Don’t worry, guys. It’s just a flag, right? If you give in on that one it’s not like the Liberals would go all opportunistic, vulture culture and try to take a mile after you give them an inch, would they?

Item 1 of 2: You may have noticed that Walmart was going to jump on the bandwagon and dump their Confederate flag merchandise. But did you happen to catch the comments from Walmart’s CEO when the media pressed them on guns?

“Our focus as it relates to firearms should be hunters and people who shoot at sporting clubs,” [Walmart CEO Doug McMillon] told CNN. “We believe in serving those customers. We have for a long time.”

Walmart says it doesn’t sell handguns in the continental U.S., nor does it sell magazines that hold a large number of bullets. It also says it sells firearms primarily in areas where there are large concentrations of hunters and sportsmen, and that it doesn’t sell firearms online.

The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting, though hunters and outdoor sports enthusiasts have certainly benefited from the protection. The Founders would probably break out laughing if you suggested such a question since it was just assumed that most people needed to hunt to help feed their families back then. But Walmart is feeling the pressure and if it was that easy to take out the Confederate flags it was probably just as easy to try to disassociate themselves with any potentially unpleasant Second Amendment issues right after the latest mass shooting.

At least nobody on the Hill would be so crass as to try to capitalize on this, though, right?

Item 2: There’s no time like the aftermath of a tragedy to try to ram through some good old fashioned gun control legislation, eh?

In the wake of the Charleston shooting, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) are considering ways to renew their failed push to expand meaningful background checks on gun purchases.

In separate interviews Tuesday night, at a reception before a ceremony hosted by Sandy Hook families where Toomey was honored, the senators discussed their desire to find a new way forward.

“We want to make sure we have the votes. Pat’s going to have to, and I’ll work with him, to get some of our colleagues on the Republican side,” Manchin said, adding that he hasn’t talked directly to Toomey about a revival.

Manchin specifically mentioned an effort aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of people diagnosed with mental illness.

Of course they did. This didn’t work after Sandy Hook, but if they run it up the flagpole enough times… well, they only have to get lucky once. And when they see Republicans folding right and left on the easier target of the Confederate Battle Flag, it’s got to inspire some hope that they’ve got a wave going and some of the same ones will start feeling the election season heat and give this a fresh look. You have to give them credit where due… it’s not a stupid strategy at all and they really have nothing to lose by trying.

In some ways you can almost forgive Toomey. Manchin seems to be nearly fireproof, but the Pennsylvania senator is up for election next year in a state which consistently leans just blue enough in presidential election years to be problematic. He’s no doubt aware of that and it might be fueling some of his “enthusiasm” for another run at the background check laws. Unfortunately I don’t know if the Pennsylvania GOP has anyone on the bench who would be more solid on the issue and still be electable in a year when they’ll probably be facing Hillary coattails.

That’s enough depressing items for one day. Just keep your eyes on the news for more dominoes to fall. In the American Game of Thrones, you never let a mass killing go to waste.