Judy: Any meaningful changes to
federal gun regulations appear
unlikely even after the
unspeakable tragedy in uvalde.
As a mass shooting unfolded on
Tuesday, voters were casting
their ballots in primary
elections in Georgia and other
states.
To discuss what this means for
the November midterm elections
and for the country as a whole,
we turn to the analysis of
brooks and Kate.
Hello to both of you.
Welcome to the program after
another very tough week in this
country that we love.
Jonathan, the news we are curing
today about the slow police
response is adding to the
heartache of this awful event in
Texas.
At this point, how are you
processing all of this?
>> Slowly.
Painfully.
I have to say the overriding
emotion is I am tired.
I am tired of watching grieving
families pour out their hearts
about losing their young
children.
I am tired of politicians who do
not move to do anything to even
pass something that will not
stop every mass shooting but at
least might prevent one or two
or we do not know.
It is almost 10 years since we
saw 20 children slaughtered at
Newtown.
Something we are never seen
before in this country and here
we are 10 years later looking at
yet another mass shooting in a
school, 19 children killed.
What is it going to take to get
folks in Washington, to get
folks in state houses to protect
our children?
I am tired of politicians who go
on and on about being pro-life
for the unborn but have
seemingly no care for them once
they are born.
What is it going to take?
Judy: How are you dealing with
this?
>> Some of the stories are
unreadable to me.
I guess, aside from the sadness
and frustration of it that
Jonathan just expressed, I
wonder what it is like for all
of us to experience the news
these days.
It has not been just this week.
I would say since 2013 it has
been pummeling to experience the
news and be in the news business
and that cannot not have an
effect on us all.
The emotional blows.
The moral blows.
And then the haunting fear that
these events are not isolated
incidents but part of a rise in
tied in menace across the
country and not just the mass
shootings, racist against
children but a growing level of
sense of people under threat.
It could come from violent crime
or even trivial things.
I talked to a guy who owns a
restaurant and he says yes to
kick out someone each week are
rude and brutal behavior.
School board meetings.
Churches.
A rising tide of menace peg
Noonan, a columnist in the wall
Street journal said that people
are proud of their bitterness
now.
I worry about the whole moral
atmosphere of this country in
which these mass shootings are
only the most cancerous of
facts.
Judy: And as we all know come
the shooting and Texas happened
10 days after we had a shooting
in a grocery store in Buffalo,
New York where 10 people were
mowed down.
All black.
Following other mass shootings.
There have been dozens.
You talked about --what will we
do about it?
What are we going to do about
it?
We look to Washington and our
leaders, what do we see?
>> We see in action.
I interviewed senator Chris
Murphy on my show the Sunday
after Buffalo.
Two Sundays ago.
I asked him -- what can you do?
You were there during Newtown
and nothing happened, not even a
background check till could get
through.
Overwhelmingly popular with the
American people.
Several gun safety measures are
overwhelmingly popular with the
American people and yet congress
cannot do anything about it.
He said to me -- he always has
to be helpful but he is
skeptical and that may be the
only thing they can do is bring
bills to the floor and have
people vote and be on record.
And I am adding this -- standing
against the safety of children,
grocery store shoppers,
parishioners, movie theatergoers
-- it is heartening that senator
Joe Manchin, a part of that way
back when, 10 years ago, when
the background check bill did
not go anywhere and now says, I
think about my grandchildren.
That is nice.
Good.
Think about your grandchildren.
I do not have children and my
heart still shy wish I were a
member of congress.
I wish I were in a position to
cast a vote that would make it
possible to do something about
this.
But, Americans will have an
opportunity in November if they
are tired of seeing what is
happening.
They can do something by voting
with their feet and voting --
going to the ballot box and
putting people in office that
will do something to protect us
because I agree with you, there
is an aft -- an atmosphere of
menace in this country.
I feel it as an lgbt person and
as a black person.
I do certain point, I will feel
under siege as an American.
That is no way to lift.
Judy: Large swaths of these --
of this country believe that a
gun is a right.
Donald Trump said we need to
focus on mental health.
No new gun law could have
prevented what happened.
>> Their argument is it is a
right guaranteed to them by the
constitution and they have and
eat those of, we are there to
take care of our self and
provide our own safety.
