Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Sunday that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a 2016 presidential candidate, caved on his immigration reform plan after he faced criticism from others in the GOP. She used an unusual figure of speech to illustrate her claim.
McCaskill said on ABC’s “This Week” program that Rubio had initially taken a “principled stand” on the issue in 2013 but, “He folded like a cheap shotgun” when he ran into resistance. McCaskill was appearing on the show as a representative of former secretary of state and Democratic 2016 frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
It was a very odd thing to say since shotguns do not “fold.” Some models have breaches that open on a hinge, putting the barrel at an angle from the stock but that couldn’t really be called a “fold.” Nor are cheap shotguns known to be more prone to opening. A Google search of the phrase “folded like a cheap shotgun” produced one hit from 2006.
In a standard idiom one is said “fold like a tent” or “fold like a lawn chair,” and in another context a persistent or aggressive person is said to be “all over [another person] like a cheap suit.” Shotguns do not appear to figure in either usage.
