Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Anti-Gun Democrats’ (Yet Again) Unable to Hide Their Contempt for Ordinary Americans

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Anti-Gun Democrats’ (Yet Again) Unable to Hide Their Contempt for Ordinary Americans

It has become a tradition in recent elections for anti-gun Democrats to condescendingly refer to opposition voters as too stupid and bigoted to act in their own best interests. The latest example of this came from none other than former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), whose Bay Area district covers arguably the most anti-gun jurisdiction in the country. Her remarks had a receptive audience, delivered in a recent debate before the Oxford Union Society in England about whether “populism is a threat to democracy.”  As obnoxious as these spectacles are to ordinary, hardworking Americans, they serve an important purpose by revealing the depths of disgust that anti-gun Democrats feel toward those who stubbornly embrace a traditional view of America. Such Americans should take those sentiments to heart and vote accordingly.

Though the wording of the remarks differs, their message is always the same: We represent the party of progress and the future. Everyone could thrive, if only they would align themselves with us. There are literally no rational arguments against our agenda, so anyone who opposes us is by definition acting out of illegitimate motives, principally hatred for people who are different from them. We might be tempted to pity these wretches, but we cannot allow them to stand in our way.

Needless to say, if you take this view of your political opponents, you cannot tolerate them being armed.

Barack Obama kicked off the trend in April 2008 during his first campaign for the presidency while addressing Democrat party donors at a fundraiser in San Francisco. He was attempting to explain why the party’s economic agenda did not necessarily resonate with voters in heartland America, where industrial jobs had moved overseas, leaving once thriving communities impoverished.  Obama said: “So it’s not surprising then they get bitter and they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them … as a way to explain their frustrations."

Obama’s comments insulted Americans who believe traditional values like firearm ownership and belief in God are a source of strength and resiliency in hardscrabble communities, not a manifestation of bitterness or resentment toward other people. Even his primary opponent, Hillary Clinton – hardly a champion of the everyman – quickly condemned his remarks as “demeaning,” “elitist,” and “out of touch.”

Yet Clinton resurrected a similar message during her own presidential campaign against Donald Trump. Like Obama, she was speaking before a group of wealthy party donors, only this time in New York City at an LGBT for Hillary gala in September 2016. “You know, to just be grossly generalistic,” Clinton said, “you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” The audience agreed, laughing and clapping enthusiastically. “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that.”

Clinton continued:

Now, some of those folks — they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America. But the other basket … that other basket of people are people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they’re just desperate for change. …

Americans who did not appreciate being characterized by their would-be president as deplorable, hateful, and irredeemable would later help give Trump the most shocking and unexpected victory in American presidential history.

One might imagine the Democrat party would have learned its lesson, but it is apparent these condescending sentiments are so deeply ingrained in its collective thinking that its leadership simply cannot help expressing them, especially when they are before a friendly audience.

Though no longer the Speaker of the House, Pelosi remains an influential and iconic member of her party. Thus, it was perhaps fitting that she would be the one to express, once again, the party’s contempt for ordinary Americans. No doubt it was a bonus for her and the partisan faithful that she got to do it front of a gathering of highfalutin British intellectuals, to boot.

Pelosi began by insisting that American populism is a brand of a “ethno-nationalism” practiced by people who believe in “isolationism” and express “negativity” toward “immigrants” and “people who are different from them.” She allowed, however, that the people who are vulnerable to it may also have legitimate economic concerns but cannot accept the largesse of her party because of their dysfunctional social outlook. Pelosi called these people “pour souls” who are “looking for some answers.” She continued: “We’ve given them to them, but they are blocked by some of their views on guns. They have the three Gs: guns, gays, God (that would be a woman’s right to choose). And the cultural issues cloud some of their reception of an argument that is really in their interests.”

Pelosi, however, may have been putting the chicken before the egg. It is entirely possible that it’s not a love of guns that keep people from embracing her style of globalist politics. Rather, it’s possible working-class Americans struggling to keep their heads above water recognize politicians like Pelosi have no understanding of or concern for people like them. Thus, they embrace self-reliance as a necessity, which includes equipping themselves for the defense of their homes and loved ones, including against the “pour souls” awaiting trial or serving time for violent crimes that members of Pelosi’s party release from custody as a form of charity. Likewise, it might well make more sense for a beleaguered American to appeal to God for help than to a politician whose applause line is to refer that person and others like him as “deplorable” and “irredeemable.” Recent history has, in fact, shown an unprecedented level of diversity among those embracing their Second Amendment rights, including demographics whose support Pelosi and her party take for granted.

Nancy Pelosi, to no surprise, soundly won her debate in Oxford, England. But time will tell whether her party’s message of “listen to your betters, give up your guns, and stop standing in the way of progress” will have the same resonance here in the United States. One thing is for sure: Americans who disagree will have the opportunity to vote against that outlook this November.

TRENDING NOW
U.S. Court of Appeals Backtracks on Adverse Suppressor Ruling

News  

Monday, June 23, 2025

U.S. Court of Appeals Backtracks on Adverse Suppressor Ruling

In a single sentence, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit added to the high-profile and consequential national conversation on firearm suppressors.

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

Minnesota: Shotgun-Only Hunting Zones Repealed

Friday, June 20, 2025

Minnesota: Shotgun-Only Hunting Zones Repealed

On Monday, June 9th, outside of regular session, the Senate passed the Environment Omnibus bill, removing shotgun-only hunting zones in the state. 

Switched Off: A Case Study on Minnesota’s Illegal Machine Gun Law

News  

Monday, June 23, 2025

Switched Off: A Case Study on Minnesota’s Illegal Machine Gun Law

There’s been a lot of noise of late about auto sears or so-called “Glock switches” – devices to convert a semiautomatic firearm into an automatic weapon. 

2A News Out of New Jersey You Won’t Believe: It’s Actually a Good Thing!

News  

Monday, June 23, 2025

2A News Out of New Jersey You Won’t Believe: It’s Actually a Good Thing!

The Garden State is not where most seek positive developments regarding our right to arms, so we were pleasantly surprised when Englishtown, N.J., recently made a move to support the Second Amendment.

Update: Washington Post Fact Checks Misleading Ad Council “Children” and Firearms Talking Point

News  

Monday, June 23, 2025

Update: Washington Post Fact Checks Misleading Ad Council “Children” and Firearms Talking Point

Last week, NRA-ILA explained how a recent public service announcement campaign from the federally-funded Ad Council, and the gun control lobby more broadly, manipulates statistics to create misleading talking points about “children” and firearms.

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Recently, House Bill 193 (H193) was reported favorably out of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, with amendments.

DOJ Files Amicus Brief Supporting NRA-Backed Challenge to IL’s Ban on “Assault Weapons” and “Large-Capacity Magazines”

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

DOJ Files Amicus Brief Supporting NRA-Backed Challenge to IL’s Ban on “Assault Weapons” and “Large-Capacity Magazines”

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in the Seventh Circuit supporting an NRA-backed challenge to Illinois’s prohibition on so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines.”

Intrepid Journalist Tracks Down Truth About “Children” and Firearms, While Public Health Researchers Downplay Inconvenient Realities

News  

Monday, June 16, 2025

Intrepid Journalist Tracks Down Truth About “Children” and Firearms, While Public Health Researchers Downplay Inconvenient Realities

For decades, gun control advocates and their allies in “public health” have pushed a misleading factoid about children and firearms.

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s One-Gun-A-Month Law

Friday, June 20, 2025

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s One-Gun-A-Month Law

Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that California’s law prohibiting people from buying more than one firearm in a 30-day period violates the Second Amendment.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.