I thought this was one of Sanders’ biggest advantages a few election cycles back: he never presented himself as a “gun-grabber,” but rather acknowledged the legitimate uses while also acknowledging the problems with gun violence. Agree with him or not, gun control is one of those divisive issues that bogs down progress because it’s so contested. I can’t pretend to understand what any of these 342 million batshit crazy fellow Americans are thinking anymore, but I imagine you would have a lot more success avoiding the 49%/51% issues, no matter how important, and pushing policy in areas where there is a tiny bit more consensus among the populace.

Sad to hear. As a German living in the Ausland for many decades its nice to see the Germans chat on here. Good luck with the transition.