CNN anchor Jake Tapper accused Democrats of disregarding the issue of gun control while they had control of both Congress and the White House during an interview with former President Bill Clinton.
Tapper interviewed Clinton on Thursday afternoon amid the aftermath of a shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, that left two dead and others injured.
“What are you saying to people who might argue, you know, with all due respect, President Clinton, Democrats supported the Brady Bill, Democrats controlled the House and the Senate in 1992 through ‘94 and then you lost control of it, because at least in part, because of your support for gun control… What would your argument be to somebody, obviously there have been years where Democrats have been completely AWOL on this issue.”
Clinton responded, “There have been and that’s what happened in ‘94. What happened in ‘94 was that our people didn’t understand, I think, and I didn’t understand fully, that a poll is meaningless on this because intensity governs it and intensity tells you whether it’s a voting issue.”
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“So basically, a lot of these things, the Brady Bill, the background check law has 70, 30 or more for it,” Clinton continued. “But of the 30 who were against it, 20-some percent would vote against you, if you disagreed with them. And of the 70 who were for it, only 10% or so would vote for you if you agreed with them. Or would vote against you if you disagree with them, but that’s all changed now.”
Clinton then added that the recent “spate of shootings of kids in schools” has become “a voting issue now for our side,” and pointed to the elections in Virginia that took place earlier this month to prove his point.
