I'm really sorry that I even started this thread.
Why? Because it's so easy for someone to point to a Zell Miller or a Mitt Romney and say that they (or others) disprove what I've said.
But I didn't say that there are anti-2A Republicans, or pro-2A Democrats.
What I was trying to point out is that it's the leadership---Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy, Hillary, Schumer, Feinstein, etc--who set the agenda. Not the individual legislator.
The individual legislator can buck leadership, but will be punished. He/she will not advance, not get a chair on a committee, and not have any of his/her bills be given a floor vote. This is the way both parties work: toe the line, or you're a second-stringer with no clout.
If that particular legislator becomes more vocal in his opposition to the leadership's position, then he/she will be punished even worse. Come re-election time, there just may not be enough money from the DNC or the RNC to help that legislator. But maybe those committees somehow magically found enough money to fund primary challengers for the legislators who crossed leadership.
If you accept the above premise, which I have found to be true on both the state and federal levels, then please consider the following.
Each party holds hostage groups with strongly held views on particular issues. The Democrats lay claim to the Black vote, the pro-abortion vote, and a whole host of other issues. They also by default own the anti-gun crowd like the Brady Bunch.
The Republicans hold the anti-abortion movement, the conservative Christians, and other groups. Including the NRA.
Yes, the NRA supports certain Democrats. But you won't find those Democrats in positions of power in the current Congress.
The Brady Bunch probably supported certain Republicans. But those Republicans are not going to be the co-chairs of committees like the House Judiciary.
Each party is beholden to its base, and my guess is that the anti-gunners have kept quiet while helping Pelosi and Co., and are now demanding their payback.
How else to explain a flurry of anti-gun bills in just a matter of weeks?
Please don't tell me that GW promised to sign a renewal of the AW ban. It was a wink and a nod, and the understanding was that the AW ban renewal would never hit his desk.
Give the guy credit for something.
It doesn't matter how pro-2A a particular Democrat may be. All that matters is that, when Pelosi, Schumer, Kennedy, Reid or others in leadership say "jump," that particular Democrat asks "how high?"