http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...a73490-cf27-11e3-a6b1-45c4dffb85a6_story.html
Pay attention - here is the strategy:
The plan:
Ride the coattails of actual gun safety education and try to take credit for the steadily decreasing rate of "gun crimes" and accidents. Once credit is taken via the careful construction of a new narrative a renewed push for gun control will suddenly be more palatable to the masses.
"When it comes to public health, success breeds momentum."
What does that sound like to you? Sounds like incrementalism to me.
anti-gun logic:
We (progressives) have been losing the debate.
Despite this, "gun crimes" and accidents have been steadily decreasing for decades.
Therefore, our great ideas are needed to continue this trend.
Pay attention - here is the strategy:
Third, it would focus on successes, not failures. Since 1993, the rate of gun homicides has dropped by a third while the number of nonfatal gun crimes has dropped by 69 percent, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. On every metric that matters, we are safer from guns today than we were 20 years ago. When it comes to public health, success breeds momentum. Drops in the rate of smoking led to smoke-free bars and higher cigarette taxes, reducing smoking further. After the first wave of laws setting blood-alcohol limits reduced drunk driving deaths in the ’70s and ’80s, advocates successfully fought for even tougher limits. By building a narrative of success, progressives can restore confidence in law enforcement and show that new laws are worth the effort and can be applied without restricting the rights of responsible gun owners.
Messaging matters in every political issue. On the issue of guns and violence, its importance is measured in lives saved or lives lost. The last year has shown conclusively that from a messaging perspective, progressives are losing the gun debate. By reframing the debate, it is possible to choose a winning message and make Americans safer.
The plan:
Ride the coattails of actual gun safety education and try to take credit for the steadily decreasing rate of "gun crimes" and accidents. Once credit is taken via the careful construction of a new narrative a renewed push for gun control will suddenly be more palatable to the masses.
"When it comes to public health, success breeds momentum."
What does that sound like to you? Sounds like incrementalism to me.
anti-gun logic:
We (progressives) have been losing the debate.
Despite this, "gun crimes" and accidents have been steadily decreasing for decades.
Therefore, our great ideas are needed to continue this trend.