance yet to block would-be terrorists from getting guns, and, as before, the Republican majority chose not to act.

No, they chose to act: they voted for due process and civil rights. They voted to keep an administration from creating arbitrary lists and keeping Americans’ lives caught up in years-long court cases. They voted to slow the erosion of the Second Amendment. And it has been eroded. The idea that we haven’t compromised is a lie put forth by the extremists attempting to steal away our rights.

After the ridiculous, cosmetic feature ban of 1994 gun owners woke up. We know better than to hit the snooze button again after that, and after hearing extremist after extremist from the press and establishment tell us to just trust them — they just want common sense compromises.

Except they don’t. These same people would vote down any federal legislation forcing states like California and New Jersey to follow the constitution: licenses in one state must be valid in all other states. Even though they pushed the same idea when it came to gay marriage. Why are extremists like Milbank opposed to the civil rights of every day Americans?