Our Senate at work. Once the spotlight was off the families in Newtown and on the families in Boston, our illustrious Senate took advantage of the moment to bravely turn their tail and flee:

NYT — In rapid succession, a ban on assault weapons, a ban on high-capacity gun magazines and a bipartisan compromise to expand background checks for gun purchasers all failed to get the 60 votes needed under an agreement between both parties. Senators also turned back Republican proposals to expand permission to carry concealed weapons and to focus law enforcement efforts on prosecuting gun crimes.

Sitting in the Senate gallery with other survivors of recent mass shootings and their family members, Lori Haas, whose daughter was shot at Virginia Tech, and Patricia Maisch, a survivor of the mass shooting in Arizona, shouted together, “Shame on you.” President Obama, speaking at the White House after the votes, echoed the cry, calling Wednesday “a pretty shameful day for Washington.”

I can think of a few fucked up things dems have done over the last few years. Like the res to support the Iraq War, or passing the bailout — at the behest of George Bush and Hank friggin Paulson of all fucking people — when the solid majority of the nation was calling and emailing Congress pissed off about it. But I can’t think of an issue where 90% of the electorate agreed and the politicians still folded in favor of the ten percent minority. Anyway, shameful is pretty much SOP in DC, but for now my view is we’re still way, way better off with dems than repubs, unless you’re a hard right-wing fundamentalist or an uber conservative zillionaire.