Sometimes the elevators have ears, Senator

It wasn't a great week for Sen. Richard "Dick" Saslaw, the new Senate majority leader from Fairfax. Saslaw was unable to hold the Democrats together on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee -- and that submarined the bill that would have closed the so-called gun show loophole.

A pair of Democrats sided with the Republicans and decided not to send the proposal to the full Senate for debate. The vote was a stinging rebuke for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who spent millions on the campaign trail last year getting the Senate into Democratic hands.

But Saslaw -- who is known for his quick, acerbic wit -- also suffered from loose-lips syndrome on the day of the gun show debate. Riding in an elevator in the General Assembly building, Saslaw apparently remarked:

"I see we're debating the gun bill," Saslaw said. "Half the cast of 'Deliverance' is in town."

Saslaw apparently was unaware that some prominent and vocal gun rights advocates where riding in the same elevator. Saslaw hasn't denied the remark -- he's simply said that no one knows which side of the debate he was talking about.

Now the Republican Party of Virginia is trying to turn Saslaw's Deliverance faux pas into a macaca moment -- trumpeting the comment in a recent press release. It's hard to imagine the comment gaining much traction, but gun rights activists probably would be happy to see Saslaw squeal like a pig.    

Comments

[James Young]

Dick Saslaw as Ned Beatty. I like it!