A flip-flop for the ages

摘要

Sen. Gordon Smith was fit to be tied. Striding into the Capitol last Thursday morning, the Oregon Republican turned to Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, a board member of the National Rifle Association. "How could this happen," he fumed, "so soon after Littleton?'' How, indeed. The night before, Smith, Craig, and nearly every Republican senator had lined up behind their party leaders to vote with the NRA. Even though the images of Columbine High were still fresh, the GOP blocked new restrictions on gun shows—the very place the deadly weapons used by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were purchased. After the vote, Smith wondered aloud: "Have we just shot ourselves in the foot?"