#WendyDavis, gun nut

Per this picture from Neil Aquino and other
Texas blogs, from a Colorado C-store, this
is what Wendy Davis wants in Texas.

She had already lost me before this, but I think Perry is right.

Her embrace of gun open-carry laws is going to cost her a lot of Democratic support while gaining little in the way of "independents."  We're already seeing this, per Politico.

A bit contra Perry, I don't think out-of-state campaign check writers knew she was this non-liberal until recently. They do now, though. Jim Moore, though an in-stater, is plugged into these donor types and so, if Davis has lost him, she's lost them.

She's lost my vote with this Open Carry crap. I believe in the Second Amendment and have never felt the conceal carry legislation was as dangerous as portrayed. People have a right to guns. People also have a right to not get shot by guns. We even have what seems a moral right to go into a public place and not have to wonder if the guy wearing the .45 in his holster and swilling beer is not going to get pissed about something inane and clear his leather and start firing. A person entering a room wearing a holstered gun in open view completely changes the entire dynamics of that room without any real purpose.

And, while some of this may be the national "handlers," a lot of this is ... Wendy Davis.  Trey wants to know who recommended this; I think, ultimately, it's Davis herself. An insular campaign unafraid to contradict her? Texans, meet the local version of Hillary 2008. As I noted earlier this week, there's a lot of control issues in this campaign, a lot of that stems directly from Davis, I think.

Given that Lite Guv candidate Leticia Van de Putte and Texas Democratic Party chair Gilberto Hinojosa both disagree with Davis, that's another reason I assume this isn't from the "handlers" like Battleground Texas and Lone Star Project, either. This is all Wendy Davis.

Greg Abbott: My gun nuts are bigger than yours.

All this particular move does? All you're doing is letting Greg Abbott run further to the right. As the picture shows, you're no way in hell going to "out-gun" Abbott.

This follows on Wendy Davis, "prolife," and Wendy Davis, "not going there" on LGBT issues. As I said yesterday, in discussing how the drift right could hurt her fundraising, I expect Davis to next be "tough on the border, tough on immigration" in a few weeks.

Beyond this, as others have noted, you only "moderate" in the general election. Technically, Davis still has a primary opponent. Too bad it's nobody other than "perennial candidate" Ray Madrigal. But, Texas Dems who are pissed enough can send some sort of "message" with a protest vote for Madrigal.

Or for another candidate entirely.

Perry's right about one other thing, since Moore says he's sitting out. The Green Party and gubernatorial candidate Brandon Parmer have a Mack truck-sized opening here.

As the AP notes: 

Davis' position now aligns her with her Republican gubernatorial rival, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, marking her latest effort to eliminate it as a wedge issue in the campaign.

As I noted, since Van de Putte and Hinojosa both disagree with Davis, what this instead does is creates a wedge opening to Davis' left.

But, you have to do something! As Perry notes, there's no Facebook page for Parmer, no website. I have just emailed Texas Greens about this. Hell, GoDaddy is selling ".com" website registrations starting at $10.99 a month. Blogger and Wordpress blogging platforms, as well as Facebook pages, are free. Please, whether you see Parmer as only a protest-against-Davis option, or hope that he could be something more, please do the same. (And, I'll let you know of any response I get.)

Per Perry, yes, I'm harsh on Davis at times, and have been so. Now you know why, know why this latest move by her doesn't surprise me, and why I push for Greens in general and Parmer in particular to start boosting their visibility.

This is exactly a mirror of Obama in 2008 — well before Democratic primaries were done, I knew I wouldn't be voting for him and why. It's a mirror in another way. Obama made a big splash with his "no dumb wars" speech, then later, during his presidential campaign, started running away from a lot of issues.

And, if James Moore sits out this election rather than vote Green, or think about it, he shows that "not voting" can sometimes be a principled issue.

Meanwhile, on Feb. 10, Davis tried to weasel on her stance:

Last week she told the Associated Press that she backs open carry - which allows gun owners with concealed handgun licenses to wear their guns in full view in public. On Monday she said that it should be up to localities to determine whether to permit open carry within their jurisdictions.

Translated: I still favor open carry, as long as you don't ask me to actually cast a vote about it.

Don't pro-life voters laugh at pro-choice politicians who say "I'm personally pro-life, but ..."

It's exactly the same thing.