This national conversation has a ways to go before it becomes a national movement.
Recent days have revealed some forces in American politics that have been around for a while, and intensified other forces that are likely to last.
What it didn’t do was solidify consensus on how to handle cultural and social touchstones that have long narrowed political debates.
The sense of empathy and bridge-building that marked the initial reaction to last week’s school shooting has melted into name-calling. Top officials from the NRA told a conservative gathering that “many in the legacy media love mass shootings,” and spread blame on Democrats, past administrations and even the current FBI.
President Donald Trump, who addresses the same audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference this morning, is meandering into policy areas that seem driven by NRA priorities.
This post-Parkland, Florida, period may yet be remembered for starting a sustained and powerful lobbying push, led by young, eloquent voices.
As for the president, a question lingers: Can a man who rose to power as a result of the nation’s many divisions be expected to help heal them?
The RUNDOWN with Emily Goodin
Some of the biggest names mentioned at Thursday’s CPAC gathering were Democrats who might challenge President Trump in 2020.
Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren each were defined as a Republican nemesis during the conservative confab.
Invoking their monikers were some of the top-billed GOP speakers, including NRA executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre.
“Trump’s election, while crucial, can’t turn away the wave of these new European-style socialists bearing down upon us. I’m not just talking about Bernie Sanders. I mean, he’s near the end of his career. But how about Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Bill de Blasio, Andrew Cuomo, Cory Booker, Christopher Murphy and Keith Ellison?” LaPierre said.
