'A dysfunction of our politics'

Who is this democracy representing? There's a certain ban that's about to expire. Don't click that link yet, just think about this for a second. If there is a piece of legislation on something, it doesn't matter what it is, that has "widespread popular support" and that the President said he would ostensibly support if it crossed his desk, shouldn't that ban be pushed? Shouldn't it be renewed? Don't representative democracies function on the assumption that if the people want something, their representatives fight for it?

Now I'll tell you that it is "supported by at least two-thirds of Americans." A supermajority of people support this bill, why would it flounder? Why would law makers let it expire?

It is, I feel, a lack of concern for the desires, opinions and fears of their constituents.

There are, of course, the patently political reasons. Fear of backlash:

Democrats are well aware that they lost control of the House of Representatives in 1994, the year President Bill Clinton signed the original legislation

excuses:

Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, dismissed the ban as "a feel-good piece of legislation"

and the utter lack of touch with popular opinion:

"I think the will of the American people is consistent with letting it expire, so it will expire," Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee

Which Americans again? I think he means the 33% who have amongst their ranks the NRA, a gun lobby that is categorically against any kind of gun restrictions whatsoever. This particular ban is on assault weapons by the way. These are weapons that have no purpose besides tactical use against humans.

I'm tempted to go on a tyrade about how these weapons are useless in mundane, non-murder scenarios like target shooting, skeet, and hunting, but that really has nothing to do with this.

Representative democracy is failing right now, it's caving to special interest groups who, because of the money they dump into campaigns every cycle, are able to exert an absurd amount of influence and undermine the integrity of our legislative system.

I'm so mad I can't think of anything funny or ironic to go along with this.