Joe Biden has been running for president for 40 years, which has to be some kind of record. His ambition to be president has perhaps only been surpassed by former Minnesota governor Harold Stassen.
Stassen was elected governor at age 31 in 1938 and was immediately anointed as “the future” of the Republican Party. He ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 1944, losing to Tom Dewey, and then again in 1948, 1952, 1964, 1968, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992.
Stassen allowed his ambition to be president to overshadow what was a relatively successful career as governor. In the end, he became the butt of jokes — fodder for late-night comedians.
Biden was also elected to high office at a young age. He was 30 when he was sworn in as a Delaware senator and was pegged, like Stassen, as the future of his party. But like Stassen, Biden allowed his ambition to dictate his career. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 1988, and despite being mentioned prominently as a candidate in later years, it wasn’t until 2008 that Biden made another serious run for the nomination. Despite his failure, Barack Obama needed a “moderate” to “balance the ticket” and ended up choosing Biden.
Biden’s overweening ambition to be president was fulfilled largely because he was the last man standing in 2020. Now, Biden’s ambition has taken flight again. Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall that 2024 is out of the question, he’s now trying to build his legacy.
Joe Biden wants to rid the United States of “assault weapons.”
“The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick. Just sick,” Biden said on Thanksgiving Day. “I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons.”
We “allow” them to be purchased because the Second Amendment says we can. But Biden’s choice of words — that he will “try to get rid of assault weapons” — is telling. The idea of getting rid of 20 million guns should frighten anyone who cares about the Constitution and American liberty. It’s this kind of rhetoric that forces ordinary Americans to think the government is coming for their guns.
When Biden and other lawmakers talk about “assault weapons,” they are using an inexact term to describe a group of high-powered guns or semi-automatic long rifles, like an AR-15, that can fire 30 rounds fast without reloading. By comparison, New York Police Department officers carry a handgun that shoots about half that much.
A weapons ban is far off in a closely divided Congress. But Biden and the Democrats have become increasingly emboldened in pushing for stronger gun controls — and doing so with no clear electoral consequences.
“I think the American public has been waiting for this message,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told AP.
“There has been a thirst from voters, especially swing voters, young voters, parents, to hear candidates talk about gun violence, and I think Democrats are finally sort of catching up with where the public has been.”
Do the American people want “gun control”? They certainly don’t want the government going on a gun-grabbing spree and taking their Constitutionally-protected property. But realistically, Democrats are talking about reviving the 1990s-era ban on “assault weapons” that ended up being a huge mess as the government could never quite define what an “assault weapon” was. When the time came to reauthorize the “Assault Weapons Ban” ten years later, the political will to do so wasn’t there.
Banning weapons is not the answer. With 20 million assault-style weapons in the U.S. alone, initiating a ban on the sale of them won’t save a single life. But it will allow Democratic politicians to go to the voters, point to the ban, and say, “See? We’re doing something about the gun problem.”
That will work until the next mentally disturbed teenager listens to the voices in his head and goes to school with a gun.
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