History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes. Lessons from 2004.

[Eleanors38]

4. Great essay! A Top-Ten hit that has charted again...

It remains a mystery the depth to which the gun-control issue remains lodged in Democratic Party outlook. I can only speculate the issue is really driven by a the centrist, DNC Beltway outfit which uses the issue as a culture war equivalent of the murder-mouthing that spurts from RW talk radio, and a means by which so-called liberal/progressives can get in on the same game. The issue is a curious and pointed departure from the 3rd Way "No Labels" approach the Party has cultivated since it began its pro-corporate drift in the 1970s. But if it was to be a heat sink by which ideological content could be sparked off, it has proven instead to be a lightening rod held by clueless hacks during a thunderstorm. But the need for passion in a jargon-jiving political approach is great, and it would seem this issue is locked in as the best the Party can offer in a time when it has been out flanked by a rightward drift in our country, even as it eschews bright line stands.

Perhaps this has bearing on the conundrum, but I note in the Gallup graph around early 2012 where indies diverged sharply from Dems on the question of "assault weapons bans," whereas the trend in 2000 seems wholly different. Perhaps the American public -- esp. regarding indies -- has weighed the issue and discerned the B.S. of the various arguments, and changed its outlook.