Another Mary Landrieu Profile In Courage

Last week, it was gay marriage. This week, it’s gun control. Another example of Mary going on TV and saying “Of course, I’m enlightened and intelligent about this issue – but the people I expect to vote for my re-election next year are a bunch of rubes and barbarians, and I fear them greatly…so, y’know…”

Here, she’s on CNN talking to their national political correspondent Jim Acosta about this “expanded background check” proposal in the Senate.

The transcript…

ACOSTA (on camera): When 90 percent of the American people say we want universal background checks, how can you be against that?

LANDRIEU: I’m not against that.

ACOSTA: Well, you’re not against it, but…

LANDRIEU: I’m not…

ACOSTA: How can you…

LANDRIEU: — against it, but…

ACOSTA: — how can you be undecided about it?

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, you know, I’m not the president of the United States, I’m a senator from Louisiana. And so I really will follow what the people in my state, you know, want me to do on that issue.

ACOSTA: When you see so much support out there across the country for this one provision, doesn’t that give you pause?

LANDRIEU: You know…

ACOSTA: When you…

LANDRIEU: — I don’t know if you understand as a senator from a state…

ACOSTA: Yes.

LANDRIEU: — senators really look at what their state is saying. And that’s what our job is.

Landrieu touts her record of supporting the 2nd Amendment, but it’s just as wishy-washy as the transcript indicates she is on this specific bill. The state GOP put this release out this morning…

As the Senate prepares to vote on implementing new restrictions on the Second Amendment, Senator Mary Landrieu has been all but silent on the issue.

“Senator Landrieu was the deciding vote for ObamaCare and may very likely be the deciding vote on Thursday’s gun control legislation,” said LAGOP Chairman Roger Villere. “While her current position remains unclear, her anti-Second Amendment record is not. Louisiana residents are demanding that their Second Amendment rights be protected.”

Landrieu’s refusal to come clean with her constituents leaves voters no choice but to turn to her record for answers. A quick look at Landrieu’s voting pattern explains why she refuses to be forthright with voters “back home” which reveals a history of hostility towards the Second Amendment and law abiding citizens who exercise their Constitutional right to own firearms.

Throughout her nearly two decades in Washington, Landrieu has repeatedly supported harsh new gun laws, including expanded background checks and assault weapon bans.

Now, facing a very difficult re-election in 2014, she seems to be experiencing a miraculous “election year conversion” on the second amendment and hoping that Louisianans just won’t notice.

Sen. Landrieu can run, but she can’t hide, from her real record.

Mary Landrieu on the assault weapons ban:
THEN…
In 1996, Landrieu Said She Opposed Repealing The Assault Weapons Ban. (Bill McMahon, “Hopefuls Differ On Gun Issue,” The [Baton Rouge, LA] Advocate, 9/1/96)

NOW…
Landrieu Has Been “Non-Committal” On Whether She Would Support An Assault Weapons Ban. “Landrieu — who voted against renewing the initial version of the assault weapons ban when it expired in 2004 after a decade as law — has been non-committal. She said she supported ‘common-sense reforms’ and that she would carefully review proposals before the Senate.” (John Whitesides, “In Louisiana, A Conservative Backlash Against Gun Control,” Reuters, 3/6/13)

Mary Landrieu on background checks:
THEN…
In March 2004, Landrieu Voted For An Amendment That Would Have Required Background Checks On All Firearm Transactions At Gun Shows. (S. 1805, CQ Vote #25: Adopted 53-46: R 8-43; D 44-3; I 1-0, 3/2/04, Landrieu Voted Yea)

In 1999, Landrieu Voted For An Amendment That Would Have Required Background Checks At Gun Shows, And Directed The Attorney General To Hold Background Files Collected On Gun Owners For 90 Days. (S. 254, CQ Vote #134: Adopted, with Vice President Gore casting a ‘yea’ vote 50-50: R 6-49; D 44-1, 5/20/99, Landrieu Voted Yea)

In 1998, Landrieu Voted Against An Amendment That Would Have Prohibited The Use Of Any Taxes Or Fees To Pay For The Background Checks Required Under The Brady Bill. (S. 2260, CQ Vote #217: Adopted 69-31: R 55-0; D 14-31, 7/21/98, Landrieu Voted Nay)

In 1996, Landrieu Said She Opposed Repealing The Background Check And Waiting Period Requirements Of The Brady Law. (Bill McMahon, “Hopefuls Differ On Gun Issue,” The [Baton Rouge, LA] Advocate, 9/1/96)

NOW…
Landrieu Has Not Taken A Position On Universal Background Checks, And Her Spokesman Said “She Looks Forward To Working With Law Enforcement Officials, Who Want To See Additional Precautions Taken To Keep Weapons And Handguns Out Of The Hands Of Criminals.” (Greg Sargent, “Three Red State Dems Flirt With Instant Political Self Destruction,” The Washington Post’s Plum Line Blog, 3/25/13)

Will Mary Landrieu’s habits of supporting strict gun laws on law abiding Louisianans continue? Or will she put the Pelican State before President Obama’s agenda?

In the end, it’s unlikely Landrieu will go for background checks or anything else on gun control. She can’t afford to – not with what is already a five-point race between her and Rep. Bill Cassidy just a week after Cassidy’s official entry into it. Cassidy was a headliner at the Defend Louisiana rally on the state capitol steps (check out what the Times-Picayune editors did with their story on that event and ask yourself how objective that paper is); he’s staked out a strong position on the issue.

But there is cost either way. If Landrieu were to vote against cloture on background checks she might well end up casting the deciding vote to kill it, and the Democrats in DC she’ll need to bankroll her campaign might give up on her. She can’t afford that, either.

Sure is tough when you have to pretend you’re somebody else in order to represent your state in the Senate.

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