Politico Editor: With Gun Control 'Obama Is Risking the Opportunity to Retake the House in 2014'

January 13th, 2013 3:13 PM

As the gun-hating media encourage Democrats to push for tighter firearms restrictions, most of them have ignored the political realities inherent in such legislation.

That's why it was surprising to see Politico editor-in-chief John Harris say on Sunday's syndicated Chris Matthews Show, "Among the dynamics that President Obama is battling is not just the NRA’s opposition but the real nervousness among some influential Democratic consultants here in Washington who feel that he is risking the opportunity to retake the House in 2014" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

JOHN HARRIS, POLITICO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Chris, more guns. Among the dynamics that President Obama is battling is not just the NRA’s opposition but the real nervousness among some influential Democratic consultants here in Washington who feel that he is risking the opportunity to retake the House in 2014 because the seats he needs are in these rural districts where the gun issue is difficult. Even as public opinion nationally supports the Obama position, these individual districts that Democrats need are really…

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: I've studied that. You go down the middle of the country, all those people are pro-gun right down to Mississippi.


Indeed.

What has been missing in this discussion post-Sandy Hook is that many political observers believed that one of the reasons the Republicans took over both chambers of Congress in 1995 was a result of the Democrats' assault weapons ban.

These same people think this likely resulted in Al Gore losing his home state of Tennessee and therefore the 2000 presidential election.

The left and their media minions might be all for such legislation, but there are many parts of the country where this discussion is toxic.

Nice to see someone in the press willing to state such an inconvenient truth on national television.