AIPAC and the NRA Have the Same Problem

As Mitt Romney heads for Israel and Republicans continue their push to convince Jews to vote for them because of Obama's insufficient support for Israel, I'm reminded again about the odd contours of the discussion around Israel that's going on now, and how that issue compares with gun control in light of the Colorado movie theater massacre this week.

The problem for both AIPAC and the NRA is the same: they've won the debate (I recognize that AIPAC is an inexact use of the term- I'm really talking about the pro-Israel Jewish community in America writ large, of which AIPAC is only a part).  What do I mean?

With respect to Israel, both major parties are strong Israel supporters in terms of policy.  Both say that they want to make peace, and take different approaches, but there's no opposition to continuing the very high levels of financial aid and continuing the very tight military and intelligence cooperation that has been a hallmark of US-Israel relations for decades.  But where does that leave a group like AIPAC, which is dedicated to keeping this relationship strong through lobbying congressmen.  Almost nobody has a "bad score" in Congress on Israel.  I think it's pretty tough to gin up hysteria among donor groups regarding American support for Israel, when it's just not in peril.

On gun control, the Democrats have completely given up attempting to push any gun control legislation at the national level.  A calculation has been made that the love of guns in the west and in rural appalachia is so strong that no legislation can pass and Democrats will lose if they do anything about this.  So the NRA has taken to putting out dire warnings that President Obama has a secret plan to take your guns, because they can't find any evidence that there's an actual plan.  The latest thing I just heard is the theory is that Fast and Furious project is really a secret plan to build justification for gun control through the back door.  Crazy stuff.

But the NRA has to justify its existence- they don't want to pack up, declare victory, and leave Washington; so they have to find some reason to keep pushing.

I don't think AIPAC has taken to the kind of tin-foil hat conspiracy craziness that the NRA has turned to, to their credit.  But Jewish Republicans, still frustrated that Jews generally vote liberal, are trying to discredit the Democrats by exaggerating slights by Obama toward Israel.  If they say make enough accusations to the right people, they'll win some of them over I guess.  It reminds me of this joke Chris Matthews repeated on TV yesterday:

A reporter interviewed a woman who said she would not vote for Barry Goldwater.  The reporter asked why, and she said "because he wants to outlaw TV!  I can't allow that!"
"No", said the reporter, "he said he wants to eliminate the TVA, the Tennessee Valley Authority.  That has nothing to do with television".
The woman replied "Well, I'm not taking any chances".

President Obama and the Democrats are not coming for your guns, though this Liberal would love it if they did.  And President Obama is not going to stop supporting Israel (which I'm pretty happy about).  Talk to the contrary is just opportunism.