It’s no secret that politicians spend much time playing to their base to ensure future funding for their pet projects. Sometimes, they’ll even make a big deal about their goals, even when they know they have a slim chance of coming to fruition.

Such is the case with gun-ban advocates in the U.S. House of Representatives, who on Monday staged a major dog-and-pony show for anyone who would watch them pretend that they might be able to get significant gun control measures passed in the upcoming Congress.

For the event, the head grandstander was none other than House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who set up the news conference to shame Republicans in the house for their lack of zeal in further infringing on the Second Amendment rights of lawful American gun owners. For the extravaganza, Pelosi even brought along 91 people dressed in orange shirts to represent the “91 people who die of gun violence” every day in America.

Of course, that’s a completely false number, since it involves everything from suicides to self-defense shootings to criminals shot by law enforcement officers. Still, the orange was probably a nice touch for those who don’t know Pelosi to be a serial liar that most of the nation does.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans want action to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists and criminals,” Pelosi told the small crowd gathered. “But the Republican house still refuses to disarm hate and allow a vote on common-sense gun violence protection.”|

Along with the orange-shirted crew, Pelosi also brought along gun hater and U.S. Rep. Stenny Hoyer of Maryland and several survivors of so-called “gun violence.” But let’s call it what it really is, criminal violence undertaken by unlawfully misusing a firearm.

Not surprisingly, Hoyer apparently had the same speech writer as Pelosi, as the talking points were nearly identical.

“Two weeks ago, Democrats held the floor to demand real action,” Hoyer said. “To keep Americans safe from gun violence, Americans want a vote. The American people want a vote. All of us know that the bills that the Republicans are talking about bringing to the floor this week don’t cut it.”

Here’s the dirty little secret: Pelosi, Hoyer and other anti-gun Democrats know they don’t have a chance in hell of getting significant gun control passed before the end of the year. And after that, when Republicans control the U.S. House, U.S. Senate and the White House beginning in January, their chances will fall even further.

But they also know if they don’t act like they’re trying to get gun control laws passed, they could lose some of the copious funding they get from the various gun-ban groups. And that’s the thing they truly fear the most.

Politics is a notoriously dirty business, but for anti-gun politicians, that’s just business as usual. In this case, acting like they’re serious about finding ways to stop violent criminals to appease survivors of those criminals’ heinous acts is grandstanding at its best—or worst.