Following the shooting massacres in El Paso and Dayton earlier this month, Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell hinted they would be open to background checks without actually committing to any specific legislation.
On Monday, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell said there is “zero chance” McConnell will take up a common-sense gun safety bill when Congress returns in September.
“He’s got the Russians and the NRA who don’t want him to do anything on this,” Rep. Swalwell said. “He’s not going to do anything.”
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Eric Swalwell says there’s no chance Mitch McConnell will do anything on gun violence when Congress returns in September. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/aL1Vmix3Cp
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) August 20, 2019
Rep. Swalwell said:
Zero chance. Zero, Chris. … It’s fear of losing his job. It’s fear of the NRA dumping millions against them and this president as well. He is also going to do zero, Chris. I don’t know if you — I know a lot of your viewers probably do – own a dog, but this is how it works. When two owners tell a dog to do something, the dog usually does it. The NRA is funded by the Russians. President Trump is also funded by the NRA. He’s got the Russians and the NRA who don’t want him to do anything on this. He’s not going to do anything.
The one-two punch of Russia-NRA will prevent tighter gun laws
It’s long been established that the Republican Party – Mitch McConnell, in particular – is wholly owned by the National Rifle Association. It’s why, time and again, the GOP offers nothing but debunked talking points in response to unspeakable mass killings.
But it’s not just the NRA that has the GOP in a stranglehold. In the Trump era, Russia has also seized complete ownership of Trump and the Republican Party.
It’s why Trump bowed down to Vladimir Putin on the world stage. It’s why he continues to deny the Kremlin had any involvement in the 2016 election, despite the conclusions of his own intelligence community.
It’s why Mitch McConnell is refusing to allow a vote on a series of election security measures that would protect the 2020 presidential elections from the same type of attacks that helped elect Trump in 2016.
It’s why, as Rep. Swalwell said on Monday, Donald Trump and Moscow Mitch will once again refuse to do anything substantive in response to the dual gun massacres in El Paso and Dayton earlier this month
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
