The President is coming to the realization that the Republicans don’t want to play ball on gun control. As usual, he gets snippy when it looks like he’s not going to get his way. Those 23 executive orders didn’t amount to much, and it appears that’s all he’s going to be able to manage.
From an interview with the New Republic:
The House Republican majority is made up mostly of members who are in sharply gerrymandered districts that are very safely Republican and may not feel compelled to pay attention to broad-based public opinion, because what they’re really concerned about is the opinions of their specific Republican constituencies.
Way to build a consensus there. Being concerned about the opinions of their constituencies is what we expect from our elected representatives. I didn’t elect my legislators so they could take guidance from an editorial page.
Since he can’t strong-arm what he wants, we get mealy-mouthed rhetoric about compromise.
The president argued that “the more left-leaning media outlets recognize that compromise is not a dirty word”
It isn’t a dirty word, but his usage shows a complete misunderstanding of its definition. Compromise means they get something and we get something. What would we get in return for accepting new restrictions? Expanded carry rights? Protection for hunting land? A promise that Congress will stop screwing with Pittman-Robertson funds?
No. They’re sticking a lump of coal in our stockings and telling us to be thankful it doesn’t catch the house on fire. That’s not compromise, and we don’t want it.
Furthermore, the acrimony indicates that he won’t be able to force the issue, either.