There are still voters who believe it's pointless to ask their elected representatives for action on guns. (Which translates to learned helplessness, and a get-out-of-jail free card for official inaction.) Those voters are wrong.

Nothing happens overnight. Look how many times Republicans tried to kill off Obamacare, and how many times voters successfully pushed back. And they'll push back yet again in the Congressional midterms.

What's different this time is that voters have a year of resistance under their belts. They know the war isn't won, and they're in for the long haul.

What's different this time is that victims and families of victims in the Parkland shooting have correctly identified the cause, and moved directly past stunned grief to anger, and a righteous demand for change.

What's different this time is that Republicans are deeply afraid. Democrats have won almost three dozen special elections in the past year, and Republicans know a giant blue wave is coming. You can see them announce their retirements, rats ahead of a sinking ship.

And with that decision to leave, at least some of those Republicans will want to leave without a sick taste in their mouths. You may laugh, but there really are Republican members who are just tired of the rigid ideology. Some of them want to get things done.

The ones who aren't leaving (correction: who don't want to leave) know they don't have a chance in hell if they don't deliver something voters actually want. And we know voters want gun control.

What we have on our side is a highly motivated and organized activist base who are furious with what passes for politics in our country, and we're not going away.

ACTIVIST TOOL KIT

Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121. Walks you through to find your senator or congress member.
Fax: Faxzero. Send free faxes to your elected officials.
Text: Resistbot Send texts to all your representatives.