Last month, Ogden Newspapers' political reporter, Steven Allen Adams, wrote a PR piece on West Virginia's Senator Shelley Moore Capito. (I believe he is required to do one every month.) The front-page article told us:

Shelley Moore Capito Stays Busy in Washington

As is often the case with Adams' Capito articles, there was little of substance in the 850-word article beyond learning that the senator was keeping busy. On the other hand, today’s Adams' piece

Capito Watching As Senators Negotiate Gun Control Deal

does contain some substance -- it briefly summarizes some of the Democratic and Republican positions on gun control legislation. Unfortunately, a sizable portion of the article is about Senator Capito who has, since the Texas shooting, refused to commit to anything, substantive or otherwise, on the gun control issue. Unfortunately, Capito will purposely remain uncommitted as Adam's lede suggests:

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is waiting to see what kind of bipartisan deal for a gun control package in the Senate can be reached before expressing where she stands.

This is backwards. If I were a negotiator looking to write legislation, I would want answers to two questions from every senator: what would you like to see addressed in the legislation, and (because we will probably need to get to the 60-vote filibuster requirement) what would be a deal-breaker for you? Capito’s evasion (and I’m sure she isn’t the only Republican with this position) makes the process much more difficult. A prediction: if the bipartisan group comes up with a bill with any teeth, a significant number of Republicans (including Capito) will find all sorts of reasons why it is unacceptable. A greatly water-downed bill, on the other hand, may pass. Of course, this will work in Republicans favor when the next shooting occurs – this new bill will no doubt prove, as Republicans will quickly point out, that gun control legislation does not work.

So, until we actually get a legislative proposal, West Virginia’s Capito will likely remain non-committal and West Virginia’s stenographers will continue to give her a pass. (But do ask her about gasoline prices!)

The Republican search for talking points continues

Previously, we had Fox News connecting gun violence to marijuana. Recently, we’ve seen Republicans float some additional trial balloons. One is that the removal of school prayer in public schools is the cause:

Gohmert: Maybe if we heard more prayers from leaders in this country instead of taking god’s name in vain, we wouldn’t have the mass killings like we didn’t have before prayer was eliminated from schools pic.twitter.com/vq1BQFzPkA

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 8, 2022

And:

"We had AR-15s in the 1960s. We didn't have those mass school shootings ... We actually had prayer in school during those days."

— House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) pic.twitter.com/NndUf3D5xb

— The Recount (@therecount) June 8, 2022

And how about smart phones?

U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon is rejecting calls to pass stricter gun laws and is instead blaming the use of smartphones for a rise in mass shootings.https://t.co/s8c8gVAGzn

— Chron (@chron) June 9, 2022

Finally, as I was about to publish, I saw this:

NEW: Senate leaves town without a deal on gun legislation https://t.co/gVH0CXfzIG pic.twitter.com/q7BNSzz3E8

— The Hill (@thehill) June 10, 2022

Of course, they did.