Credit cards and guns

Republicans, with some help from western state Democrats, attached an amendment to the popular credit card regulation bill that allows loaded guns to be carried in national forests and parks.

I think our legislative process would be much cleaner and transparent if no amendment could be attached that did not have some bearing on the main bill. But that's the way they do it.

What's at stake here: Bush had signed an order that allowed this, and the court overturned it. So now the Senate tacked it on to the must-pass credit card bill, which wound up passing 90-5.

This wasn't playing with the filibuster, 60 votes for cloture, scenario. It was a simple amendment that enough people voted for straight up to attach it. They had plenty of support for the gun amendment among Democrats.

Sen. Barbara Boxer said, "It's a shame. But you have to come to a realization around here that at this point in time, the N.R.A. gets the votes."

She continued, "Either you are going to bring down the whole Senate and never do anything or you are going to swallow hard and say I will just vote my conscience on those amendments and speak out until people get a hold of their senses."

I agree it's a shame -- the strangle hold the N.R.A. has on sensible gun control ensures that we have insane policies regarding guns.

But as a political move, I'm not so sure this is bad for the Democrats. In getting health care reform legislation passed this fall, the plan is that, if it doesn't pass in a simple vote by a certain date, they will push it through as an appropriations issue. That way, it will not be subject to filibuster and will require only a simple majority in both the House and the Senate.

So, it will take some of the steam out of the Republicans howling about that to be reminded what they did with the gun amendment on credit cards.

Ralph