It’s no secret that democrats, and far-left liberals in particular, have a seething hatred for George W. Bush. Columnist Charles Krauthammer even coined the term “Bush Derangement Syndrome” to describe the bizarre, seething, foaming-at-the-mouth reaction that liberals have to Bush. As Krauthammer described it, Bush Derangement Syndrome is “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush”.
The great irony, though, is that democrats themselves got George W. Bush elected to the White House. Let me explain.
Back around 1988, the desire of ordinary citizens to legally carry concealed handguns began, and Florida pushed the situation over the proverbial tipping point by becoming the first of many states at the time to legalize concealed carry. At that time, Washington, Georgia, Vermont, and Connecticut already had long-standing concealed carry laws, and Indiana, Maine, and North & South Dakota passed laws in the 1980s; however, for some reason, it was Florida at the center of the media storm and that generated the overhyped paranoid media predictions of Tombstone-style “blood in the streets” if we mere mortals were allowed to carry guns.
Of course, the opposite happened. There was no “blood in the streets.” In fact, crime dropped dramatically and spectacularly wherever concealed carry was permitted. The logic is very simple: Violent criminals prefer unarmed victims. They don’t operate where they know citizens are armed. Instead, they pack up and go to places like New York City and Los Angeles where only the very wealthy or very well-connected have even a fighting chance of getting a Concealed Carry of Weapons (CCW) permit.
Seeing how effective CCW was in reducing crime, the idea caught fire and swept the nation. State after state passed CCW laws – with Texas being a notable exception. And that’s how the door to the Governor’s Mansion was opened to Bush, which quickly translated into the White House.
Then-governor, and democrat, Ann Richards was fiercely opposed to allowing CCW in Texas, and vowed to veto any CCW bill which made it to her desk.
Knowing this, the 73rd Texas Legislature, in 1993, knew they couldn’t send a CCW law to Richards. Instead, trying to find something for her to sign that would make a statement, they passed a bill only calling for a statewide referendum on CCW, not a bill creating an actual CCW program itself. Richards vetoed it anyway, and in the process she publicly mocked Texan gun owners who desired to carry weapons.
Now, if there’s one thing that’s a part of Texas life, it’s guns. Having lived in six states, I’ve never lived in one where guns are so commonplace. Seemingly everyone here hunts, carries a concealed handgun, or both. Even in my seven years of living in Arizona, which is routinely attacked by anti-gunners for having the “worst” gun laws (in reality they have the best), the concealed carry of firearms is still rare. Not so in Texas.
Considering that, you’ll understand why Richards sealed her fate when she publicly made this statement: “I especially want to thank you for standing by me on the day we say ‘No’ to amateur gunslingers who somehow think they’re going to be braver and smarter with a gun in their hand.”
That was a very bad idea in Texas. And it guaranteed that she would lose re-election.
She lost it to George W. Bush. In 1995, the 74th Texas Legislature sent him the Texas concealed carry bill, which he signed into law. Bush became wildly popular as governor, not necessarily for signing the CCW bill as much as for the seemingly miraculous accomplishment of getting his entire agenda passed into law in one legislative session. (The Texas legislature convenes for only 140 days every other year and it’s notoriously difficult to get anything passed.)
Americans love their guns, and nowhere is that more true than in Texas. Even most democrats in Congress know that gun control is a no-win issue and they avoid it in order to save their own hides. Democrats well remember 1994, when they lost control of Congress all because of passing Clinton’s “Crime Bill,” more popularly known as the “assault weapons ban.”
Democrats also secretly know how George W. Bush became governor and subsequently president – again because of their love of gun control.
