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Not yet a day after President Obama got emotional in Connecticut but refused to name the most powerful arm of "the gun lobby" that is bending back the administration's legislative push, Vice President Joe Biden spared no words in describing the political tactics of the National Rifle Association in a speech to law enforcement officials at the White House Tuesday afternoon. Biden called out Senators for filibustering a deal as that filibuster talk cooled, but he got loud — at least compared to his boss — when it came to the NRA, whose bizarre commercials and lobbying effort on Capitol Hill the vice president called "campaign of disinformation." It was a new tactic for the Obama administration, with the president continuing to studiously avoided mentioning the letters N, R, and A — even if they are not alone.
A visibly emotional Biden indulged no such circumspection, comparing the most vehement opponents of expanded background checks, which 92% of Americans support, to conspiracy theorists. "The black helicopter crowd is really upset," Biden said, taking on a kind of faux voice in describing fears about background checks — "It's kind of scary, man," he said.