By Jon Dougherty
As the 2020 field of Democratic presidential contenders grows by the hour, it seems, each new candidate takes just a little more oxygen out of the room, making it increasingly difficult a) to raise money; b) to be noticed; and c) to stand out from the crowd.
California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, the original “truther” when it comes to tinfoil-hat conspiracies surrounding the “Trump-Russia collusion” hoax, thinks he’s found a way to separate himself: Become the incarnation of the USSR’s brutal, murderous dictator, Josef Stalin.
During an interview with CNN‘s Jake Tapper, the host managed to get Swalwell to suggest he would put gun owners in jail if they dared to do something as ‘nefarious’ and seditious as clinging to the Second Amendment:
TAPPER: So, gun control is the central plank in your campaign.
You wrote last year — quote — “We should ban possession of military- style semiautomatic assault weapons. We should buy back such weapons from all who choose to abide by the law. And we should criminally prosecute any who choose to defy it by keeping their weapons.”
Criminal prosecution for keeping assault weapons. What’s the punishment for people who don’t hand in their guns? Do they go to jail?
SWALWELL: Well, Jake, they would, but I also offer an alternative, which would be to keep them at a hunting club or a shooting range. And the reason I have proposed this is because these weapons are so devastating.