And finally, it has become a
culture war issue where the gun
has become a mythic emblem of
rural life and a lot of people
who support gun rights state it
is a bunch of coastal elites
telling us how to live our
lives.
I am a little more hopeful for
two reasons.
Every time one of these events
does happen, it does change
minds.
If you look at the history even
through all of these shootings,
you see a spike and support for
gun regulations which then drops
over time but not all the way
back.
Gradually -- and then I think
there is a possibility of
changing the way we talk about
this in order to get people that
are winnable.
That is to phrase it as gun
regulation like we have driving
regulation.
We have cars and we regulate the
cars.
There are all sorts of things
you can do like we do with cars.
Raise the age limit of buying a
gun.
Background checks.
The red flag laws.
If you see someone in your orbit
who is suicidal, you can go to
law enforcement and make it
impossible for them to get one.
Someone made the point, I think
it was my colleague Nick
Kristof, if I lose my point and
-- my phone and you pick it up,
it is useless to you because you
don't have my code.
Why can't a gun be like that?
We have to somehow stop this
from being a culture war issue
because that is hopeless.
Judy: My sense is that even
moderate Republicans, many are
resilient to doing even these
modest steps.
>> And I have no explanation for
it.
I seriously don't understand.
What about a 48 hour waiting
period?
Or for someone that is 18 years
old, parental consent?
They are willing to put those
restrictions on young women
seeking report -- reproductive
care, why not do the same thing
for anyone wanting to buy an
assault rifle.
A weapon of war.
I seriously do not understand --
how many more babies are going
to have to be slaughtered in
classrooms before congress does
something?
Before moderate Republicans come
out saying, this is not what we
are for.
NRA members -- them -- the vast
majority of them are nuanced and
yet their leadership is doing
something completely different.
I would love it for someone at
the NRA convention happening
right now as we are speaking
were to rise up saying, we are
in -- this is not who we are.
Judy: You think something could
happen?
>> There are majorities and I do
think public opinion is
overwhelmingly in one direction.
I just have to hope -- that
something can be done.
Judy: We have to have hope.
We mentioned former president
trump.
He was not on the ballot but his
choices were on the ballot.
Some more of these primary races
this week.
Several of the people he
endorsed did not win.
There are still some out there
running who very much have the
trump imprimatur but does this
say there is a weakening of his
influence?
>> I think it depends on the
state and the jurisdiction.
David perdue got stomped by more
than 50 points by Brian Kemp
Thomas someone who trump was
desperate to knock out.
Brodd, another person survived
the challenge.
You look at J.D. Vance who trump
swooped in at the last minute
and put him over or mastery on
no in Pennsylvania.
-- Mastriano in Pennsylvania.
To me, the bigger picture is how
far is the person who was not
endorsed by trump, policy wise,
how far is that person away from
trump?
To me, trumpism with or without
trump is here.
Brad beat out the trump-endorsed
candidate but I don't think
there is a lot of daylight
between trump and Brad beyond
the big lie.
Judy: Is there much distance?
>> Trump was trump.
In 2016, the Republican elite
was over here and the voters
were over here.
The Republican elite is now over
here.
And this is what normally
happens in American history.
You get a third-party candidate
or a new force and one-party
collapses.
That is sort of what has
happened.
I think that makes trump weaker
because there are trump U
ISTs everywhere.
I also think it is a sign in
Georgia with all the Republican
leaders standing up against
trump together showing if you
combine together, you can beat
him.
It also shows that January 6 --
this is more about January sex
then any other primary and it
could be a sign that the big lie
is not something Republicans
want to go to the mat for
anymore.
Judy: It could be.
A number of them may be changing
their mind.
But a number of them are saying
I don't want to talk about it.
>> That is an issue.
As I have said before, I am
hard-pressed to tell you what
any of these Republicans running
for office are for beyond their
position on the big lie.
And when it comes to the
gubernatorial candidate in
Pennsylvania, if he wins, the
big lie will be front and center
come 2020 four because he as
governor appoints the secretary
of state and we would have a
major electoral stink that could
mess up a peaceful transfer of
power.
Judy: No matter what, we will
end on a hopeful note no matter
what.
David brooks and Jonathan, thank
you to you both.