Win or lose, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, has some serious cajones. He is running against Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and running strongly, in a state where guns are regarded by many as a birthright — and he is advocating not just minor gun controls but a complete ban on the sale of semiautomatic assault rifles such as the AR-15. His sensible stance has been predictably attacked by Texas Republicans, who will use it to paint him as out of step with “Texas values.”
There is, on the surface, nothing surprising about the GOP tactics, since Republicans have long been known as the gun-rights party.