“The most important message to take from here today is the president and I are a team,” Mr. Biden said. “We have not given up. Our friends in the House and Senate, they have not given up.”He blamed the failure on the "perverted" Senate rule that requires 60 votes to proceed, known as the filibuster, the same "perverted" rule that Biden supported as a senator to block judicial nominees and other measures when George W. Bush was President. It should be noted that it was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who decided that the 60 vote threshold had to be met.
Biden continues to claim that the politics have changed and that those who blocked Obama's gun control scheme would pay a political price. But the Washington Post suggests that Biden has another motive for continuing to push gun control even when others don't believe the votes can be found despite New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spending gobs of money attacking a handful of senators:
The issue of guns is hugely important to the Democratic base. And that matters, especially considering that Biden is by all accounts weighing a run for president in 2016. Regardless of whether tighter gun laws — most notably expanded background checks — are passed by Congress during Obama’s presidency, if Biden is seen as the guy who never gave up on a topic that moves the Democratic base, it would only help his chances heading into a primary campaign.That wasn't the only reason pointed out by the Post but it is likely the most important to Biden.
Update: Video of Biden't remarks.
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