I will be voting for Hillary. I will not vote for Sanders or any opponent of moderate gun control proposals at any level. Gun control is VERY important to me. I live in an urban part of Maryland (officially suburban, but would be considered very urban under almost any definition) where the threat and consequences of gun violence are an everyday reality.
Democrats who flock to Sanders, should remember that the Vermont senator stands firmly to Hillary’s right on one issue of overwhelming importance to the Democratic base: gun control. During his time in Congress, Sanders opposed several moderate gun control bills. He also supported the most odious NRA–backed law in recent memory – one that may block Sandy Hook families from winning a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the gun used to massacre their children.
Sanders, doesn’t talk much about guns on the campaign trail. But his voting record paints the picture of a legislator who is both skeptical of gun control and invested in the interests of gun owners – and manufacturers. In 1993, he voted against the Brady Act, which mandated federal background checks for gun purchasers and restricted felons’ access to firearms. As a senator, Sanders supported bills to allow firearms in checked bags on Amtrak trains and block funding to any foreign aid organization that registered or taxed Americans guns. (Source: http://www.msnbc.com/...
I have never voted for a Republican in my life, so if the choice is between a pro-gun Democrat and a gun-loving Tea Party Republican, I will either write in a candidate or skip that race on my ballot. Let darkness come.
Well, OK … my diary here is a bit of snark (although the gun policy difference highlighted above is real) … and is indeed a sort of response to the diary here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
I highlight a different issue here. Economic issues are extremely important to me, but so are a host of other policies … and I’d rather have any Democrat be in charge of those policies than any Republican, without exception. Yes, a Nader Administration would have been a lot more progressive than that of Gore, but no one in their right mind thinks a Gore Administration would have been no different from the 8-year nightmare of George W. Bush.
Ultimately, Sanders becoming President would not be the cure-all to all our nation’s problems (Barack Obama’s Senate record was arguably more progressive than Sanders’) … and neither would Hillary’s.
Yes, Sanders would likely be relatively more progressive on many economic issues, but the difference between him and Hillary, and between a Sanders Administration and a Hillary Administration, would be miniscule compared to the difference between a Democratic President (whether Sanders or Hillary) and a Republican President.
I do strongly believe the attitude described in the diary “I will no longer vote for the Democrat from fear of the alternative” is very destructive to the future of the Democratic Party and destructive to progressivism itself, and I will always fight to the very end to make sure the darkness of a Republican Presidency does not come over this land.