After dodging the bullets of a madman and helping make a tourniquet for a wounded colleague during a June 14 attack on the Republican congressional baseball practice, Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., was asked to defend his support for pro-gun policies.
“The Second Amendment right to bear arms is to ensure that we always have a republic,” Brooks said while still wearing his batting gloves. “These rights are there to protect Americans, and while each of them has a negative aspect, they are fundamental to our being the greatest nation in world history. So no, I’m not changing my position.”
For a man so recently under fire (literally), his answer was not only cogent, it was exemplary and quickly championed by the likes of National Review’s David French. And now, more than a month later, Brooks is cashing in on those heroics in a new Senate ad about the assassination attempt at the Alexandria baseball field.
“Mo Brooks has stood up to the liberal media and the activist left when it truly counted. His principles never waiver,” a description reads. “He is the kind of conservative we deserve standing up for our rights in the US Senate.”
Complete with audio from the attack, the ad is more than dramatic as far as normal political advertising goes. But it could work to Brooks’ advantage. The conservative congressman is desperately trying to outflank incumbent Sen. Luther Stranger by driving to the right.
More and more it’s looking for a race for second place. Judge Roy Moore currently leads both Brooks and Strange in polls ahead of next month’s Aug. 15 primary in Alabama’s special senate election. If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote, the first and second place finishers will square off in a Sept. 28 runoff.
Outmaneuvering Strange on the Second Amendment will be difficult, though. The senator already enjoys the endorsement of the NRA and has released a slick 30-second spot of him putting rounds downrange with a silenced pistol.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
