There's nothing futile about the gun debate

A belief in the futility of action inevitably becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. So Democrats: Just try.

Gun control.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Image courtesy iStock)

When politicians campaign for office, they usually portray themselves as potent and powerful, even when they aren't. Elect me, they say, and everything will be transformed, no matter how absurd it is to think that some backbench freshman member of Congress is going to "change the way they do business in Washington" or "get our economy back on track."

There is one area, however, where politicians (especially those from one party) work hard to tamp down expectations and say that there's really nothing they can do about one of the country's most pressing problems: guns.

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.