The National Rifle Association has long been a powerful and feared gun lobby. President Clinton believes that it was his shunning of the NRA in passing the 1993 Brady Bill - which put reasonable restrictions on the purchases of guns - that, nonetheless, lead to the Democratic loss of the Congress in 1994. And Al Gore’s pro-gun control rhetoric also lost him his home state of Tennessee; he would have been president otherwise.

Because of that, modern day Democrats have not been keen on taking on the issue of gun control and prefer instead to mostly ignore the matter. This is even though the majority of Americans support gun control and even a majority of gun owners support many gun control legislation. But what matters in politics is not sheer poll numbers, but intensity. Most people who support gun control do not feel strongly enough about it for the issue to be a make-or-break decision as to whether vote for a politician. But the NRA’s well-informed members are those type of intense voters and by supporting gun control legislation as a politician you immediately alienate a whole group of voters, thus shrinking your voter potential poll, while gaining little currency with those who support gun control because they do not care enough. Thus the costs outweigh the benefits of voting for gun control.

That is why the NRA is effective and that is why the Democrats have dropped the issue of control. But surprisingly the NRA’s recent string of victories came to an end today in the Senate.

The NRA has been pushing for a bill that would allow gun owners to carry weapons across state lines. Astoundingly and unConstitutionally, this is currently illegal. Personally, this should not even be an issue. Nonetheless that is the law and the NRA sought to amend it. This is not even a big deal since it does not restrict gun sales, the goal of the gun control lobby; but just deals with the travel of said guns. But the gun control probably got tired of losing and wanted a victory, no matter how hollow.

And so today they got it. The NRA favored bill actually got 58 votes, but that was two shy from the 60 Senate votes needed to break a filibuster by opponents. So the gun control lobby won solely by inching a filibuster proof minority.