CBS chief political analyst John Dickerson had the tough job of breaking some bad news to the cast of CBS Mornings on Friday as he informed them that the reason why there won’t be an assault weapons ban after Uvalde is because nobody agrees on what an assault weapon even is. Nor is the NRA responsible for the lack of gun control, rather Republican members of Congress are simply representing their voters.
Early in the show, co-host Michelle Miller got the blame game started, “across the country students are making their voices heard in the gun debate. Yesterday, thousands walked out of class to protest the perpetual lack of action on the issue, in part due to the influence of the gun lobby.”
After some tributes to the victims, chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa was in Houston for the NRA convention, which was portrayed as “a reckoning with its long held alliance with the NRA on gun rights.”
Costa also sought to reinforce Miller’s earlier blaming of the NRA, “when it comes to political influence, gun right groups spend 15.8 million on lobbying last year. Five times more than what gun control groups spend.”
About 20 minutes later, Dickerson and former Eric Cantor chief of staff Doug Heye joined the show and brought multiple instances of bad news. First, co-host Gayle King wondered about potential legislation, “What are the specifics we should focus on, John. I think everybody just thinks assault rifles have to go. Good, we're talking about background checks. But assault rifles to civilians who don't have formal training, why is that so hard?”
Dickerson reported that not only is such a ban not on the table, “the table isn't in the room” and “even if it were on the table, would have an immediate debate about what an assault weapon is.”
After some reporting on red flag proposals, Miller wondered “how is Congress so far away from what the polls say the American people are? The polls say 90% of Americans want some form of gun reform. A Pew poll says 54% of Americans want stricter laws for gun sales. Where is—where’s-- the disconnect?”
Bearing more bad news, Heye informed the table how Congress works, “there is no member of Congress, there’s no senator that represents 90% of the voters. They represent their state, and Vermont and Montana and California and North Carolina are all very different from each other… If you talk to a specific member of Congress, they're representing their district probably pretty well on issues like this.”
Reinforcing Heye’s point, Dickerson circled back to the NRA, “And the key point is representing their district. The NRA spends a lot of money supporting politicians, but that money is related to the feeling of the people in the district. So it is not just dollar bills.”
Kudos to Heye and Dickerson for bringing some sense to CBS Mornings, whether the rest of the cast will learn from their insights remains to be seen.
This segment was sponsored by Hilton.
Here is a transcript for the May 27 show:
CBS Mornings
5/27/2022
7:10 AM ET
ROBERT COSTA: Despite calls from activists to cancel this event, the NRA is carrying on, setting the stage for a collision as protesters also flock to the city.
The city of Houston is on edge, ahead of the NRA convention. Democratic Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city has to honor its contract with the NRA. No matter how he feels.
SYLVESTER TURNER: There comes a point in time when people have to recognize that it is disrespectful to be talking about guns, when 19 kids have been killed.
COSTA: For the Republican Party, the moment is a reckoning with its long held alliance with the NRA on gun rights. Several leading Republicans promise to attend, including former President Donald Trump, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, both plan to speak today. Governor Greg Abbott is no longer attending in person, pre-recording a video message instead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guns are never a responsibility. A gun is a tool.
COSTA: Despite the mass shooting in Uvalde, attendees are doubling down on their stance on gun rights.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't guns that did it. It was a person.
STEVE SPECK: We have a problem, where people who are getting mentally ill are not being -- they're falling through the cracks.
COSTA: A recent CBS News poll found that among Republicans, the majority, nearly 75%, want laws covering the sales of guns to remain the same. Or be made less strict. And when it comes to political influence, gun right groups spend 15.8 million on lobbying last year. Five times more than what gun control groups spend. But the NRA had its challenges in recent years. Following scandals at its highest ranks. And it is now spending less on political campaigns.
While guns will be allowed into this event, they won't be for Trump's speech due to Secret Service regulations. Michelle?
…
7:31
GAYLE KING: I think we can all agree, Republicans and Democrats agree, they care about children, everybody gets choked up when they keep talking about what has happened in Uvalde, yet we sit here again. Do you think that things are different this time, Doug?
DOUG HEYE: Well, we have said they're different time and time again and they haven't been. What tells me this might be slightly different this time, if not massively different, is that we have a group of senators as bipartisan that’s having conversations and one of the problems in Washington is regardless of what the issue is, but certainly when it is something this emotional, we focus immediately on what the solution is, and it gets very hard in Washington to find the solution.
Right now they're looking at a solution or possible solutions. And that's where if I'm not completely optimistic, have some cautious optimism that we're talking about actual specifics and it is not the loudest voices in the room that are part of this.
KING: What are the specifics we should focus on, John. I think everybody just thinks assault rifles have to go. Good, we're talking about background checks. But assault rifles to civilians who don't have formal training, why is that so hard?
JOHN DICKERSON: That's not even on the table—
KING: Exactly.
DICKERSON: -- and the table isn't in the room. And also, by the way, even if it were on the table, would have an immediate debate about what an assault weapon is, but let's back up and what’s actually being discussed which is some federal legislation that would nudge states so, again, it’s not federal legislation that would do something, but get states in a position to have red flag laws, which are essentially if you know somebody is talking about doing harm and in school, you can get a court order to get their guns taken away from them.
There are some states that already have this. Indiana, Virginia, others and so there is some bipartisan support around that. But the key thing to remember here, you need 60 votes in the senate to get anything done, because the filibuster means you need 60 votes. If you're Democrats and you can get all of your 50 members aligned, which is also not certain, you then need to find ten Republicans to get anything passed. Anything that is going to get ten Republicans is not going to be anything close to what you're talking about in terms of assault weapons, raising the age for ownership of guns or—or—and putting any kind of measures in that people want on the left.
MICHELLE MILLER: How—how-- is Congress so far away from what the polls say the American people are? The polls say 90% of Americans want some form of gun reform. A Pew poll says 54% of Americans want stricter laws for gun sales. Where is—where’s-- the disconnect?
HEYE: Well, there is no member of Congress, there’s no senator that represents 90% of the voters. They represent their state, and Vermont and Montana and California and North Carolina are all very different from each other. And you get in states like California, North Carolina, where they have a lot of congressional districts, those districts are different from each other, and those members, Congress very accurately reflects their voters. If you talk to a specific member of Congress, they're representing their district probably pretty well on issues like this.
DICKERSON: And the key point is representing their district. The NRA spends a lot of money supporting politicians, but that money is related to the feeling of the people in the district. So it is not just dollar bills. It is also the power of the voters in those districts. Now, the NRA has been very successful over the years in knitting together cultural identity and gun ownership so that people feel it is not just about guns anymore, it is about their entire way of life and that is a relationship between the NRA and voters, but it’s not just about money.
HEYE: To John's point, that's not about lobbying. That's about voter contact. It’s who Republican members of Congress hear from when they go home, on the campaign trail. It is not lobbying.
KING: And you can get these big poll numbers, but really depends on the specific states and so they're reacting to what their constituents are saying.
DICKERSON: Right. If that sentiment of 90% doesn't exist in at least 40 states, to get you past the threshold in the Senate, you're not going to get any legislation.
