Dean's Gun Closet
As I have written before, I think the gun issue is Howard Dean's skeleton lurking in the closet. Now, Ron Brownstein has picked it up and Matthew thinks Ron is wrong here. Matthew argues that Dean's state's rights view of guns will not hurt him in primaries because the field is so big and everyone else is anti-gun. Matthew also argues that Dean's views will help with the pro-gun Dems, though he admits there are more anti than pro gun Dems. Obviously this issue will play out differently in each state, but what I think Matthew misses is that Dean's anti-war stance will likely cost him the support of pro-gun Dems. Now, I have no statistical data to show that pro-gun Dems are pro-war, but my gut instinct is that the vast majority of pro-gun folks, Dem or Republican, are in support of the war.
So, where does this leave Dean? I think it puts him in a difficult position having one position essentially cancelling out the support he might have received from another position. But it does bolster his image as an iconoclast. The question will be how willing are anti-war liberals to forgive what they perceive to be a pro-gun position? And, will NRA Dems be supportive of an anti-war dove?