Obama Laments Politicized Gun Debate, Immediately Politicizes Gun Debate

During Tuesday’s national address announcing a new round of executive orders targeting gun violence, President Barack Obama began by lamenting the hyperpartisan debate surrounding the issue, and urged the two sides to come together.

Instead of thinking about how to solve the problem, this has become one of our most polarized partisan debates… That is part of the reason why on Thursday, I am going to be holding a town hall meeting in Virginia on gun violence. Because my goal here is to bring good people on both sides of this issue together for an open discussion. I’m not on the ballot again, I’m not looking to score some points. I think we can disagree without impugning other people’s motives, or without being disagreeable. We don’t need to be talking past each other.

A laudable sentiment. But a few minutes after exhorting Americans to come together and not to act disagreeable, Obama accused his opponents of being slaves to the gun lobby and holding America hostage.

Congress actually voted to make it harder for public health experts to research deaths from gun violence, made it harder to collect data and facts and develop strategies to reduce gun violence. Even after San Bernardino, they have refused to make it harder for terror suspects who can’t get on a plane to buy semiautomatic weapons.

That’s not right, that can’t be right. So the gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they can’t hold America hostage. We do not have to accept this.

Uh, okay. Later, that whole “impugning other people’s motives” goes by the wayside as well, complete with the implication that his opponents just don’t care about children.

Yes, the gun lobby is loud and it is organized in defense of making it effortless for guns to be available for anybody, any time. Well, you know what, the rest of us, we all have to be just as passionate, we just as organized in defense of our kids. this is not that complicated.

The reason Congress blocks laws is because they want to win elections. And if you make it hard for them to win an election, and if they block those laws, they will change course, I promise you.

Call me crazy, but that bolded section sounds a heck of a lot like Obama is impugning his opponents’ motives only minutes after saying we shouldn’t be doing that. But you know, he really hates how politicized this debate is. Reeeeeally tears him up inside.

Look, Barack Obama is a politician. If he thinks attacking Republicans and disparaging their motives is how he can get what he wants, that unfortunately comes with the territory. If Obama didn’t politicize the issue today, literally everyone else in the political world would have as soon as he stopped talking.

But to play the holier-than-thou Kumbaya card literally minutes before? That takes chutzpah, or a total lack of self-awareness… or maybe both.

Watch above, via CNN.

[Image via screengrab]
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This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.