No, we’re not talking about Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke. Instead, the focus of today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co is former George W. Bush speechwriter-turned-ABC News commentator-turned-candidate Matthew Dowd, who’s running for Lt. Governor in the state of Texas as a Democrat. And since he’s running to the left of Republican incumbent Dan Patrick, that means Dowd is embracing an anti-gun agenda that’s more at home in midtown Manhattan than Midland or Odessa.

We need common sense gun reform. Now. please join us to remove the cruel Dan Patrick who has made gun violence more likely and Texas more dangerous. https://t.co/7LUrL3BWpS https://t.co/sNWSK3QHfL. .

— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) October 7, 2021

In Dowd’s latest campaign video, the Democrat declares that “in the aftermath of mass shootings in Texas, the Lt. Governor misled and pushed through legislation making it easier for people to openly carry handguns without a permit or training,” while the words “permitless carry” flash across the screen.

What did Dan Patrick say that was supposedly misleading? Dowd never tells the viewer. More importantly, he doesn’t tell viewers that if he’s the next Lt. Governor, there’s not a single step that he can take to undo Constitutional Carry. It would take a new bill to get rid of the law, and unless Democrats are able to take over both chambers of the legislature repeal is going nowhere.

Dowd has also been speaking up about his desire for more gun control in recent interviews; telling “Inside Texas Politics”, for instance, that he’s not only in favor of repealing Constitutional Carry, but putting several new restrictions in place.

Dowd believes more Texans who carry guns elevates the chance of mass shootings…

And, following the shooting at Timberview high school in Arlington, Texans are concerned about gun violence. The Democrat also says Republicans made a grave mistake in making it easier for residents to carry handguns. He feels red flag laws, universal background checks and eliminating the permitless carry law will make Texas a safer place.

So now Dowd isn’t just attacking Constitutional Carry but the right to bear arms, generally speaking. Dowd clearly subscribes to the “more guns equals more crime” mentality, even though both violent crime and homicide rates have declined dramatically since Texas adopted “shall issue” concealed carry licensing back in 1995. There are hundreds of thousands of Texans who are licensed to carry at the moment, and Dowd has declared the state would be a safer place if they were all unarmed. How do you think that’s going to go over with Texas voters? As for Dowd’s embrace of red flag laws and universal background checks, I’m sure Dan Patrick is salivating at the opportunity to debate the Democrat on those subjects.

If you notice, though, Dowd didn’t bring up one of the most fervent desires of the gun control lobby; a ban on so-called assault weapons. He said nothing about a gun ban in the video linked above, he didn’t mention it during his sit-down with Texas reporters, and his campaign website is silent on the issue as well (though to be fair, his website is doesn’t have an “issues” section at all).

And yet, if Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke does declare he’s running for governor of Texas (as he’s widely expected to do), then a ban on “assault weapons” is going to be the big gun issue in next year’s elections, not Constitutional Carry. The same goes for Matthew McConaughey if he decides to run. There’s no way for Dowd to avoid the issue, no matter how much he might tout his own gun ownership (back in 2018, Dowd bragged about owning five guns).

I’ve never had much use for Dowd as a political commentator. In fact, he actually blocked me on Twitter a couple of years ago after I made a snarky comment. I can’t remember the particulars, unfortunately, but I’m pretty sure it had something to do with his attitude towards gun control, which basically boils down to “as long as I’m not personally impacted, it’s fine with me”.

I’d remind Dowd that it’s the right of the people that shall not be infringed, not the right of high-priced campaign consultants. And when it comes down to choosing between protecting a right of the people or diminishing it, I’m pretty sure that Texans are going to stand with the Second Amendment. Dowd may very well win the Democratic primary, but I suspect that Democrats’ continued embrace of gun control is going to cause big problems for him and his fellow lefties in next year’s elections.