The
votes
have all been cast in the 2018 midterm elections. And while the
counting and recounting is still under way in some places, the overall
picture that has emerged soundly refutes the breathless
media
narrative of a massive “blue wave” that would
conclusively repudiate the Trump presidency.
Democrats, as expected, retook control of the U.S. House of
Representatives, though hardly by historic margins. They also picked up
about half a dozen governorships, leaving statehouses across the
country nearly evenly split between red and blue.
But the more important story is that Republicans not only held but also
increased their pro-gun majority in the U.S. Senate.
To be sure, we will see a renewed push for federal gun control.
Anti-gun House Democrats are already announcing the many tired gun
control proposals they aim to pass in the coming session. It will once
again fall to NRA members and Americas 100 million gun owners to ensure
that they do not succeed.
There can be no sense of complacency, as gun control activists have
been quietly building the infrastructure necessary to move with
lightning speed whenever an exploitable tragedy presents itself. They
will certainly be ready for any chance they can get, which means
pro-gun Americans must remain equally ready to oppose them.
Democrat leadership in the House, with the reliably anti-gun Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA) likely to be named as speaker, will also use its
investigative and subpoena authority to harass and obstruct the
president and his allies wherever possible. Indeed, the most rabid of
the Democrat base has already indicated it will settle for nothing less
than impeachment proceedings.
Yet Democrat gains were at best in line with or slightly below
historical averages for the opposition party of a first term president.
They were significantly fewer, moreover, than what Republicans achieved
with far less money and media collaboration against Bill Clinton in
1994 and Barack Obama in 2010.
Indeed, anti-gun and leftist billionaires, including Michael Bloomberg
and Tom Steyer, played an outsized role in funding anti-gun candidates
in House races across the United States. And the media’s relentlessly
negative coverage of the president was so pronounced as to amount
virtually to an in-kind contribution to his political
opponents. Meanwhile,
80% of NRA endorsed candidates won in U.S. House races, and 85% of NRA
endorsed candidates won at the state level.
But despite the partisans and activists straining to spin the results
as some kind of seismic shift in U.S. politics, or in gun control
politics in particular, that is not the case. There is no evidence that
favorable views of gun control were an especially motivating factor for
a significant percentage of voters. The main issues in most exit polls
were healthcare, the economy and immigration.
Meanwhile, 80% of NRA endorsed candidates won in U.S. House races, and
85% of NRA endorsed candidates won at the state level.
Gun owners and Second Amendment supporters should take heart that their
activism and participation preserved critical checks and balances
against further erosions of their rights at the national level.
And the expanded majority in the Senate will only further the already
historic progress in reforming the federal judiciary with appointees
who respect the original meaning of the U.S. Constitution, including as
it pertains to the individual right embodied in the Second Amendment.
With the help of the NRA and America’s 100 million gun owners,
President Trump has already seated two justices to the U.S. Supreme
Court with demonstrated records of taking the right to keep and bear
arms seriously. It is possible he could have the opportunity for
additional high court nominations before his first term ends.
As ever, the work of protecting and promoting our most cherished rights
will continue, but the state of play for Second Amendment supporters is
more favorable than what many were predicting. This is not to say that
there will not be substantial new efforts by to pass gun control in the
coming legislative session.
We know the new anti-gun leadership in the House and in many states
will come after the Second Amendment. And anywhere they try, the NRA
will be there defending the rights of our members - and all Americans.
As always, we will unapologetically fight to defend the constitutional
right to keep and bear arms.
- 2018 Midterm Elections:
Reactions « NRA-ILA
https://www.nraila.org/articles/20181109/midterm-elections-offer-motivation-to-continue-the-fight-for-our-rights
NRA-Institute for Legislative Affairs
November 9, 2018