Shep Smith Gives A Stunning Rebuke To Tepid Gun Control Polling: 'If We Had Stuck With Polls, We'd Have Had Slavery'
"If we stuck with the polls, we’d have had slavery a lot longer than we did," Smith said.
Smith's comment came in a back-and-forth with The Hill associate editor A.B. Stoddard during a slow moment in the inaugural parade on Monday, when the two discussed the vision President Barack Obama laid out in a rather progressive inaugural speech.
Congress is scheduled to begin what could be a lengthy debate over new gun-control measures that Obama announced in a White House press conference last week.
Stoddard wasn't optimistic about any bipartisan consensus on new measures such as an assault-weapons ban or limits on high-capacity magazines.
Smith sounded incredulous that there would not be agreement on large-capacity magazine limits.
"No chance for that?" he said.
“Right now, the numbers don’t exist on the Republican or Democratic side,” Stoddard said.
What about closing the so-called "gun-show loophole" on background checks, Smith asked?
“The polls show a change in support,” Stoddard said. “If you poll the members of Congress…”
“If we stuck with the polls, we’d have had slavery a lot longer than we did,” Smith said, interrupting.
Watch the full clip of the exchange below, via Mediaite's Noah Rothman: