Ed took a look at this story yesterday, but I wanted to rant a bit about it myself. When Cory Booker showed up for an interview on CNN this week he was asked about his version of a gun control program. The hosts wanted to know if he supported a mandatory gun “buy-back” program like the one Eric Swalwell is proposing. (Spoiler Alert: You can’t “buy back” something you never sold in the first place. This is a bogus description of gun confiscation.) In a dizzying display of dodging, Booker managed to deny that he was supporting certain aspects of gun control laws and bans, while clearly indicating that he was actually in favor of them. (Daily Caller)

During an appearance on CNN Monday morning, Booker was asked if he supported a gun buy-back proposal like the one offered by Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a long-shot presidential candidate. Booker did not endorse the proposal but said that America needs to get “weapons of war” off the streets.

Booker also refused to say whether he would prosecute those who refused to comply with a gun buyback.

“We should have a law that bans these weapons and we should have a reasonable period in which people can turn in these weapons,” Booker said.

So he refused to say whether or not he was onboard with Swalwell’s plan, but then turned around and essentially repeated it. He’s talking about a ban on “assault rifles” such as the AR-15 and not even including a provision to grandfather the people who have already purchased them legally. But since he had to find a way to one-up his competitors, Booker also suggested that everyone seeking to purchase a firearm should first sit down with a government agent for an “interview.”

How would that work? Are we going to put BATF agents in every gun shop in the country? Or would he have prospective gun buyers go to a federal government office for this “interview” prior to being issued a permit to purchase any type of weapon? We don’t know because Booker wouldn’t offer any specifics. Frankly, it just sounds like the Senator is just talking through his hat here.

Even the CNN hosts seemed a bit taken aback and Booker began to sound annoyed at all the questions he was getting. That’s when he tried to wave all of these proposals off as nothing out of the ordinary. Here’s the money quote.

“Let’s not exaggerate what this is,” Booker said. “This is actually really simple. We do it for passports, we do it for TSA pre-check, we do it for people that are driving cars.”

That’s a crock of horse hockey. I’ve had to renew my passport multiple times over the years and not once has anyone asked to interview me. Somebody looks at your ID documents, makes sure your forms are filled out correctly, snaps a picture of you and you leave. There is no interview. I had my TSA-precheck application finished online and never spoke to a single human being. And nobody at the DMV is “interviewing” people when they apply for a driver’s license.

All of this word salad adds up to a portrait of a candidate who wants you to know he’s all in favor of harsh gun control laws and confiscation policies. He’s just not ready to commit any specific policy points. Here’s the video of the segment so you can judge for yourself.