By Chris Satullo
It’s a famous – to some, infamous – moment in the checkered history of U.S. presidential debates. In 1988, Bernard Shaw of CNN asked this question of Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis: “If Kitty Dukakis (the candidate’s wife) were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?”
When a candidate goes from a big lead in the polls in August to a thorough thumping in November, as Dukakis did, many factors contribute to the slide. But Shaw’s question and Dukakis’ brief, robotic answer, correct on the Constitution but tone-deaf on the emotions, clearly played a part.
Well, it’s now time to provide some sauce for the gander.
Here’s a question I propose all candidates for Congress or state legislatures should be asked at every debate or interview from now until Election Day in November: “If the killer in Uvalde, Texas, had called you from that classroom at Robb Elementary and told you, ‘If you agree never to seek re-election or to run for any office again, I’ll spare the lives of all these kids and teachers,’ would you have done it?”
Now, of course, every NRA-hugging member of Congress or state legislature who has spent the last horrible days dodging questions about “red flag” laws or assault-weapon bans – opting instead to babble nonsense about video games, pornography or hardened school perimeters – has already in effect answered this question.
Their obvious answer is no. They will not court even a mild risk of losing their jobs by supporting steps to curb the mass-shooting virus that has brought risk and fear into every classroom, every shopping center, every entertainment venue, and every place of worship in America.
Many – most – of these lawmakers profess to be followers of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has this to say about any person who causes the downfall of children: “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.”
These pols say they fear the Lord. But in fact, for them, the Almighty comes in a distant second to the National Rifle Association.
After every one of these horrific shootings, I hear people misunderstanding the nature of the NRA’s hold over lawmakers (mostly, but not exclusively, Republican ones). They think it must have to do with the gun lobby lavishing all kinds of campaign cash on these incumbents.
Not so much; campaign finance records do not support that theory. No, what these lawmakers fear is being “primaried” by the NRA. They tremble at the prospect that, if they should fail to kowtow to even the gun lobby’s most insane positions, the NRA will choose a more compliant candidate to run against them in a Republican primary. It will bash their “weakness” in TV ads and instruct its legion of fervid adherents to vote for the other, NRA-blessed candidate. It happens and it works.
So, just as Bernie Shaw knew precisely what Dukakis’ position on the death penalty was before he asked his question, we’ve already seen how these pathetic public servants respond to the test of values posed by mine. As the old NFL coach Dennis Green once shouted in a very different context, “They are who we thought they were.”
We just need to nudge them, over and over, in the starkest way possible, to admit it publicly.
Yes, it would be a stunt, just as Shaw’s question to Dukakis was. A trap. But let’s see them squirm. These assholes, who await a shattering judgment before the throne of the God whom they pretend to worship, deserve no better during their time on this Earth – a bleeding planet they do absolutely nothing to safeguard for its children.
Not on guns. Not on climate change. Not on the basic functioning of democracy and the safeguarding of essential rights.
So let’s hear your answer, Ted. And yours, Mitch. How about yours, Speaker Kevin? And yours, Gov. Abbott? And don’t you dare give your answer only to the friendly faces on Fox. Look straight into the eyes of the parents of the God-fearing town of Uvalde, Texas, and admit that your precious government job, power and perks are far more important to you than their children’s lives.
Go ahead, tell the truth – for once in your cowardly lives.
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Chris Satullo, a civic engagement consultant, is a former editorial page editor/columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer, and a former vice president/news at WHYY public media in Philadelphia