This Sit-In Tweet Says All You Need To Know

On Wednesday morning, and then into the afternoon and evening, House Democrats staged a "sit-in" on the Congressional floor in an attempt to force a vote on gun control measures that have for years gone neglected. This effort is a protest of the GOP leadership's refusal to take a stand and vote on the issue of gun violence in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida on June 12 — and after years of inaction. There is a lot of frustration toward House Republicans, but none is as succinctly-put as this tweet about the Democratic House sit-in.

As shootings have continued to occur across the U.S., Democratic members of the House of Representatives and the Senate alike have attempted to pass legislation in both Congressional houses, but to no avail. This Democratic sit-in has potential to stretch into Thursday, according to some members of the occupational efforts.

In any case, recalling the infamous Ted Cruz-sponsored government shutdown of 2013 over — take a guess — Obamacare makes this effort to conjure up votes seem trivial by comparison. It also depicts some differences between the present-day Democratic and Republican Parties. The Democrats — and even many Republicans, like Lindsey Graham — were critical of the October 2013 shutdown.

The point of that tweet is the House Democrats' actions of today could scarcely compare to something of that severity — a shutdown of the entire government for 16 days — which also included a 21-hour Senate filibuster speech and a reading of Green Eggs and Ham.

Certainly, these actions to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act earned Sen. Cruz legions of fans — of his determination and grit — and foes — the ones who were out of work, but many condemned this as an action to put Cruz on the political map. Some regarded it as highly self-serving, while others hoped against their better judgment that it would work out in his favor. As history reveals, it did not.

Democratic senators of today seem to fear greatly for the consequences of a government shutdown, though a relatively low number of shutdowns have occurred in the past, beginning in 1976. Regardless, a sit-in is a much more peaceful and less destructive method of making a point. Whether or not it will have any influence over House Republicans is yet unknown, but at the very least it can raise the bar a bit in terms of pushing the seriousness of the gun control movement forward.