Did you know it’s possible for a group of politicians to stand against polls claiming the public wants something and still be a coward?

That’s what the Washington Post‘s Max Boot is trying to peddle. Boot, who has been getting the crap kicked out of him over at the National Review over the last week or so, is a vehement member of the Never Trump camp. While many of those are managing to oppose Trump while not actually ignoring their own principles, Boot seems to be following S.E. Cupp down the Trump Derangement rabbit hole.

Now, though, Boot has taken it a step further. He’s lashing out at Republicans in general for failing to roll over on gun control.

What the hell is wrong with us?

Less than a month after a white supremacist allegedly killed 51 people in Christchurch on March 15, New Zealand’s Parliament voted, 119 to 1, to make the possession of assault weapons illegal. Gun owners have until the end of September to turn in their weapons as part of a buyback program or face five years in prison. More than 10,000 firearms have already been turned in.

By contrast, at least 59 people have been killed in mass shootings this year (and more than 9,000 in other shootings, not counting suicides) and yet we are no closer to banning assault-style weapons. These were the weapons of choice of mass murderers in Newtown, Conn.; Aurora, Colo.; San Bernardino, Calif.; Sutherland Springs, Tex.; Las Vegas; Parkland, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Poway, Calif.; El Paso; and Dayton, Ohio. Seventy percent of voters and 54 percent of Republicans surveyed by Morning Consult-Politico support banning these weapons of war. Yet President Trump claims there is no “political appetite” for such action, meaning there is no appetite in the Republican Party to challenge the National Rifle Association.

Because of Republican pusillanimity, Congress hasn’t passed any restrictions on firearms in a quarter-century: The ban on selling assault weapons was approved in 1994 and expired in 2004. The last major federal firearms legislation actually made the problem worse: In 2005, Congress granted gun-makers immunity from being sued when their products are used to kill.

Just an interruption here, but considering gun-makers were being sued for what people did with legally manufactured and sold weapons, guns that they had absolutely zero control over, something needed to be done. Further, Boot’s claim that it made the problem worse is beyond idiotic. There’s no evidence suggesting such a thing.

What he means is that anti-gunners aren’t free to file a lawsuit every time someone fires a gun inappropriately. Gun manufacturers aren’t responsible for these shootings any more than video games or Max Boot is.

Boot continues to lambast Republicans for not acting on gun control, but the problem is that Boot has so abandoned anything he had approaching principles that he fails to recognize when others are standing by theirs. Most pro-gun Republicans understand that gun control isn’t the answer. While other nations who have passed gun control may have seen fewer gun deaths, Boot fails to note that gun fatality rates were also lower than the U.S. prior to the bans. Further, he also ignores the corresponding uptick in other violent crimes that occurred in places like England after their gun ban went into effect.

Yet Boot calls this holding to principles “cowardice.”

Every poll we see from the media claims that there’s overwhelming support for gun control. We hear that the American people are clamoring for new gun control measures, that they’re demanding it loudly.

If that’s true, then why would fear stay their hand? Wouldn’t fear direct them to pass gun control?

Undoubtedly, Boot is one who thinks the NRA holds absolute control over the political fates of Republicans, but that’s not really true. The NRA represents gun owners, but if the polls claiming gun owners also want this are to be believed, there’s no downside for Republicans.

Yet they persist.

For Boot, it’s something he’s unfamiliar with, so no wonder he mistakes it for something else. Max, this is called “principles.” You should try getting some yourself.