WA Democrat survey interesting for what it doesn’t (dare) ask

A survey mailed out this week by the Washington State Democratic Party asks most of the predictable questions about priorities – most notably getting Democrats re-elected next year – but it is significantly silent on one issue that Evergreen State gun owners can consider from two different perspectives.

There is not one thing in this survey about crime, and particularly adding new gun laws.

Does that mean Democrats are smart enough to know the issue is politically toxic, or

Does this mean Democrats have decided to keep their penchant for pushing gun control laws under the radar until 2013? (I wrote, with Alan Gottlieb, These Dogs Don't Hunt, Assault on Weapons and just recently, Shooting Blanks: Facts Don't Matter to the Gun Control Crowd, all of which rather prominently mention this problem the Democrats have with gun owners.)

This may not be good news for Washington Ceasefire, which intends to press for a ban on open carry as this column noted, a subject that is getting plenty of attention on several popular gun rights forums:

·         Open Carry

·         Defensive Carry

·         WaGuns

·         Gun Rights Media

·         The High Road

·         Seattle Guns

·         Northwest Firearms

According to the Department of Licensing, as of yesterday, 345,786 active concealed pistols licenses are now in circulation in Washington, and that might also send a signal to Olympia, and the Democrat Party – long identified as the “Party of gun control” – that they have enough trouble dealing with the economy, for which their party is almost entirely responsible at the state level.

(Mathematical note: Washington Ceasefire has, according to its website, 5,000 members.)

After all, which political party has controlled the Washington Legislature most of the time for the past couple of decades?

Which party has occupied the Washington governor’s office for the past quarter-century?

The survey wants to know how respondents prioritize such things as solving the budget crisis that erupted in 2008-2009 (Nancy Pelosi became House Speaker in 2007 and her party controlled Congress from 2007 through January of this year, and whatever else gun owners are, they happen to be taxpayers, so they’ve been just as hammered by the economy as anyone else). To solve this, would you:

·         Rely mostly on reduced federal spending at all levels.

·         Increase taxes on individuals making more than $250,000.

·         Increase taxes on all Americans across the board.

·         Curtailing our military involvement in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

There are other survey questions, including how you would rate President Obama’s performance on various fronts, such as the economy, foreign affairs, energy and health care.

The economy? Where’s unemployment right now, hovering around 9% or above? What’s the unemployment rate in Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties?

Energy policies? What did you pay for gasoline the last time you filled up? (Like it or not, the economy revolves around the price of a gallon of gas or diesel, and that’s a fact.)

Foreign policy? Does that include allowing guns to walk across the border into Mexico, while keeping Mexican government officials in the dark?

The survey asks how one would rate the job performance of the Washington Legislature (which, reminder, happens to be in the control of the Democrats). They’re coming back into session this month in an attempt to fill another gaping shortfall in the state budget.

There are some pro-gun Democrats from rural districts who can be tight with a dollar. They are typically between the political rock and hard place. The problem is that so long as the party has the majority, the far left liberal party leaders (and the special interests they cater to) from the I-5 corridor call the shots and hold the committee chairs.

There is considerable unhappiness in the hunting community about game management. The governor appoints members of the Fish & Wildlife Commission. The commission sets policy. Change governors, change the commission and change policy. Who do you think could better accomplish that, another Democrat (Jay Inslee, who served in the Pelosi Congress) or a Republican (Rob McKenna, who, as attorney general, told Seattle that the parks gun ban was illegal before the Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association proved it in court)?

One more thing the survey asks for. Money. They will take VISA, MasterCard or AMEX.

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