Forget Ted Cruz, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders looks like he's setting himself up to be the Donk version of "Maverick" John McCain:
On Sunday, CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed Vermont senator and Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on his support for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA. As a senator, Sanders voted for the law, which shields gun and ammunition manufacturers, distributors, and dealers from liability when their products are used criminally. (Many Democrats, including then-Senator Hillary Clinton, opposed the bill.) Explaining his vote, Sanders said:
If somebody has a gun and it falls into the hands of a murderer and the murderer kills somebody with a gun, do you hold the gun manufacturer responsible? Not any more than you would hold a hammer company responsible if somebody beats somebody over the head with a hammer. That is not what a lawsuit should be about.
"Straight talk" from Weekend Bernie, only this time the "straight talk" actually makes sense. Common sense, even.
Which indicates three things: (1) he knows he's got no real shot at the nomination, and thus doesn't have to worry about pandering to the Nutroots; (2) he's sufficiently confident in his leftwing extremist "street cred" that he's comfortable attempting to broaden his appeal; and (3) it bolsters the image he's constructing as the "mavericky outsider" to contrast garishly with the Ultimate Insider and Phony, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Sanders must be feeling his oats, because he didn't waste any time doubling down on the common gun sense:
Democrat presidential candidate Senator Bernard Sanders said Sunday that “99.9%” of gun owners obey the law.
“Folks who do not like guns is fine, but we have millions of people who are gun owners in this country; 99.9% of those people obey the law,” Mr. Sanders, a Vermont independent and self-described socialist, said on CNN’s State Of The Union.
He almost sounds as if he reads Political Pistachio, doesn't he?
But there's an ulterior purpose behind it that is corroborated by this punchline:
“I want to see real serious debate and action on guns. But it is not going to take place if we simply have extreme positions on both sides. I think I can bring us to the middle,” he added. [emphasis added]
If that doesn't constitute infringing on John McCain's "maverick" gimmick....
....I don't know what does.
Exit rhetorical question: Will Sailor sue or will he embrace Sanders as a kindred spirit?
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